Profiles in Courage: B-17 All American Crew
Few Air Force legends are on par with the story of the "All American III," a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber that survived a mid-air collision with a Nazi fighter but still - somehow - made it home. It was the subject of one of the war's most famous photographs (no small feat) and may have inspired the phrase "A Wing and a Prayer."
Over the years, a story as miraculous as the crew of the "All American" (as it's come to be known) is bound to grow some misconceptions. Details get lost to history, and falsehoods get attached in the retelling, but the plane's bombardier, Ralph Burbridge, set the record straight before he died at age 92 in 2013.
Burbridge joined the U.S. Army Air Corps before the United States entered World War II. By the time the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, he was getting his bombardier's wings pinned on.
His first missions in the war were over the Gulf of Mexico, looking for German submarines. Next came bombing missions over France. He and his crew soon found themselves based in Algeria, attacking Axis targets in North Africa.
The day that would make him and his fellow crewman famous came on February 1, 1943. The All-American took its place in the 414th Bombardment Squadron to make an attack on the Nazi-controlled Mediterranean ports of Bizerte and Tunis. Their mission was a success, and the plane went over the target without incident.
It was on their trip back to base in Biskra, Algeria, that they and their B-17 would enter the history books. Although unscathed by anti-aircraft fire, the bombers were met by the German Luftwaffe as they flew home. Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighters swarmed their formation.
Two enemy fighters came right at the American bombers. One plane was flying directly at the lead aircraft in the formation. The other was coming at All-American from its starboard side. As a squadron, the nose gunners of the B-17s were able to bring down the Bf-109 flying at the lead plane. The other fighter probably wished he'd been shot down - or was a better pilot.
"His wings looked as though they were afire from his flaming guns," Burbridge said in a 2012 interview.
When the German pilot was about 300 yards away, he began a roll to pull down and away from the All-American after his attack run.
"About halfway through his roll, either my fire or fire from the lead ship must have killed the pilot or disabled the plane," said Burbridge. "He never completed his intended roll and rapid pass under our ship."
The German plane tore through the B-17 bomber's top fuselage, almost chopping off the entire tail section of the aircraft. The only thing keeping it on the rest of the plane was the metal airframe. The diagonal section cut off by the fighter missed the airframe in the tail, though it did cut out the left horizontal stabilizer.
All the crewmembers of All-American III hurriedly donned parachutes and prepared to bail out of the plane, but nothing happened. The plane was forced to move slower, but the rest of the bombers stayed in a defensive formation until they were in safer airspace, then headed back to base.
All-American's trip would take longer than expected. It had a gaping gash in the tail section, after all.
"It seemed like the trip back took ten years, but the base wasn't really that far," Burbridge said. "Somehow, Kenny [Bragg - the pilot of the plane] nursed the damaged plane and got us home later than everyone else."
What was left of the tail section and the right stabilizer shook so hard in flight that the crew thought it would fall apart any second. It was effectively crippled and flying slow, but it was still flying, and that's all that mattered in that moment.
It eventually returned to base and managed to land without its rear wheel. It not only survived the landing but survived a 100-yard skid as the plane slowed to a halt. Ground crews had all but given up hope for the aircraft, so the crew - who all survived the ordeal - landed to a welcome.
The plane held together once on that ground and didn't break apart until ground crews had climbed aboard to inspect the tail section. The event would also lead to a complete change in the 414th Bombardier Squadron's patch and logo.