But, the All American's job didn't end there:
While a Boeing engineer who inspected it stated that the airplane would not fly in such condition, later the 124406 was rebuilt and returned to action by the 50th Service Squadron.
Three survived from Captain Coulter’s bomber; Alfred D. Blair, bombardier; Ralph Birk, navigator and Sergeant Knight, tail-gunner entered a prison camp until the war was over.
The 50th MSS was originally constituted as Air Base Squadron, 49th Air Base Group Nov. 20, 1940, and activated at March Field (later March AFB), Calif., Jan. 15, 1941.
Within two days of activation, the squadron was redesignated the 50th Air Base Squadron and then 50th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron June 13, 1942.
After serving for three years as the installations' supporting squadron, the 50th disbanded on March 31, 1944.
After that, who knows.
One thing is for certain, the "iron men" of the sky held their planes together to help defeat Germany.
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“ALL AMERICAN” - The Miracle B17
The Flying Fortress was one tough bird!
An attacking Bf-109 fighter tumbled through the tail of a 97th Bomb Group B-17F named “All American” on a mission to Tunis, Tunisia, on February 1, 1943.
Flyers in other B-17s were astonished to see the stricken bomber pitch up, recover, and keep flying.
An airman aboard “The Flying Flint Gun” snapped a photograph that would become famous.
It shows “All American” struggling to make it home with no port horizontal stabilizer and a terrible gash through the fuselage.
The photo was sent home with the following message: "Censor, Should there be some law, rule, or regulation against sending the picture below to my wife, please seal the flap above and return -- it is an unduplicateable shot and one I should hate to lose."
“All American” made it back to Biskra, Algeria, with all aboard safe.
--National Archives/Army Air Forces
(So this story puts the B-17 in North Africa,not England ... hmmmm, look into it more.)
B-)
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