True story....
B-17 in 1943
A mid-air collision on February 1, 1943, between a B-17 and a German
fighter over the Tunis dock area, became the subject of one of the most
famous photographs of World War II. An enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb
Group formation went out of control, probably with a wounded pilot then
continued its crashing descent into the rear of the fuselage of a Fortress
named All American, piloted by Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg, of the 414th Bomb
Squadron. When it struck, the fighter broke apart, but left some pieces in
the B-17. The left horizontal stabilizer of the Fortress and left elevator
were completely torn away. The two right engines were out and one on the
left had a serious oil pump leak. The vertical fin and the rudder had been
damaged, the fuselage had been cut almost completely through connected only
at two small parts of the frame and the radios, electrical and oxygen
systems were damaged. There was also a hole in the top that was over 16 feet
long and 4 feet wide at its widest and the split in the fuselage went all
the way to the top gunners turret.
Although the tail actually bounced and swayed in the wind and
twisted when the plane turned and all the control cables were severed,
except one single elevator cable still worked, and the aircraft still flew -
miraculously! The tail gunner was trapped because there was no floor
connecting the tail to the rest of the plane. The waist and tail gunners
used parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses in an
attempt to keep the tail from ripping off and the two sides of the fuselage
from splitting apart. While the crew was trying to keep the bomber from
coming apart, the pilot continued on his bomb run and released his bombs
over the target.
When the bomb bay doors were opened, the wind turbulence was so
great that it blew one of the waist gunners into the broken tail section. It
took several minutes and four crew members to pass him ropes from parachutes
and haul him back into the forward part of the plane. When they tried to do
the same for the tail gunner, the tail began flapping so hard that it began
to break off. The weight of the gunner was adding some stability to the tail
section, so he went back to his position.
The turn back toward England had to be very slow to keep the tail
from twisting off. They actually covered almost 70 miles to make the turn
home. The bomber was so badly damaged that it was losing altitude and speed
and was soon alone in the sky. For a brief time, two more Me-109 German
fighters attacked the All American. Despite the extensive damage, all of the
machine gunners were able to respond to these attacks and soon drove off the
fighters. The two waist gunners stood up with their heads sticking out
through the hole in the top of the fuselage to aim and fire their machine
guns. The tail gunner had to shoot in short bursts because the recoil was
actually causing the plane to turn.
Allied P-51 fighters intercepted the All American as it crossed over
the Channel and took one of the pictures shown. They also radioed to the
base describing that the empennage was waving like a fish tail and that the
plane would not make it and to send out boats to rescue the crew when they
bailed out. The fighters stayed with the Fortress taking hand signals from
Lt. Bragg and relaying them to the base. Lt. Bragg signaled that 5
parachutes and the spare had been "used" so five of the crew could not bail
out. He made the decision that if they could not bail out safely, then he
would stay with the plane and land it.
Two and a half hours after being hit, the aircraft made its final
turn to line up with the runway while it was still over 40 miles away. It
descended into an emergency landing and a normal roll-out on its landing
gear.
When the ambulance pulled alongside, it was waved off because not a
single member of the crew had been injured. No one could believe that the
aircraft could still fly in such a condition. The Fortress sat placidly
until the crew all exited through the door in the fuselage and the tail
gunner had climbed down a ladder, at which time the entire rear section of
the aircraft collapsed onto the ground. The rugged old bird had done its
job.
B-17 in 1943
A mid-air collision on February 1, 1943, between a B-17 and a German
fighter over the Tunis dock area, became the subject of one of the most
famous photographs of World War II. An enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb
Group formation went out of control, probably with a wounded pilot then
continued its crashing descent into the rear of the fuselage of a Fortress
named All American, piloted by Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg, of the 414th Bomb
Squadron. When it struck, the fighter broke apart, but left some pieces in
the B-17. The left horizontal stabilizer of the Fortress and left elevator
were completely torn away. The two right engines were out and one on the
left had a serious oil pump leak. The vertical fin and the rudder had been
damaged, the fuselage had been cut almost completely through connected only
at two small parts of the frame and the radios, electrical and oxygen
systems were damaged. There was also a hole in the top that was over 16 feet
long and 4 feet wide at its widest and the split in the fuselage went all
the way to the top gunners turret.
Although the tail actually bounced and swayed in the wind and
twisted when the plane turned and all the control cables were severed,
except one single elevator cable still worked, and the aircraft still flew -
miraculously! The tail gunner was trapped because there was no floor
connecting the tail to the rest of the plane. The waist and tail gunners
used parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses in an
attempt to keep the tail from ripping off and the two sides of the fuselage
from splitting apart. While the crew was trying to keep the bomber from
coming apart, the pilot continued on his bomb run and released his bombs
over the target.
When the bomb bay doors were opened, the wind turbulence was so
great that it blew one of the waist gunners into the broken tail section. It
took several minutes and four crew members to pass him ropes from parachutes
and haul him back into the forward part of the plane. When they tried to do
the same for the tail gunner, the tail began flapping so hard that it began
to break off. The weight of the gunner was adding some stability to the tail
section, so he went back to his position.
The turn back toward England had to be very slow to keep the tail
from twisting off. They actually covered almost 70 miles to make the turn
home. The bomber was so badly damaged that it was losing altitude and speed
and was soon alone in the sky. For a brief time, two more Me-109 German
fighters attacked the All American. Despite the extensive damage, all of the
machine gunners were able to respond to these attacks and soon drove off the
fighters. The two waist gunners stood up with their heads sticking out
through the hole in the top of the fuselage to aim and fire their machine
guns. The tail gunner had to shoot in short bursts because the recoil was
actually causing the plane to turn.
Allied P-51 fighters intercepted the All American as it crossed over
the Channel and took one of the pictures shown. They also radioed to the
base describing that the empennage was waving like a fish tail and that the
plane would not make it and to send out boats to rescue the crew when they
bailed out. The fighters stayed with the Fortress taking hand signals from
Lt. Bragg and relaying them to the base. Lt. Bragg signaled that 5
parachutes and the spare had been "used" so five of the crew could not bail
out. He made the decision that if they could not bail out safely, then he
would stay with the plane and land it.
Two and a half hours after being hit, the aircraft made its final
turn to line up with the runway while it was still over 40 miles away. It
descended into an emergency landing and a normal roll-out on its landing
gear.
When the ambulance pulled alongside, it was waved off because not a
single member of the crew had been injured. No one could believe that the
aircraft could still fly in such a condition. The Fortress sat placidly
until the crew all exited through the door in the fuselage and the tail
gunner had climbed down a ladder, at which time the entire rear section of
the aircraft collapsed onto the ground. The rugged old bird had done its
job.
kool story
lease:
