WWII B17 Survival Story

Check THIS out !!! = a WW II story ( with incredible pix )

                          WW  II B17 Survival Story
 
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  

    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 the past.