Z Blog

The Dragon and His Tail

During WWII, Ralph flew a B-24 as a navigator on a total of 50 missions over Europe during the critical year, 1944. Flying out of Cernigola, Italy, Ralph was awarded the country's second highest honor, the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Today, there is just one B-24 left flying, the "Dragon and His Tail" which is owned and operated by the Collings Foundation. Every year, they barnstorm around the U.S. offering the opportunity to take a short flight. Mike, Dave, and Brian had the opportunity to do just that a few years ago when the plane was in New Haven.

Recently, Ralph was honored by having his name inscribed on the cockpit of the Dragon. When the Dragon was in Racine, Wisconsin last summer (2004) Mike and Ralph were allowed to fly with the crew as they relocated the plane to Chicago. If you click below, you can see a few of the photos Mike took:

The Dragon in Flight

Ralph and the Dragon

Ralph's Name

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