Italy 1943-45

There was an interesting practice in the American armed forces in W.W. II that I never noticed in our French or British allies. A driver assigned to a personnel carrier truck would paint his wife or girlfriend's name (but not both) on the truck door. The Jeep driver or the tank commander did the same. My two ambulances sported my wife's name.

This practice was actually encouraged. Obviously, it was a morale booster because it gave the driver a feeling of ownership, a sense of companionship and the need to take good care of his own “Betsy.” I have seen on several occasions a driver kissing the name on his truck, during a rest period in a convoy and saying out loud, “How we doing, Babe?”

However, the Air Force carried this “personal touch” to an extreme. They added logos, pictures, bombing runs, number of enemy fighters shot down, etc.

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		“Never Satisfied”

I do not recall the name the pilot had painted on the starboard side of this craft, but this was certainly appropriate for the port side. The Swastikas indicate the number of enemy fighters that this B-17 shot down, and the bombs indicated the number of bombs dropped over enemy territory. Dick Snyder (personal friend and ex-copilot of a B-29) thought that it might well represent the number of missions that this aircraft flew. The crew was required to (survive) fly 35 combat flights before returning home.

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		“Stop and Stare”

This Bomber had a nude female image that would bring enemy fighter pilots in for a closer look and of course, within range of their machine guns. It had taken a beating from German anti-aircraft shells and was being completely refitted with new engines and ordinance.

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		“Margie Anne”

This photo offers a good display of the machine gun ordinance present in the bow of the B-17. It was only part of the armament that gave this aircraft the moniker “The Flying Fortress.” The little pilot's window cannot be seen in this photo. I heard that the pilot would often slide this window open after returning from a mission and pat the name inscribed on the fuselage, just below, gratefully thanking her for their safe return home.

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		“For the Luvva Mike”

This B-29 was recognized by Dick Snyder to have been a member of his air group in the Pacific. This image was taken from an Internet WWII encyclopedia. The entire crew and maintenance team is shown.

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		The Flying Tigers

The Flying Tigers were a volunteer group of Americans that “took on” the Japanese Zeros for the Chinese fighting in Burma. They were commanded by Captain C. L. Chennault. The aircraft was characterized with the open jaws of a shark that fit in very neatly with the configuration of the engine of the P-40.

It must have been terrorizing to have this vision come screaming down with blazing machine guns.