[stephen]

Tom is right... the accent sounded like the musical performer's name and the cliche stuck.

Sorry, Melinda, but the "flaming coffin" was actually the DH4, named so because the fuel tank had been located between the pilot and observer to equalize the plane's weight distribution. Both planes, the DH 4 and the RE 8, were outstanding aircraft and executed the job which they were designed to perfection. They were not designed for aerial combat and were intended to obtain protection from escorts and mutual support from their own formations. I had the privelage of knowing several men who flew these airplanes and not one of them had a bad word to say about either of them. In fact, they claimed that their planes were unduly maligned mainly because they weren't designed as glamorous fighters. Their jobs were quite mundane, but in those jobs the planes performed superbly, offering roomy rear cockpits for equipment storage, excellent visibility for the rear officer and a good field of defensive fire, outstanding inherent stability, the ability to carry suitable combat loads, and the versatility to perform multiple observation, recon and ground attack duties. Of course, the RE 8 in particular wasn't much of a challenge in a dogfight, but anyone dogfighting in an RE 8 was an idiot anyway. In a pinch it could put up a nasty fight when well handled, as evidenced by MvR's last mission and scores of other incidents, several of which were related to me by the participants.