This one took a direct flak hit over Köln, Germany that blew the nose off the plane and killed the bombardier. The pilot brought it safely back some 400 miles to its base in England, fighting what must have been a heck of a built-in headwind the whole way.
See also this photo, of a B-17 that was involved in a mid-air collision and made it home.
ReplyDeleteI wonder did they graft on a new nose or is that one of the ones they then put Liberator noses on.
ReplyDeleteAJDshootist
This reminds me of the WWII-era Four Vagabonds' song, "Coming in on a wing and a prayer."
ReplyDeleteI can email you an mp3 if you'd like to hear it.
(Have I pissed you off? What's with zzjxbymiqvbptrxviyen as a verification word? :-) )
Wow, thanks!
ReplyDeleteRe: "Liberator Nose"
ReplyDeleteThat looks like the G model with the chin turret. The B-17G entered service in late 1943, with over 4000 built by the end of the production run.
With all that damage it must have been an awful beast to fly home. Those pilots earned whatever medals they may have gotten.
Amazing!
ReplyDelete