What's in a name?

[Bob Womack]

Once upon a time, there was a B17D aircraft named Ole Betsy. This particular aircraft was in the Philippines when hostilities commenced in 1941 and flew on the first combat mission of the war. On January 11, 1942, the ship was heavily damaged on a mission, so heavily that the entire tail had to be replaced from another aircraft, as well as the engines. She was converted to an armed transport and, in a bit of irony, he new captain named her after the main character in a popular song of the time about a bird that was half swan and half goose. Her name became The Swoose. Two months later, General George Brett took her over as his personal transport, and she received a new pilot, Captain Frank Kurtz. During her travels, she carried future president Lt. Commander Lyndon B. Johnson on one mission. She served as Brett's transport until he retired in late 1945, giving her the unique distinctive of having served throughout the entire war.



The Swoose is now the oldest surviving B17 in the world. Her long-time pilot attempted unsuccessfully to get the city of Los Angeles to adopt her after the war. In 1949 she was donated to the Smithsonian Institution and sat in storage for nearly six decades. Eventually, she was transferred to the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH, where she is being restored.



And the name? General Brett's pilot, Captain Frank Kurtz, survived the war and named his daughter after his airplane. She went on to become a famous actress. Her name? Swoosie Kurtz.



Bob

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[kar98k]

this is too cool