Bernie Lay and Piccadilly Lily
The ‘Double Strike’ mission of the 8th AF on Schweinfurt and Regensburg on August 17th, 1943 is among the most famous air operations of World War II in Europe. Not perhaps in so much as its scope, where it was surpassed many times during the months that followed, but in its significance in the development of strategic bombing attack planning and, above all, in terms of losses. Of the 376 B-17s involved, sixty were lost and over ninety others were seriously damaged for the loss of thirty German fighters.
Col. Bernie Lay was just shy of 34 years of age
when the 100th BG took off for Regensburg, older
than most 8th AF combat airmen. He had an inter-
esting military and writing career, and although
he had not been trained on USAAF four-engine
bombers, he was certainly not new to flying.
He was born on September 1st, 1909 in Berke-
ley Springs, West Virginia. After graduating from
Yale University in 1931, he enlisted in the US Army
Air Corps and completed flight training between
July 1932 and June 1933, from which he emerged
with the rank of Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt). He
was assigned to the 20th BS (which, a few years
later, as part of the 2nd Bomb Group, 15th AF, also
participated in the battles over central Europe).
Here he flew twin-engined biplanes in the form of
the Keystone B-6 and Curtiss B-2 Condor bomb-
ers. At the beginning of 1934, he became involved
in the affair known as the ‘Air Mail scandal’, when
the AAF was used, thanks to a specially passed
law to transport mail, which was understood,
among other things, to be a corrupt interference
of the business environment and piled on itself
several related problems.
The scandal, fueled by the deaths of several
army airmen in crashes in bad weather, was
more of a political affair. But it also had
an impact on the army pilots themselves.
Fed up with the fuss and press coverage of
the event after the failed project, Bernie Lay
retired from active duty in the AAF. Although
he remained in the rank of Lieutenant (1st Lt.)
in the army reserves, he devoted himself to civil-
ian life. He contributed articles to several maga-
zines and newspapers, which he began to devote
himself to during his service in the Air Force.
He became editor-in-chief of The Sportsman
Pilot magazine in 1936, and a year later published
his autobiographical book, ‘I Wanted Wings’.
He was immediately approached by Holly-
wood producers to prepare a film adaptation
of the book. He worked on it for three years, and
although the result was rather disappointing
for Lay, as his work was taken up by a group
of screenwriters who changed it to a large extent
in typical Hollywood fashion, the new experience
brought him the acquaintance of new people,
among them his first wife, Philippe Ludwell Lee.
The ‘Double Strike’ mission of the 8th AF on Schweinfurt and Regensburg on August 17th, 1943 is among the most famous air oper-
ations of World War II in Europe. Not perhaps in so much as its scope, where it was surpassed many times during the months that
followed, but in its significance in the development of strategic bombing attack planning and, above all, in terms of losses. Of the 376
B-17s involved, sixty were lost and over ninety others were seriously damaged for the loss of thirty German fighters.
Many stories are born from such monumental events. Some of them will be forgotten forever, because after a few minutes after their
creation, there is sadly no one left to tell them. Other stories, though seemingly insignificant at first, later reveal their full impact as to
become unforgettable. One such example, from a chain of events that began to form several thousand feet above Germany on August
17th, 1943, was the story of American pilot and writer Col. Bernie Lay. His name has been mentioned by us several times recently in
connection with the Limited Edition kit of the B-17F, ‘The Bloody Hundredth 1943’ and specifically in the historical notebook we issued
on Piccadilly Lily, on which Col. Lay completed the mission on August 17th, 1943. In addition to Piccadilly Lily, a total of twenty-one
B-17Fs from the 100th BG took part in this mission, four of which are represented in the aforementioned kit.
Title picture - detail of Piotr Forkasiewicz’s artwork for Eduard kit No.11183 B-17F “The Bloody Hundredth 1943”.
On the co-pilot’s seat of Piccadilly Lily sits Lt.Col. Bernie Lay.
HISTORY
INFO Eduard14
August 2024