I love these old war stories, especially the ones with a happy ending !
Some Story !
B-17 "All American" (414th Squadron, 97BG) Crew Pilot- Ken Bragg Jr. Copilot- G. Boyd Jr. Navigator- Harry C. Nuessle Bombardier- Ralph Burbridge Engineer- Joe C. James Radio Operator- Paul A. Galloway Ball Turret Gunner- Elton Conda Waist Gunner- Michael Zuk Tail Gunner- Sam T. Sarpolus Ground Crew Chief- Hank Hyland 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 WW 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;
the split in the fuselage went all the way to the top gunner's 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 miraculously still flew!
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 hisbomb 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 appendage 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 to 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.
This old bird had done its job and brought the entire crew home uninjured. I love these old war stories, especially the ones with a happy endin |
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