Dear readers,
Todays blog discusses the collective American squadron N 124 insignia placed on all the aircraft: an Indian head.
Initially it was described as a Seminole Indian head that was adapted from the head printed on the Savage Arms Manufacturing Company and was used until ~February 1917 when a new emblem was adopted.
The new emblem was designed by Pilot Sergeant Harold Willis, a decorated fellow Escadrille pilot who was the first squadron member to survive being shot down and later escaped captivity. It was now a Sioux Indian head thought to represent the famous Chief Sitting Bull and is represented by a sketch drawn by B Delles on page 3 of Chapter One in Sky Raider.
Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota leader, was Chief of the confederated Lakota tribes which included the Northern Cheyenne that defeated General Custer and the 7th Calvary at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. He refused to surrender and led his band to Canadian/British territory in 1877. He finally returned to the US and surrendered in 1881. Prior to his death in 1890 by agency police at the age of 59, he was in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.
Each aircraft also usually carried a personal mark or emblem of the pilot in command, such as their initials or favorite drawing.
Enjoy the adventure!
T
