Quite a story, I hadn't heard before. Thanks Jimmy and especially Nancy.
I hope our manufacturers of today are making them as stout today!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "J McGuire" <jim_tec5@yahoo.com>
To: "Jimmy McGuire" <jim_tec5@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2020 5:44 PM
Subject: WW II Miracle
Thanks to Nancy Turlington sending this for our All Veterans Association members. Wow, what a
plane. Certain the crew were saying their prayers.
Stay safe and healthy.-------------------------------------------
A real miracle - from WW II...…...d
B-17 "All American" (414th Squadron, 97BG) Crew
Pilot- Ken Bragg Jr.
Co-pilot- G Boyd Jr.
Navigator- Harry C. Nuessle
Bombardier- Ralph Burbridge
Engineer- Joe C. James
RadioOperator-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 Flying 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 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 theAll 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 theAll Americanas 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.
Please pass this on to someone who will also appreciate this amazing story.
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