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Off topic - Landing of a B-17



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 27th 03, 04:41 PM
Ghost
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Default Off topic - Landing of a B-17

An interesting tale I ran across...

The Most Unbelievable Landing of a B-17 by George Ureke, Lt. Colonel, USAF
(Ret.)

Flying a bombing mission out of Foggia, Italy, off of Tortorella US Army Air
Field in Italy, during W.W.ll, our B-17 caught one hell of a lot of flack.
All four engines were still running, but ALL flight instruments failed. We
had no airspeed indicator. Since we were returning from the bombing mission
in formation we didn't really need flight instruments except for the
approach and landing. When we arrived over the base at Tortorella, we
peeled off, flying the landing pattern in trail formation. How to plan my
approach with no air speed indicator? An idea came to me. We'll drop
behind the ship in front of us, so that on the final approach, we can
establish a rate of closure to ensure that our approach speed would be above
stall speed.

Well, in the morning when we took off, the steel mat runway was covered with
three inches of slimy mud. It had been raining for weeks. Airplanes taking
off and landing just pushed the steel mat deeper into the mud. Every time
an airplane took off or landed, more and more slimy mud had pushed up on top
of the steel mat. So as we approached the mud-covered runway, there were
three or four inches of slippery slime on top of the mat.

But we were not worried (about coming in "hot") until I called for flaps.
Kenneth D. Goodwin, our co-pilot, replied, "We don't have any. They're not
coming down!" It was too late to crank them down by hand. We weren't about
to go around again without an airspeed indicator. Due to the"hot"approach
speed we didn't touch down until we were halfway down the field.

The airplane in front of us made a normal landing and turned off at a
taxi-strip about five-hundred feet short of the end of the runway. That
pilot managed to land short enough to turn to the left onto that first taxi
strip. As he turned, he looked out his left window and saw that we were
halfway down the field before we touched down. He turned to his co-pilot
and said, "Look out that right window. George is going to crash into the
gully at the end of the runway." (Several British bombers had hit that
gully in the past and they blew up.)

We finally got the plane on the mud and I hit the brakes. No brakes! In a
B-17, the pilot and co-pilot can look out their window and see the wheel on
their side. Every time I touched the brakes, the wheels would stop and we'd
hydroplane over the mud. I had one choice. Something we'd normally try to
avoid. Ground-loop!

I pulled No. 3 and 4 engines all the way back. I pushed No. 1 and 2
throttles forward to takeoff power, I called for "boosters" and started
tapping the right brake, trying to groundloop to the right, and let
centrifugal force tip the left wing into the ground. We'd damage the
airplane but avoid crashing into the gully. Normally, the plane would turn
and leave the runway. But it was so slimy that the wheels had no friction
to make it turn. The plane just kept sliding forward. No.1 and 2 engines
at full take-off power caused the airplane to spin around while sliding
straight down the runway. As it approached 180 degrees, I pushed number 3
and 4 throttles full forward.

Now we had "take off' power on all four engines. There we were, going
backwards toward the end of the runway with all four engines at full
take-off power. Well, we stopped right on the very end of the runway and
immediately started to taxi back to the taxiway we just passed while we were
sliding backwards. You can imagine how scared our navigator, James W.
Collier, and the bombardier, Lowell E. Clifton were, sitting in the nose of
the airplane as it approached the end of the runway and began to spin.

This manoeuvre is one that I'm sure had never been done previously nor will
it ever be done again. It isn't something anyone would want to practice. I
can only say that on that landing, Ken Goodwin and I were both co-pilots.
God was flying the airplane on that landing, which is why I call it the most
unforgettable landing in a B-17. And, you know, we never heard from
anybody. Nobody ever came to ask what had caused us to land backward.

All the medals we got were for far lesser accomplishments. That's why I say,
it was God who made that most unbelievable landing in a B-17.


  #2  
Old October 28th 03, 04:52 AM
guynoir
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An inspiring story! But it's too bad God didn't take the controls on
any of the British bombers. I guess that means there weren't any
Christians in their crews, how sad. They're probably all burning in
hell right now. I'm just glad God's on America's side!

Ghost wrote:

(Several British bombers had hit that gully in the past and they blew up.)

All the medals we got were for far lesser accomplishments. That's why I say,
it was God who made that most unbelievable landing in a B-17.



--
John Kimmel






















In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter -- bitter", he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

  #3  
Old October 28th 03, 05:35 PM
Corrie
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Default

What a foolish notion, 'guy'. God just wanted the Brit crews up in
heaven sooner than the Yanks, that's all.


guynoir wrote in message link.net...
An inspiring story! But it's too bad God didn't take the controls on
any of the British bombers. I guess that means there weren't any
Christians in their crews, how sad. They're probably all burning in
hell right now. I'm just glad God's on America's side!

Ghost wrote:

(Several British bombers had hit that gully in the past and they blew up.)

All the medals we got were for far lesser accomplishments. That's why I say,
it was God who made that most unbelievable landing in a B-17.

 




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