Photo By Karen Abeyasekere | U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Sebastian Miskimmin, top, removes a cover to unveil the...... read more read more
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“Back in the dark days of World War II, my dad flew a B-17, whose name, ‘Just a Snappin,’ we honor today,” said Jim Blakely. “As you give that name to an Air Force tanker, you accomplish something larger and even more enduring than naming a single aircraft: you honor and remember those mighty B-17s and the brave young men who often named their planes before they flew them into history.”
In the presence of two sons of renowned World War II aircrew – Blakely, son of pilot then-1st Lt. Everett Blakely, 100th Bomb Group pilot, and Steve Crosby, son of then-1st Lt. Harry Crosby, 100th BG navigator – the latest legacy nose art, “Just-A-Snappin’” was unveiled on one of the 100th Air Refueling Wing’s KC-135 Stratotankers at RAF Mildenhall, England, June 9, 2025.
Inspired by Crosby, the newest nose art features his profile on the background of a navigator’s dead-reckoning computer. His character was heavily featured in the recent “Masters of the Air” TV mini-series, which tells the story of the 100th BG at Thorpe Abbotts during World War II. The nose art also pays homage to the entire crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress “Just-A-Snappin” from the 418th Bomb Squadron, who together flew the Oct. 8, 1943, mission to Bremen – Maj. John Kidd, Blakely, Crosby, 2nd Lt. Charles Via, Jr., 2nd Lt. James Douglass, Tech. Sgt. Monroe Thornton, Tech. Sgt. Edmund Forkner, Staff Sgt. William McClelland, Staff Sgt. Edward Yevich, Staff Sgt. Lyle Nord, and Staff Sgt. Lester Saunders.
Blakely explained that with some aircraft names, the young B-17 aircrew mocked the danger they faced in the sky. Other names recalled happier memories. In his father’s case, the crew chose a name making light of the fact that he was late returning to base.
“It happened in June 1943, on a mission back from bombing the submarine pens at St. Nazaire, to cut off the fuel supplies of U-boats keeping American ships and supplies from reaching England. The men knew there were 100 flak guns over the target at St. Nazaire; there were four German fighter bases within 50 miles. The mission was not, as they say, a ‘milk run,’” he remarked.
“My dad and his crew were leading the high squadron –– and for 20 minutes the Luftwaffe kept them in their sights. As flak exploded everywhere, Dad sent up a red flare, indicating they were hit and dropping out of formation. They made it back to base late, coming in on just two engines and with gaping holes in their vertical tail fin.”
Jim explained that Harry Crosby had written how they kidded his dad about flying alone. They called him “The Provisional Group” – an outfit that comes to the base to replace missing crews. Everett Blakely had responded, “We were behind you, just a snapping at your heels,” – which is how the aircraft name came to be.
Honoring legacy
The 100th ARW is one of the only active-duty Air Force units authorized to display the World War II tail flash and nose art, which honors the entire crew.
“You’ve just heard from Jim Blakely the original story of the first Just-A-Snappin, the magnificent role of the B-17s, the 100th Bomb Group, and the remarkable young men who saved us from those days of tyranny,” said Steve Crosby. “But what you did not hear was about the extraordinary skill and bravery of Jim’s father, Capt. Everett Blakely, the command pilot of Just-A-Snappin’. I’ll fix that for you now, and try to add a human window on the final mission of Just-A-Snappin’ – final, that is, until now!”
Battle damage
Steve shared some of his father’s dramatic memories of the Bremen mission, put together from a combination of the mission report and letters to his mother Jean, written in October 1943, during the middle of World War II.
“We were leading the Air Division over the most heavily defended part of Germany, except for Berlin. Thirty seconds before the bombs were dropped, the first of the flak hit our nose compartment, shattering the window to the right of the bombardier’s head. One fragment struck the bombardier – Lt James Douglass – on the left side. It tore through his clothing and ripped his flak suit. Despite this distraction, the bombardier continued the manipulation of his bomb site and bombs away.”
Seconds later, their number four engine was destroyed.
“The control wires were shattered, and the left elevator was ripped to shreds, plunging our plane into sort of a spinning dive, completely out of control. We were plunging down in a helpless careening dive. Flames were blazing from our number four engine; our control services were cut and torn. The normal reaction on the part of our pilot should have been to think about their own personal safety, or maybe in the case of extreme nobility of character, perhaps they would have been thinking about the other men on the crew. But they did not, even in this crisis for one minute, forget they were leaders of a great bomb armada. Their first thought was of the crews behind them. In unison, as we fell into our dive, the words came over the interphone to our tailgunner, ‘Signal the deputy leader to take over.’ I can’t help but think as they fought for their lives, they might have been too busy to think of their command – but such was not the case.”
Harry Crosby wrote that they were losing altitude so rapidly, they didn’t believe it possible that they could stay up long enough even to jump.
“Blakely called for an interphone check to prepare for the jump when we found that the back four stations of the plane had been cut off, so we couldn’t call them. Of course, we couldn’t just leave without telling the boys in the back, so Blakely called for a heading home, which I gave him. Blakely started to finally get that airplane under control. Jean, there are just two reasons that I’m here today – one of them is because of Capt. Blakely’s superb piloting, and the other is because of the skills of our gunners.”
Easy target
Steve continued that his dad had also shared in his letters how they had to fight their way clear across Germany, at an altitude that made them duck soup for every flak artist and pursuit pilot in the area.
