Thursday, February 28, 2008

Captain John Patterson in his plane, Flub Dub

Captain John Patterson in his plane Flub DubThis is Captain John E. Patterson in the cockpit of his P-61 Black Widow Airplane. Due to the number of missions indicated on the side of his plane, the photo was probably taken in late 1944. I never asked my father why he named his plane the Flub Dub, when other planes had more menacing names like Hell's Angels and Midnight Menace. To my way of thinking, Flub Dub didn't instill fear of any kind. If any member of the 414th can give an explanation, please add it as a comment on this blog or send me an email at Video7pro.com.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

dub was for Dubby, my aunt's nick name, for Dorothy as her son Larry was a rear gunner, CBI, during the war.

ken umpenhour said...

Flub your dub was an expression in the 40's, meaning to make a big mistake, but I don'tknow why anyone would put that on their airplane. Also, I flew P-61s out of David, Panama in the late 40's, and that place does not appear to be a p-61 to me, it looks more like an A-20 or A-26, but it does not resemble a P-61. LOok closely at the cockpit configuration and you will see. Ken Umpenhour email srgtump@tampabay.rr.com

Randall W. Patterson said...

Thanks for your comment on the 414th blog. The Flub Dub was a B-25 bomber that was use to transport men and supplies. When new pilot
came into the squadron they were given their flight check in the Flub Dud by Major Patterson who was the operations officer.

Anonymous said...

I have a large collection of pictures from the 414 taken by my late father in law who was in the squadron. They are not currently available, but I can provide any research assistance if you ask.