Life getting you down? Too much angst, too much blah and not enough of the good stuff? Well, look at these two photos from World War II. On Feb 1, 1943, the B-17 All-American was attacked by German fighters, Me-109s, while bombing the docks at Tunis, Tunisia. One of the German pilots made an attack from in front and high, diving with his guns going. The gunners in the bomber shot back and probably killed or wounded him. His plane struck the B-17, nearly cut it in half, and disintegrated. Both the bombers right engines were out, probably hit by his bullets, the vertical fin and rudder were damaged, and the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator were carried away. All the control cables to the tail except one to the right elevator were severed. All-Americans pilot, Ist Lt Kenneth R. Bragg Jr, continued on the bombing run. Two more German fighters attacked and were driven off by the gunners. After dropping his bombs, Ken Bragg began a gentle turn to return to base. The plane threatened to come apart. The tail seemed balanced by the weight of the tail gunner, and vibrated ominously. Desperate, the crew used their parachute shrouds and parts of the German fighter that were inside the plane to brace the tail. They made it home. And gave us these amazing photos. So if your life seems blah, think for a moment about being in All-American under attack, what it was like when the Me-109 smashed in, what it was like in that vibrating wreck which was threatening to come apart as the pilot fought to keep her in the air. Your life could end at any second. Needless to say, All-American never flew again. But all the crew members did. Thats probably Ken Bragg standing by the tail. Say what you will, what an epitaph: He continued on the bombing run and brought his crew home. We should all be so fortunate.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 11:37:54 +0000
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