Posted by Mark W. Danielson
This is not an article I wrote, but rather one I felt was
worth sharing. As a kid, I never missed
an episode of Twelve O’Clock High –
the World War II series based upon the B-17 movie of the same name. I loved the Flying Fortress, and frequently flipped through the pages of my
book of the same name. In this book, I
remember seeing an amazing photo of this B-17 that was torn in half by a German
fighter, but I never knew the full story until this article was passed on to
me. I cleaned it up slightly, but full
credit goes to the unknown crewmember that wrote the article. I hope you find it equally fascinating. I salute every airman of WWII.
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A mid-air collision on February 1, 1943, between a B-17 and
a German fighter over the Tunis dock area resulted in one of the most famous
photographs of World War II. It was
there that an enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb Group formation went out of
control, probably with a wounded pilot, and crashed 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 rudder had
both been damaged, the fuselage, which had nearly been cut completely through,
was connected only at two small parts of the airframe. The radios, electrical and oxygen systems
were also damaged. The hole in the top
of the fuselage stretched 16 feet to the top gunner’s turret, and was four feet
wide at one point.
Although the tail bounced and swayed and the fuselage
twisted when the plane turned, it miraculously flew on only one surviving
elevator cable. The tail gunner remained
at his station as there was no floor to get back to the main fuselage. While the plane lumbered on, the waist and
tail gunners used parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses
to lash the tail and fuselage halves together while the pilots coaxed All American to her target.
When the bomb bay doors opened, the inside wind force was so
great it blew one of the waist gunners into the broken tail section. In several heart-stopping minutes, four crew
members were able to pass parachute ropes to him and haul him forward. When they tried doing the same for the tail
gunner, the tail began flapping hard. Figuring that the gunner’s weight was adding stability,
he quickly returned to his position.
Because their one hundred eighty degree turn had to be very gentle,
they covered almost 70 miles before they were heading home. Even worse, their B-17 was so badly damaged
that it kept losing altitude and speed.
Soon, they were alone and easy prey for two more Me-109s. Refusing to go down without a fight, All American’s crew responded with guns
blazing, the waist gunners with their heads through the hole in the fuselage,
and the tail gunner’s recoil turning the airplane. Thankfully, the fighters retreated without
instilling further damage.
Allied P-51 fighters intercepted All American as she crossed the English Channel, snapped this
inflight photo, and then radioed to base that the bomber’s empennage was waving
like a fish tail, that the plane would not make it back, and to send rescue
boats to retrieve the crew when they bailed out. But Lt. Bragg quickly signaled that bailing
out was not as option as they had used six parachutes to keep the plane together.
Earlier, the crew decided that if they
could not all bail out safely, then they would stay with the plane and attempt a
landing. The Mustang pilots could only
watch in amazement.
Two and a half hours after her mid-air, All American made her final turn to line up with the runway that
was still 40 miles away. Remarkably, she
held together and rolled out on her landing gear. When the ambulance pulled alongside, it was
waved off because not one crewmember had been injured. As people swarmed around the aircraft, no one
could believe All American made it
home. She could have given up, but
instead sat placidly while the crew exited through the fuselage door and the
tail gunner climbed down a ladder. Soon
after, her aft section collapsed as if she knew she had done her job.
All American 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
I love stories about America 's past.......pass this on to
someone you know will appreciate this story.
