100th ARW flagship KC-135 emblazoned with historic nose art

Photo By Brent Thacker | Col. Christopher Kulas, 100th Air Refueling Wing commander, presents a coin to Senior Airman William Hickey, 100th Maintenance Squadron, during a small ceremony, March 14, 2012. Kulas and Hickey worked together to place the historic emblem of the 100th Bomb Group – the 100th ARW’s World War II predecessor – to the nose of KC-135 Stratotanker 58-0100. The emblem was first approved in March 1944, when the 100th BG was flying B-17s out of RAF Thorpe Abbots over Nazi Germany.  

ABE, UNITED KINGDOM

03.14.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Brent Thacker 

100th Air Refueling Wing   

RAF MILDENHALL, England -- From nose to tail, RAF Mildenhall-based KC-135 58-0100 represents the 100th Air Refueling Wing like no other plane on the flightline here.

In addition to the Square D proudly displayed on the 54-year-old aircraft's tail, a new historic emblem adorns the left side of the jet, just below the pilot's windows. It's the crest of the 100th Bomb Group - the World War II predecessor to the 100th ARW.

The emblem was applied to the jet by Col. Christopher Kulas, 100th ARW commander, and Senior Airman William Hickey, 100th Maintenance Squadron, during a small ceremony, March 14. Hickey, an aircraft structural maintenance journeyman, was part of the team that turned the historic artwork into a 1,024-square-inch vinyl decal that will stand up to the elements on the skin of the aircraft.

Though the adhesive vinyl sticker may last a year or more, the artwork itself has already stood the test of time.

"This emblem is much more than a simple sticker on the nose of an airplane," Kulas said. "It represents a long, hard-won history of success. The men and women working tirelessly to complete their mission on RAF Mildenhall today share a bond with the men who flew under this emblem in one of the greatest conflicts this world has ever seen, and this airplane now serves as a visual reminder of that bond."

The graphic's bold colors stand out in vivid contrast to the gray of the KC-135 Stratotanker, but it's not the first time tail number 0100, as the crews who work on and in the aircraft refer to it, has sported the blazon, or at least a version of it. In the mid 1990s, soon after the 100th ARW first arrived at RAF Mildenhall, tail number 0100 was here, and in roughly the same spot as the artwork is today was a stylized version of it with a few modifications thrown in to better reflect the wing's current mission.

According to documents provided by Mark Howell, 100th ARW historian, the design for the emblem was first approved in March 1944, when the 100th BG was flying B-17s out of RAF Thorpe Abbots to bomb targets in Germany.

It features a four-headed eagle, representing the four original squadrons of the group. In each of the eagle's talons is a bomb, representing the group's mission as a bombardment group. A blood-red shield of freedom in the center stands for the sacrifice of the young airmen assigned to the "Bloody 100th," as the group was nicknamed due to heavy losses in combat. Within the shield is a century plant, which only blooms once every hundred years. Behind it all is a blue background, symbolic of the clear skies the bombers flew in on perilous daytime bombing runs.

When the stylized version of the artwork was painted on tail number 0100 in the '90s, the bombs in the eagle's talons were replaced by the end of a KC-135 boom, representing the new mission of the 100th ARW. Today, however, the eagle once again carries bombs, indicative that the 100th ARW is an active participant in armed conflict around the globe.

"It's great to have tail 0100 back in the 'Bloody Hundredth' as we celebrate our heritage year. Just as the 100th BG did 70 years ago, our airmen are put in harm's way, and no one can deny that we are now, as we have been in the past, a warfighting unit," Kulas said. "These bombs, this blood-red shield and that clear blue sky remind us that we are continuing a legacy of selfless sacrifice in the name of peace."

Keeping with the theme of heritage, other aircraft are scheduled to have historic nose art applied to them in the near future, though plans for how exactly it will be done are still in the works, Howell said.

For now though, once more the emblem of the 100th Bomb Group and the Square D are together again in the skies over Europe, often with fighters off the wing, barreling headlong into whatever mission calls for the 100th ARW that day.

"Though the mission has changed since the first time these two icons flew together, the dedication and resolve behind them has never been stronger," Kulas said.

• Date Taken: 03.14.2012
• Date Posted: 03.28.2012 09:32
• Story ID: 85892
• Location: ABE, GB