The Aviators & Wiskey 7 Returns To Normandy – Warbird Radio LIVE! – Episode 528
Posted by Staff Writer on December 16, 2013 · 2 Comments
WARBIRD RADIO – On this episode of WRL, Matt’s joined by The Aviator’s Anthony Nalli with a preview of the upcoming season plus Naomi Wadsworth from the National Warplane Museum. Find out how you can help Naomi and her crew fly the W7 C-47 back to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
QUICK LINK: National Warplane Museum
QUICK LINK: The Aviators
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I’m confused about the C-47’s name Wiskey 7 that you refer to. I realise it is a reference to the aircraft code W7 on the side, but a couple of things strike me as odd.
One is the spelling, it should be Whisky (Scotch whisky) or Whiskey (Irish whiskey, or US bourbon whiskey). Is Wiskey another variation or an error? I have never seen it written that what before.
Another point is from 1941 till 1956 the US military used the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet that had the word ‘William’ as the call sign for W. It was only later that the NATO alphabet was adopted with ‘Whisky’ referring to W. So should this Normandy aircraft not be ‘William 7’?
And lastly, I would have thought that W7 actually denotes the squadron’s designation, and all the aircraft in that squadron would carry W7; with the code on the tail, in this case R, actually be the individual aircraft’s identity? Am I right?
Any thoughts?
Dave – we should look into this. More work now…thanks. ;)