University of Social Training World War II Archives
FLYING FORTRESS
MIRACLE!!!
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 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 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 signalled 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.
--
Jim Dooley, Ph.D., CAsP, FAsMACol, USAF (Retired)