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Author Topic: B-17 Miracle!  (Read 2161 times)

Offline MK-84

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #15 on: February 02, 2012, 08:40:37 PM »
It always amazes me to see how badly damaged these planes can get, yet still return home.
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Offline MarineUS

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #16 on: February 03, 2012, 11:01:15 AM »
I remember reading up on "Old 666" (I believe this is the right story), and before it was junked and then used as the special bomber with added gun - It was dropping bombs and one of the bombs took a direct flak hit and it damaged 9 (?) other bombers. Not sure how many went down. Can't really remember.
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Offline Tupac

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #17 on: February 03, 2012, 11:51:14 AM »
Quote from: MarineUS on February 03, 2012, 11:01:15 AM
I remember reading up on "Old 666" (I believe this is the right story), and before it was junked and then used as the special bomber with added gun - It was dropping bombs and one of the bombs took a direct flak hit and it damaged 9 (?) other bombers. Not sure how many went down. Can't really remember.

No, Old 666 was a plane much like the "Leper Colony" in 12 I clock high. A bunch of troublemakers. It went on a mission and everyone came back with a DFC and 2 people came back with a MOH (one posthumously)
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Offline Grendel

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #18 on: February 03, 2012, 12:04:06 PM »
Quote from: MK-84 on February 02, 2012, 08:40:37 PM
It always amazes me to see how badly damaged these planes can get, yet still return home.

And then those planes that went down from a single bullet. Or the Ki-43 that shot down two B-24s in row. With the MGs only.
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Offline Ack-Ack

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #19 on: February 03, 2012, 12:50:33 PM »
Quote from: Tupac on February 03, 2012, 11:51:14 AM
No, Old 666 was a plane much like the "Leper Colony" in 12 I clock high. A bunch of troublemakers. It went on a mission and everyone came back with a DFC and 2 people came back with a MOH (one posthumously)

No, the Old 666 wasn't like the Leper Colony and crewed by "troublemakers".  Old 666 was a beat up B-17 had a reputation for being a cursed bomber as it would always return with heavy damage.  It was grounded and being stripped for parts when someone had mentioned to Zeamer about Old 666 lying in salvage and Zeamer needing a bomber had it towed out of the salvage yard and fixed it up.

The crew of Old 666 weren't troublemakers and weren't assigned to Old 666 as punishment like the Leper Colony crew in 12 O'clock High.

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Offline 4Prop

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #20 on: February 03, 2012, 02:10:40 PM »
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Offline PFactorDave

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #21 on: February 03, 2012, 05:20:39 PM »
I'm curious about the plane that took the flak burst.  Do you think they stayed with the plane because the tail gunner was trapped in the tail by the damage?  Seems like they would have bailed out of that thing as soon as they got across the channel.

Amazing pictures.
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Offline colmbo

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #22 on: February 03, 2012, 05:50:26 PM »
Quote from: Ack-Ack on February 02, 2012, 07:59:26 PM

This series of photographs was taken during a bombing run on May 19, 1944 over Berlin. It shows a mishap which occurred when the bombs from one Flying Fortress struck and damaged one of the horizontal stabilizers of the tail of a B-17 which was beneath it.  The damaged B-17 went straight down and crashed, killing all onboard.

I met the ball-gunner from the airplane taking the photographs -- he lives in the Burbank area.  They didn't see any chutes from the aircraft that went down.

I talked to a few different vets that dropped badly wounded crew over Europe in the hopes they would get medical treatment -- at least one of them survived the war.
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Offline Ack-Ack

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #23 on: February 03, 2012, 05:56:39 PM »
Quote from: PFactorDave on February 03, 2012, 05:20:39 PM
I'm curious about the plane that took the flak burst.  Do you think they stayed with the plane because the tail gunner was trapped in the tail by the damage?  Seems like they would have bailed out of that thing as soon as they got across the channel.

Amazing pictures.

I think they stayed with the plane because it was still flyable and could possibly get them home rather than face an uncertain fate if they bailed out.

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Offline W7LPNRICK

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #24 on: February 03, 2012, 06:22:39 PM »
 :salute to the brave men who died, who with white knuckles flew it home, and those who had to clean it all up afterward.   :salute
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Offline olds442

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #25 on: February 03, 2012, 08:05:56 PM »
my great grand father was a B17 tail gunner he bailed over normandy and didnt come back his body was found in a tree in 1949 he was killed due to a unknown cause but most say that his chute went bad. i still have his gloves for his hands (they survived) those images bring chills down my spine.
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Offline DMVIAGRA

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #26 on: February 04, 2012, 12:47:38 PM »
Quote from: Ack-Ack on February 02, 2012, 07:40:59 PM
After a little bit of research, that B-17 in the first couple of pictures posted by DMViagra, the damage wasn't a result of a flak burst.  It was from a collision with an enemy plane.

The B-17 was named "All American" and flew with the 414th Squadron, 97BG and piloted by Lieutenant Kenneth R. Bragg.

(Image removed from quote.)
Same photo as #2 in DMViagra's post but from a slightly different angle

A picture of All American in flight.
(Image removed from quote.)

Another shot of it on the ground
(Image removed from quote.)

One more picture showing the damage to the left side.
(Image removed from quote.)

The other B-17 seems to be this B-17 that took a direct hit over Debrecen, Hungary, killing or wounding close to half the crew but made it back to England where it broke apart on landing.

(Image removed from quote.)


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Offline Scherf

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #27 on: February 04, 2012, 02:37:52 PM »
Edit - Reading Trouble on my part, Ack-Ack makes reference to "the other B-17" and is referring only to the first couple of pics in the original post.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2012, 03:36:25 PM by Scherf »
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Offline Beefcake

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Re: B-17 Miracle!
« Reply #28 on: February 04, 2012, 02:44:34 PM »
What about the B17 that was rammed in the tail by an enemy fighter but still managed to land? The pilots had to use the throttles to steer the thing.
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