“I wish I could impress you with the gravity of our situation. Our controls were shot away. Our control surfaces on the wings, elevators and rudder, were one sieve of holes. We only had two engines, and a little power from the third. Worst of all, three of our gunners, and good old Charlie Via, who was riding as tail gunner, had been wounded during the raid. They still manned their guns though – we didn’t even know that they had been hit. How they did it I don’t know, nor does any pilot who has heard this story. But Blakely and Maj. Kidd somehow managed to nurse our altitude so we could reach the Holland border, and finally the Dutch ocean, and we still had 9,000 feet of altitude. I knew where the heavy guns were on the coast, and also the fighter fields, so we steered around them successfully. But we were so low that the coastal batteries of light guns, machine guns and 20 millimeter cannons opened up on us, and then there was hell to pay.
“We could see the tracers coming up at us from all angles, then the bombardier turned around to say something to me, just then a couple of holes appeared right between us, and the cotton batting of the plane flew all around. A bullet had gone right between us. Meanwhile, Ev Blakely was putting the plane through violent evasive action –so violent that every time he turned, we lost 300 feet of valuable altitude.”
Despite everything, the crew made it across the coast and ventured over the North Sea.
Struggling to return home
“We were barely staying up, flying at an air speed of just 5 miles-an-hour faster than that which the plane stalls out, and we would mush into the ocean. All of my navigation equipment was shot away, and we were listing so badly on one side, that our compasses would stick on the sides of the air containers, so we had to navigate home by the sun. We were losing altitude so much that it became evident that we would have to ditch, land in the water and trust to our dinghies and the British air sea rescue system to get us home. But when Doug went back to take stock of the situation, he came back with the report that we had four badly-wounded men aboard, and the information that our dinghy had been shot away. We couldn’t ditch.”
In a desperate effort to lighten the plane, the crew started throwing away all their equipment; anything that wasn’t vital then and there was thrown out of the aircraft.
Lightening the load
“I threw away $20,000-worth of bomb sights, and almost as much value of some secret navigational equipment. We threw away our guns, our extra clothes, and it helped. Ev Blakely and Maj. Kidd coaxed the machine up to an extra 300 feet, and we headed to the nearest airfield in England,” wrote Harry.
“But our troubles weren’t even close to over. Just as we hit the landing strip, all our controls gave way – we had no brakes, no hydraulic system, no emergency system, no rudder, no tail wheel. From that point on, our pilots Blakely and Kidd were just along for the ride like the rest of us. We veered off the runway and hit a clump of trees and washed the plane out entirely.”
Jim Blakely remarked that although the KC-135 which will carry the legacy name into the future is very different from the B-17 that carried it so proudly in the past, In some fundamental way, their missions are the same: they bring new life to those they serve.
“In the case of a tanker, that ‘life’ is in the form of fuel; Just-a-Snappin will enable other planes to fly onward, to remain in the sky, to go farther, to do more. It will help the 100th Air Refueling Wing achieve what it does every day – defend the best country on earth,” said Jim. “It’s carrying on a proud tradition, because back in those days of World War II, Just-a-Snappin – like so many B-17s flown by so many brave men – protected life itself. Not just the lives of those who were a part of the crew, but the lives of those on the ground. It gave life and hope – and a future – to so many during the darkest times when they could only look to the sky and trust those whose names they would never know, young Airmen they’d never be able to thank, but whose courage would enable them – and us – to enjoy freedom that would not have been possible without them.”
100th LRS, 100th ARW keeping heritage alive
RAF Mildenhall has a unique sponsorship program where all 10 squadrons have adopted an aircraft to call their own. The 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron is now the proud sponsor of Just-A-Snappin. This is the 100th ARW’s way of keeping alive the legacy of those who sacrificed so much in the name of the Bloody Hundredth.
“We’ve just had the 81st anniversary of D-Day, and Lt. Crosby’s contributions of that monumental effort are emblematic of what we do in the 100th LRS today,” said Lt. Col. Scott Engman, 100th LRS commander.
“In (our squadron), we have eight unique support specialties. Day-in, day-out, our logistics professionals perform their duties behind the scenes to ensure overall mission success. Lt. Crosby was one of the lead planners of the 100th Bomb Group’s mission for Operation Overlord and D-Day, painstakingly preparing maps, flight plans and formations for hundreds of different missions and variations,” remarked Engman. “He worked 24 hours a day, and leading up to the launch of D-Day, he even worked 75 hours straight, doing everything he could behind-the-scenes to ensure mission success. This intricate planning driven by a commitment of accounting for every possible detail and mitigating every point of failure bears the core competencies of logistics readiness.
“As logisticians and war planners, we understand that thorough preparation can be the difference between success and failure, of life and death. So, just as Lt. Crosby’s detailed plans were crucial for the survival and success of his crews and teammates, our work today ensures that warfighters have the resources they need to accomplish their missions and return home safely,” the 100th LRS commander said.
Legacy lives on
Steve Crosby shared how he felt it an incredible experience to see Just-A-Snappin brought back to life.
“I’ve heard the story of the Bremen raid many times, when Just-A-Snappin was wiped out by the Germans and a huge tree. Seeing my dad, and the brave men who flew with him, remembered – on the nose of a magnificent KC-135 – nearly brought me to tears,” he said.
“My Dad would have been so proud to see all those men honored, men who sacrificed so much for their crew mates and their country,” remarked Steve. “I hope these memories of the Bremen raid, praising the excellence of the pilots, crew and ground crews, will inspire the men and women of the 100th Air Refueling Wing to serve with pride in the history of the Bloody Hundredth, and with the attention to operational detail that saved my dad’s life.”
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2025 08:28 |
| Story ID: | 501303 |
| Location: | RAF MILDENHALL, SUFFOLK, GB |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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