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Casualty Info
Home Town Birmingham, Alabama
Last Address Biskra Airfield, Algeria
Casualty Date Dec 26, 1942
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Artillery, Rocket, Mortar
Location Tunisia
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment North Africa American Cemetery - Tunis, Tunisia
Boeing B-17F-5-BO SN 41-24406 after collision with Me-109 on 1 Feb 1943 Tunisia
Boeing B-17F-5-BO (S/N 41-24406) "All American III" of the 97th Bomb Group, 414th Bomb Squadron, in flight after a collision with an Me-109. The aircraft was able to land safely.
1 February 1943 Tunisia
"Pistol Packin' Mama" was hit by flak. The crew had a standing order that if the interior ever filled with smoke, the crew was to immediately bail out, not waiting for the bail-out alarm to sound. After the bomber was hit, it soon filled with smoke. The bail-out alarm sounded but the bomb bay doors were not open. The alarm was activated by a ball on a cable. The pilot or co-pilot would pull this ball and the cable would open the bomb-bay doors and toggle all of the bombs. After the bombs jettisoned, the crew in that area of the A/C could go out the bomb bay. Apparently the pilot had not pulled the cable far enough and Charlie and several other crew were trapped in the back of the airplane as it went down. Charlie did not have his "walk-around" oxygen bottle hooked up, nor was he hooked into the oxygen system as he tried to get out of the airplane and he passed out. The airplane lost about 15,000 feet and leveled off by itself. During this "death dive", the air rushing through the airplane displaced the smoke. Another crew member revived Charlie and they discovered that the A/C was still flyable. The smoke was caused when the flak cut a hydraulic line and fluid sprayed onto a hot voltage regulator near the pilot's seat. The pilot, co-pilot, navigator and bombardier had all bailed out. Remaining was Charlie, who was the flight engineer and top turret gunner, the other gunners and another pilot, who was along on the mission to get one more mission in. They discovered that although a supercharger seal had blown out, leaving them without full power, they still had enough power to get over the Alps (or some other mountain range) and back to Foggia, Italy before the rest of the Bomb Group had even returned. The rest of the crew were guests of the German government for the rest of the war. One of them was shot and killed after taking on a German patrol with nothing but his .45. (It's advisable to not bail out over the area you previously bombed if at all possible.) A write-up of this event was in the Stars and Stripes. Not sure which edition.
B-17 "All American" (414th Squadron, 97BG) flown by Lieutenant Kendrick R. Bragg
A mid-air collision on February 1, 1943 between a B-17 and a German fighter over the Tunis dock area became the subject of one of the most famous photographs of World War II. An enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb Group formation went out of control, probably with a wounded or dead pilot. It crashed into the lead aircraft of the flight, ripped a wing off the Fortress, and caused it to crash. The enemy fighter then continued its crashing descent into the rear of the fuselage of a Fortress named All American, piloted by Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg, of the 414th Bomb Squadron. When it struck, the fighter broke apart, but left some pieces in the B-17. The left horizontal stabilizer of the Fortress and left elevator were completely torn away. The vertical fin and the rudder had been damaged, the fuselage had been cut approximately two-thirds through, the control cables were severed, and the electrical and oxygen systems were damaged. Although the tail swayed in the breeze, one elevator cable still worked, and the aircraft still flew-miraculously! The aircraft was brought in for an emergency landing and when the ambulance pulled alongside, it was waved off for not a single member of the crew had been injured. No one could believe that the aircraft could still fly in such a condition. The Fortress sat placidly until three men climbed aboard through the door in the fuselage, at which time the rear collapsed. The rugged old bird had done its job.
Wing/Command Assignment
VIII BC 20 May 1942
VIII BC, 1 BW Aug 1942
Combat Aircraft:
B-17E
B-17F
Stations
POLEBROOK 13 Jun 1942 to 25 Nov 1942
GRAFTON UNDERWOOD 6 Jun 1942 to 8 Sep 1942
Group COs
Col. Cornelius W. Cousland 3 Feb 1942 to 29 Jul 1942
Col. Frank A. Armstrong 31 Jul 1942 to 27 Sep 1942
Col. Joseph H. Atkinson 27 Sep 1942 to 5 Jan 1943
First Mission: 17 Aug 1942
Last Mission: 21 Oct 1942
Missions: 14
Total Sorties: 247
Total Bomb Tonnage: 395 Tons
Aircraft MIA: 14
Major Awards:
None
Claims to Fame
Flew 8th AFs first heavy bomber mission from United Kingdom on 17 Aug 1942.
Early History:
Activated 3 February 1942 at MacDill Field Fl. formed and trained there until end of March 1942 when the unit moved to Sarosota AAB, Fl for training. Went overseas on the 15th of May 1942, with the aircraft of the 340th, and 341st BSs flying to Dow Field in, Me., and those of the 342nd, and 414th BSs to Grenier Field in NH. Elements were detached to Pacific coast bases from 2 to 11 June 1942. The first B-17s left for the UK on the 23rd of June 1942, flying by the northern ferry route, Goose Bay, Greenland, to Prestwick. The first B-17s arrived in England on the 1st of July 1942. The ground unit sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on the 4th of June 1942 and arrived in Clyde on the 10th of June 1942.
Subsequent History:
Assigned the 12th AF, XII BC, 14 September 1942, but continued to operate under VIII BC. The main part of the aircraft left Polebrook on the 18th of November 1942 for Hurn, prior to flying directly to North Africa. The ground unit sailed in convoy late in November 1942. Operations in the Mediterranean theater with the 12th Air Force for a year, then the group established in Italy as part of the 15th Air Force. The unit flew the first shuttle mission to Russia from Italy. Attacking targets chiefly in southern Germany and the Balkins.
The unit was established as a B-29 group in the states in 1946, and served as a Strategic Air Command wing for over 20 years flying B-47s, and later B-52s.
