Transcription
It's February the 1st, 1943, and taking off from Biscar in Algeria are a formation of B-17 bombers belonging to the 414th Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group. Their target is 300 miles away at the seaport of Tunis, which is controlled by the Germans.
At the controls of his B-17F, The All-American, sits Lieutenant Ken Bragg Jr. and his co-pilot, Godfrey Engel Jr. On route, the B-17s were repeatedly harassed by BF-109s. Putting up a brave defense, they managed to make it through to the target, and the German fighters peel off just before the flak starts up.
The bombardier, Ralph Burbridge, takes control. The flak is very thin, and the crew are shook. Repeatedly, Burbridge though, does his job and over Tunis releases the load of bombs. The All-American and the rest of the B-17s turn for home.
On their return, once out of the flak, the formation is targeted again by German fighters. Tenaciously, they hang on to the formation, doing repeated passes and taking chunks out of the B-17s. That is until their maximum range is reached and the Germans are forced to turn back home. Thankfully, The All-American is still in good shape, and all the crews breathe a sigh of relief as they're almost out of German range.
But any celebrations are too early when suddenly the cry goes up, "Bandits!" as two BF-109s are spotted. At the controls of the fighters are two very experienced German pilots. One of the BF-109s targets the lead plane in the squadron. The gunners on The All-American try and defend the lead bomber. The right side gun pumps lead into the BF-109, and it's a critical hit. The 109 slipped under the formation, streaming smoke and oil, and went down in the desert below.
Meanwhile, the second 109, Yellow One, piloted by Eric Paxia, gets The All-American in its sights. Paxia is an experienced pilot with 16 victories to his name. His plan is to take The All-American head-on and roll underneath it. The nose gunner has other plans and gets to work. The All-American is hit repeatedly, but the plucky crew continue their defense, peppering Yellow One with lead all the time. It's flying closer to the point it's filling the gun sights in the BF-109.
His attack run done, Paxia starts to roll and line up for another attack. But the hail of fire from the B-17 has done its job, incapacitating the pilot. Whether through injury or mechanical problems, he is unable to complete his maneuver, and the plane heads straight for The All-American. The crew hear a "whump" and a shudder as the out-of-control 109 plowed into The All-American. The alarming noise of the two birds colliding coincides with a storm of twisted, tangled, razor-sharp metal flying about, stunning the crew.
The plane lurched, and arrived at the controls with Bragg struggling to keep her straight and level. Picking themselves off the ground, the crew were amazed to see a huge gaping hole in the fuselage. The 109 had completely disintegrated, but it left its mark on the now seemingly critically injured warbird. The crew were also astounded to find bits of the 109 lying around inside the fuselage, or what was left of the fuselage.
The B-17 had been almost entirely torn in two. The tail end of the plane was connected to the main fuselage by just two small parts of the airframe. Despite their reputation as tough and hard to bring down, this B-17 should have been critically damaged. The melee had left its mark. None of the right-hand engines were now running; only one engine on the left was fully operational. The rudder had been damaged, and the vertical fin looked like it would give way at any moment.
Unbelievably, the entire crew was still alive. They tightened their parachutes, ready to jump as soon as the tail gave up its tenuous connection to the aircraft. But again, unbelievably, The All-American kept on flying. Other B-17s in the formation were amazed to see the plane, almost torn in two, pitch up, recover, and continue flying. It seemed to everyone like a miracle.
Lieutenant Charles Cutforth, in an accompanying bomber, The Flying Flit Gun, snapped an image of the stricken bomber that would become famous: The All-American cruising over the desert landscape with a ragged slice through its fuselage.
Bragg later recalled, "As I opened the door of the radio compartment and looked back into the fuselage, I was stunned. A torn mass of metal greeted my eyes. Wires were dangling and sheets of metal were flapping as the air rushed through the torn wreckage. Three-fourths of the plane had been cut completely through by the enemy fighter, and a large piece of the wing of the Me-109 was still lodged in the tail of our plane. It left our tail section hanging on by a few slender spars and a narrow strip of metallic skin."
Sergeant Sam Sarpolis, the tailgunner, decided it was time to escape his position in the most fragile part of the plane and crawled along the spars to make it back into the main fuselage, bringing with him four gun brushes, his parachute, and Bragg's jacket.
The formation slowed and stayed with the plane until they were safely over American-controlled airspace, then went ahead to land. The brave pilots of The All-American managed to ease the plane down on a straight landing trajectory at Biscaro without a rear wheel. Now, the incredibly resilient B-17 held together as it came skidding to a halt. The crew exited the plane and, apart from minor injuries, were unhurt. Even The All-American was not critically injured. The bird that wouldn't be put down was patched up and continued to the end of the war, eventually having to be scrapped.
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