Robert Knight Morgan (July 31, 1918 – May 15, 2004) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and a

Command Pilot U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has bee ...

in the United States Air Force from

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous ci ...

. During World War II, while a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the United States Army Air Forces, Morgan was a bomber pilot with the

8th Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

in the European theater and the aircraft commander of the famous

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Thea ...

, '' Memphis Belle'', flying 25 missions. After completing his European tour, Morgan flew another 26 combat missions in the

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

against Japan in the Pacific Theater.

Biography

Morgan attended the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and entered the Army Air Corps in 1940. He earned his pilot wings and was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1941, then after advanced training at Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington, was assigned to the 324th Bomb Squadron,

91st Bomb Group The 91st Bomb Group (Heavy) was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. Classified as a heavy bombardment group, the 91st operated B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft and was known unofficially as "The Ragg ...

(

RAF Bassingbourn Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. During the Secon ...

approximately 3 mi (5 km) north of Royston), as a

pilot. Morgan went overseas as part of the original group of combat crews and flew 25 combat missions over Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, between November 7, 1942, and May 17, 1943.

''Memphis Belle''

The ''Memphis Belle'' was the second heavy bomber in the Eighth Air Force to complete 25 combat missions in the European Theatre; and was the first to return to the United States as part of a publicity campaign to sell

war bonds War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are a ...

.The "Hell's Angels" B-17 (41-24577) of the 303rd Bomb Group completed 25 combat missions on May 13, 1943, becoming the first B-17 to complete the feat, one week before the Memphis Belle. In those missions, all of which were daylight raids, the ''Memphis Belle'' flew 148 hours, dropped more than 60 tons of bombs and had every major part of the plane replaced at least once. Morgan and his crew were the subjects of a 1944 film documentary, '' Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress''.

Career

Promoted to major, Morgan did a second combat tour commanding the 869th Bomb Squadron, 497th Bomb Group of the

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interc ...

in the Pacific Theater where he flew the

'' Dauntless Dotty'' from Isley Field,

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 es ...

. The aircraft was nicknamed after his third wife, Dorothy Johnson Morgan. On November 24, 1944, he was pilot of the lead plane during the first mission of the XXI Bomber Command to bomb Japan. This mission was commanded by Brigadier General Emmett O'Donnell Jr. Leaving active duty after World War II, he continued to fly in the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...

, achieving command pilot status. Among his military awards were the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with 10 oak leaf clusters. He retired from the

with the rank of

in 1965. In the later 1960's, Morgan operated a car dealership in Martinsville, Virginia called Morgan Volkswagen. He later returned to his hometown Asheville to retire. In 2001 Morgan published his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, ''The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot'', co-written with

Ron Powers Ron Powers (born November 18, 1941) is an American journalist, novelist, and non-fiction writer. His works include ''No One Cares About Crazy People: My Family and the Heartbreak of Mental Illness in America''; ''White Town Drowsing: Journeys to Ha ...

Death

Morgan was hospitalized April 22, 2004, with a fractured vertebra in his neck after falling outside the

Asheville Regional Airport Asheville Regional Airport is a Class C airport near Interstate 26 near the town of Fletcher, south of downtown Asheville, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, United States. It is owned by the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority. ...

while returning home from what would be his last airshow appearance at the Sun 'n' Fun airshow at Lakeland Linder International Airport in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal ci ...

. He died at Mission Hospital on May 15, 2004, from complications due to his injuries, including pneumonia. Morgan was buried at the Western Carolina Veterans Cemetery in

Swannanoa, North Carolina Swannanoa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population 5,021 at the 2020 census up from 4,576 at the 2010 census. The community is named for the Swannanoa River, which flows through the s ...

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Memphis Belle website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Robert 1918 births 2004 deaths Accidental deaths from falls United States Air Force colonels Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Accidental deaths in North Carolina United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II United States Army Air Forces officers Recipients of the Air Medal United States Air Force reservists