Twenty-five of the 1,291 bombers sent out that morning never returned and another 567 were damaged, largely from antiaircraft fire. The crew had managed to return safely from another trip over Germany despite having suffered tremendous damage, including more than 245 holes, mostly caused by the fierce ground fire over Leuna. The plane had been vibrating wildly in the air, but it eventually skid to a stop after spinning in circles across a grass strip adjacent to the main runway. As they approached the base at Molesworth, the heavy Fortress was grossly underpowered and intermittently stalling. As they worked their way back toward safety in England, the two port engines began smoking and had to be shut down and the two remaining engines cranked up as much as possible to keep the Fortress in the air.įuel was running desperately low as Göring ordered his crew to sit tight as they flew low over the icy English Channel. The plane suffered nearly fatal damage from fierce air defense fire from a German 88mm gun, like the Fliegerabwehrkanone (FlaK), along with other anti-aircraft guns. Before the day was over, the plane had flown some four hours eastward in an armada of 1,291 bombers to strike Leuna, a large chemical complex lying deep inside Germany. Göring, nephew of Nazi Reichsminister of Aviation Hermann Göring, and the other nine men on the ill-fated B-17 Flying Fortress.
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The November 21, 1944, daylight flight of Teddy’s Rough Riders was anything but routine for American pilot Werner G.