Seven Cookies (+1)
All fighter pilots name their airplanes: it is as simple as that. Fred Hillis was no different, and when he was assigned his first fighter in France, a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, he wasted no time in christening it Cookie; a nickname given his infant daughter, Cynthia, by his colleagues at Eglin Field.
In the months which followed, the original Cookie P -47 was lost in combat. It was succeeded by another P-47, then another, then another. Before all was said and done, a total of four Cookies had been lost in combat, with Hillis at the controls in three of those instances. His last P-47 (Cookie VI) flew only a single combat mission before the war ended.
Interestingly, the story doesn't end there. One more plane was destined to carry the name Cookie, though it was just about as far removed as you could get from a P-47. Cookie VII was a highly classified and extremely rare Messerschmitt 262 jet fighter "liberated" from the Luftwaffe. (Details of this mission may be found elsewhere on this site.)
Clearly there was a streak of very good fortune associated with the Cookie name. Despite the fact that it was emblazoned on multiple aircraft, several of which suffered heavy combat damage or were completely shot down, no pilot flying any of the Cookies was ever injured or kiilled!
Here's a breakdown on what is known of each individual Cookie ...
The original Cookie. Is actually Hillis’ daughter. He mentions this in one of his first letters home. The photo of the following aircraft is a photo of Cookie II. He never painted the numeral II on it as he had no idea there would be so many Cookies in his future!
Cookie I
COOKIE II
Republic P-47D-10 Thunderbolt
Hillis flew this machine from September 1944 through the October/November 1944 timeframe.
Cookie II Was almost totally destryoyed about November 1st, 1944, with Hillis flying. See his letters home for a description of the horrific encounter where she met her demise.
COOKIE III
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Hillis flew this machine on "lots of missions" from November, 1944 until the plane was shot down on 23 January 1945, with another pilot at the controls (the pilot survived unscathed).
He scored his first three confirmed kills (one a Me 109) in this aircraft, and felt it was one of the best planes in the squadron.
On 17 January, it received a new wing, courtesy of a German tree in the way during a strafing attack.
COOKIE IV
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Cookie IV arrived on the 9th of February. It was an OD color instead of silver, a situation Hillis soon remedied by painting it with the squadron colors, Cookie IV and the Show Me State logo on the nose. On March 10th she had to have a new engine and landing gear installed. “Jerry used her for target practice.” “She isn’t the plane III was, but with the new engine maybe she’ll have new life.” Cookie IV was shot down April 2nd over Germany with another pilot flying. He was OK though as he waved to his buddies in the squadron from the ground after he bailed out.
COOKIE V
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Hillis received this machine just in time for the Führer's birthday: the 20th of April,1945.
Cookie V was painted with the squadron’s colors, an orange tail, red nose, and a yellow cowling and for the second time the Show Me State logo on the nose.
Hillis says it is a fine airplane; "best in the squadron, as good as III was." He lost this plane in a dogfight he describes to his wife saying “one of the other boys flying the plane.” This was not true, he was flying it. He just didn’t want to worry his wife that close to the end of the war. The plane was a “salvage job” after only 20 days of action and another kill for Hillis in April.
Cookie V by Robert McPhearson
COOKIE VI
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Hillis was assigned his final P-47 on the 30th of April 1945, and sent this picture home on the 13th of May.
He flew only one combat mission in it before the war in Europe ended. In his words, "$100,000 for just one mission, pretty expensive mission." But this one mission landed him in very hot water. See Colonel Bert McDowell’s memories of the incident here: T-Bolt Kill
COOKIE VII
Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe
As the war drew to a close, Hillis was selected to participate in a highly classified operation to to capture and fly German jet aircraft. He arrived in Lechfeld, Germany in early June, and was soon assigned this Messerschmitt 262A-1a/U3 fighter. The plane was an extremely rare reconnaissance-modified variant of the much-feared Messerschmitt. Hillis flew the jet (his first ever experience with this technology) across Europe to the port of Cherbourg, where it was loaded aboard a ship for transport to the United States.
On 19 August 1945, fellow Watson's Whizzer Lieutenant Ken Holt was at the controls during the last flight of Cookie VII. The jet was en route to Freeman Field in Indiana for testing, when a scheduled fuel stop in Pittsburgh turned disastrous. Shortly after 1600 hrs, Holt brought the plane in for landing on a very fast, but otherwise normal approach. On touchdown, the brakes failed and he sailed past the runway, over a ditch, and into a field where it burst into flames. The plane was destroyed in the post crash fire, but pilot Holt emerged unscathed -- keeping the Cookie's perfect record intact.
SPECIAL ADDENDUM: COOKIE VIII
Sikorsky UH-60L Blackhawk
In the spring of 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, an assault helicopter from the 2-501st Aviation Regiment, 1st Armored Division (United States Army) was christened Cookie VIII by her crew in honor of the Hillis legacy.
Flown by “Chuck” Charles Petrie, webmaster of the first Stormbirds website, during operations over Baghdad, the evidence to date suggests that the Cookie name still brings with it a mysterious, if welcome, sense of protection for airmen flying in harm's way. Chuck and his crew came to no harm while flying Cookie VIII.