1943 Air Heroism
I consider it such a remarkable accounting of
perseverance, bravery and all out miracle.
This is really incredible as well as outstanding!
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
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 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
inside 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, 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 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.
