In honor of Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, the 306th B-17G Aircraft number 42-102547, was christened Rose of York.

Named for Princess Elizabeth Windsor (later, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II), the plane was originally named Princess Elizabeth but that did not meet with any official approval. (There were concerns about the propaganda value to the enemy, and the effect on civilian morale, should the bomber named for a member of the Royal Family be lost in combat.) The aircraft was renamed Rose of York instead and was christened by the Princess on her royal visit to the Thurleigh airfield.

On February 3, 1945, Rose of York, piloted by Vernon Daly, was one of 23 B-17s that were shot down during a mission to Berlin. It was on its sixty-third combat mission and was hit by heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire. The last contact indicated that one engine was out of operation and another was streaming gasoline. The Flying Fortress went down in the English Channel with all nine crew members and a civilian news reporter. MACR 12283