(07-26-2013, 04:53 AM)Scud Wrote: I read a book years ago that had tons of stories like that one. The most memorable one, for me, was a story a tail gunner told. His B17 had been badly hit and was in a horrific spin that was preventing him from putting on his chute and bailing out. Periodically, on the way down, he'd feel the plane leveling out, he'd try to put his chute on again, but then the plane would go back into a spin. Finally, just before hitting the ground, he felt everything level off and the plane crash landed. Upon exiting the tail he found there was no plane. The tail had been shot off the plane completely and he had ridden the tail all the way down.
Pretty sure this was the book, but I read it years ago. Tons of great stories: http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conserv...03932.html
Dave
Wow, that is amazing too. I know of another story like that but a Lancaster. The plane was hit and the crew were told to bail out, Flt Sgt Andrew Mynarski (a Canadian) was moving to the side door to jump out when he noticed the tail gunner stuck in the turret (the turret had to be traversed to the side to fall out). Mynarski grabbed an axe and crawled through burning hydraulic fluid to try and chop the gunner out but after several minutes the gunner just waved Mynarski off. Mynarski crawled back to the door and, with his clothes on fire, saluted the gunner and bailed out. The gunner observed Mynarski's chute on fire on the way down, killing Mynarski shortly after impact with the ground. Anyway, the gunner rode the burning Lancaster all the way down, survived the bomb load going off and impact with a tree as the explosion blew him out of the turret; Mynarski was awarded the V.C.
Don't you find it strange that the pilot was decorated for this? I also like that the tail gunner acted like the tail on a kite, weighting the ass end and keeping it steady.
Some of us are busy doing things; some of us are busy complaining - Debasish Mridha
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