Z Blog

New paint scheme for The Dragon and His Tail

The only restored flying B-24 in the world "The Dragon & His Tail" is getting a new paint job and a new name. The plane is going to be painted to honor the 8th Air Force and given the name and paint scheme "Witchcraft".

Grandpa's name will still appear on the side of the plane.

Click here for more information from the Collings Foundation website.

-Brian

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

The Patriarch

The patriarch of the Zebarth family, known variously as Ralph, Dad, Grandpa Z or Great Grandpa Z, still amazes all of us with everything he is involved in. For nine months of the year, he manages to play several rounds of golf each week. During the winter months, his tax business thrives and word of mouth seems to provide as many clients as he can handle. His threats to retire seem to be overridden each year by the plees from his loyal customer base.

Each year, he travels with Pat to annual reunions of his WWII Bomber Group, the 459th. This past year, the reunion was held in Washington DC and he was able to meet up with fellow crew member, Tommy Pavone. For a picture of them at the WWII Memorial click here.

-Mike