"Devil Dog" comes home

Austin (KXAN) - Compared to the landings in the good old days of the 1940's, this one was comparatively easy. The World War II era B-25 slipped over a line of cedar tries and approached the Georgetown airport as a dozen or so fans giggled just off the runway below. Wheels down, the "Devil Dog" taxied toward the tarmac as cheers erupted and smiles split faces in the chilly noontime air.

That was a completely different set of circumstances from those that anchored the B-25s in American and world history.

"The first time that we struck back at Japan, you know, involved a group of B-25s that took off from an aircraft carrier, something it was not designed to do," said Eric Poteet, a member of the Devil Dog Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force .

The planes were designed to bomb enemy targets from high altitude, but the war against Japan in the South Pacific didn't lend itself to such tactics. So Marines in the Pacific theatre modified the bombers, replacing a the bombardier station in the nose with a battery of machine guns and ditching the top gun window in favor of a clear star-gazing cover, the better with which, to navigate at night.

That, however, was just the beginning of the needed modifications. The rest was up to the flying skills of the crew.

Instead of cruising at 8,000 feet and trying to hit ships on the high seas below, the pilots dove to just a few feet off the surface of the ocean and the bombs were jettisoned at just the right angle to make them skip across the water directly into Japanese ships.

So who were these daring crew members with the clever minds and brave hearts?

"Most of these boys were eighteen, nineteen, twenty years old and they were out there fighting a war for our freedoms," said Squadron President Beth Jenkins. "And, you know, they're now in their eighties and they're dying daily and we're going to lose this history. And these airplanes are representing that history that we have to keep alive."

That's what led the squadron to completely restore the Devil Dog and take it on the road. In the summer of 2009, that road took the plane to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the largest annual historic air show in the country. A flawless performance at the show thrilled the crowd and the crew then took off for the long flight back to Georgetown, home base for the Dog.

That's when engine trouble forced a return to Oshkosh and a months-long grounding there. The squadron went to work on fundraising, facing a deadline imposed by Commemorative Air Force leaders. If the deadline was missed, the plane would be transferred to a better funded squadron in Atlanta.

It was not missed. An anonymous donor fronted some $30,000 at the last minute. The repairs were made and Tuesday's crisp, clear weather paved the way for the Devil Dog's touchdown at the Georgetown airport.

"I know the squadron," said crew chief Dennis Gauthier. "It just means a heck of a lot to the guys to have the airplane in the area where you can work on it and try and make it a better airplane. With it being that far away, it was really a struggle to get this thing back home and it's great to have it back."

There is more work to be done. The plane's paint job suffered over the winter in Oshkosh and some interior work is also needed. Plus the squadron must raise some money to pay the anonymous donor back. Still, by early summer, the Dog is expected to return to work doing what it does best these days, teaching history.

"We'll go to air shows; we'll get on the rides program, where we'll give rides and people can experience what a B-25 flies like and let these people know what our fathers and grandfathers did for the freedoms that we have today," said Jenkins.