B-17 in 1943
bman~AVA
2012/05/27 05:42:43
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Hey there folks, I've got a story for y'all here about some extreme airmanship in the face of unbelievable odds. I think it will fit right in with this current holiday coming up here. I don't know if the pics will load up so I'm gonna make this a poll style post so you can see the enormous amount of damage done to this bomber. Enjoy!
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.
I
love stories about
America 's
past.......pass this on to someone you know will
appreciate this 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.
I
love stories about
America 's
past.......pass this on to someone you know will
appreciate this story.
Top Opinion
-
BUCCANEER~POTL~PWCM~JLA 2012/05/27 08:05:23
http://www.grandcanyonairline...
About 10 yrs ago their hanger burned down. It was the last of dozens of WW2 era big hangers @ Willow Run. It was heartbreaking because that place had such a strong WW2 aura I could feel it. Thankfully, they were able to save most or all of the planes including the B-17 that were in the hanger.
About 4-5 years ago I came across a record among my Dad's records that was a bit unusual. First it was very thick and it was only cut on one side. The slip cover was labelled something like the WJR interview. I asked my Mom about it and it was a wartime interview with my Grandmother. Apparently she had four stars in her living room window which represented my Dad and uncles in the war. A DJ saw the stars and stopped and asked her about em. The record was a 78 rpm record and played from the center out rather than from the edge in like a normal record. The interview was done in my grandmother's living room and they cut the record on the spot and gave it to her. I found a place that was able to play the record and record it to CD It's about 5 minutes long and they talked about my dad and uncles and was played on WJR radio in Detroit during the war.
What really struck me about it is my grandmother's voice sounded very familiar to me. I knew I had heard her voice before and can't shake that feeling. What is so strange about that is my grandmother died the same day I was born. I can only assume I heard her voice enough before I was born that I knew her voice. You're probably thinking I'm a weirdo about now. lol And ya might not be too far off...
About 4-5 years ago I came across a record among my Dad's records that was a bit unusual. First it was very thick and it was only cut on one side. The slip cover was labelled something like the WJR interview. I asked my Mom about it and it was a wartime interview with my Grandmother. Apparently she had four stars in her living room window which represented my Dad and uncles in the war. A DJ saw the stars and stopped and asked her about em. The record was a 78 rpm record and played from the center out rather than from the edge in like a normal record. The interview was done in my grandmother's living room and they cut the record on the spot and gave it to her. I found a place that was able to play the record and record it to CD It's about 5 minutes long and they talked about my dad and uncles and was played on WJR radio in Detroit during the war.
What really struck me about it is my grandmother's voice sounded very familiar to me. I knew I had heard her voice before and can't shake that feeling. What is so strange about that is my grandmother died the same day I was born. I can only assume I heard her voice enough before I was born that I knew her voice. You're probably thinking I'm a weirdo about now. lol And ya might not be too far off but everything I've said is true.
Now I want to try and find a copy of the CD and post it somehow. It's relevant to this subject and would be my pleasure to share it.
BTW that's my Dad standing on the bow of the Rhea!
So many acts of bravery and sacrifice may we forever be grateful.
Perhaps the definitive work on B-17s is Martin Caidin's book, "Flying Forts". This mission is detailed in the book and if I remember correctly the tail fell off after landing when they opened the hatch underneath the bomber. Additionally, there's a great story about a P-38 fighter captured by the Italians when its US pilot landed there by mistake. It was then flown by an Italian pilot named Guido Rossi who used to fly along side B-17's that were stragglers and shoot them down. Anyway, I won't reveal the whole story but it's fascinating. Thx for reminding me about this mission.
It was also the aircraft used by the Army Air Corp in the Pacific to with the help of our brilliant Navy Code Breakers to find and assassinate Admiral Yamamoto!
As for the Italian P-38 pilot Guido Rossi, when the B-17 pilots heard from survivors about a P-38 shooting down stragglers as they returned to England, intelligence managed to locate and interview Rossi's wife, Gina in the recently capture Constantinople. A B-17 gunship (i.e. no bombs, just .50 caliber machine guns and extra armor) was tasked with luring Rossi out and shooting him down. The B-17 pilot, Harold Fisher, had a likeness of Gina painted on the nose of his ship with the words "Gina" underneath it. Anyway, their actual confrontation is legendary and is a must read as it defies belief.
As for the Yamamoto mission and as you probably know, there was a long standing controversy over who actually shot his "Betty" bomber down. Tom Lanphier always claimed that he shot him down however after further analysis is appears more likely that Rex Barber actually got him from behind. Either way it was a remarkable mission.
Damn SodaHead......I did not see this until just now!?