I've staggered back with a pilot wound and all kinds of bits hanging off my aeroplane. I sometimes do it just so the guy won't get the kill:t or just for the fun of getting it back on the ground in that state, or to land kills.
In WW2 pilots often staggered back to base with shot to bits, wounded with a faltering engine. It's the luck of the draw.
As an aside, looking at the film, lookit at all those Shermans. What WAS going on?