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Amazing story, gunners flew it back and landed, would like to see a movie on this

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It definitely didn’t happen that way.     Maybe one of the gunners was an experienced multi engine pilot who had lost his wings because of health issues, or for some infraction?

I’d like to read the real story, if anyone has it.

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It definitely didn’t happen that way.     Maybe one of the gunners was an experienced multi engine pilot who had lost his wings because of health issues, or for some infraction?

I’d like to read the real story, if anyone has it.

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Not sure why you think that.
Here is a story about the tail gunner that was on the plane.
It mentions the incident, but not in detail.
On a Wing and Several Prayers: The Story of a B-17 Tailgunner

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C’mon Man.  .   If you’re gonna Post it, take the time to Read it.   The truth is often more interesting than fiction.

The Navigator and the Bombardier bailed out.

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I did read it. So what is the problem?

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The chin turret was added because the German pilots found that in a direct head on attack, neither the belly turret nor the dorsal turret could target them.

As it turned out, it was also the end of a dream for two more cadets from my room, so a total of three out of the eight of us washed out at that time. We assumed that was also the end of cadet training, and it would be regular army for us, which was a very depressing thought. But a day or so later I was requested to report to headquarters, where I was advised I had also passed the tests for navigator and bombardier training, and given a choice which I would like. Without thinking, I said Navigator, (which was a strange choice for someone who was always lost during flight training), and shortly received orders to report to Selman Field, LA. I was still an Aviation Cadet....

I arrived at Selman Field in July 1943, and reported to my barracks. Much to my surprise I found out that all the cadets in my barracks were washed out would-be pilots. This was second choice for all of them. These were the most pissed off guys in the US Army Air Corps, greatly in need of attitude adjustment. It turned out that most of the men in the other barracks were also washed out pilot trainees. We began to wonder if they didn't flunk a certain percentage just so they would have enough navigators or bombardiers.

We started Navigation Preflight training, but in short order the powers that be realized that we had just gone through that in pilot training, and decided that all future navigators should learn how to handle a 50 caliber aerial machine gun. So we had hardly had time to mess up our cots at Selman when we were transferred to Tyndall Field in Florida for aerial gunnery school.

When we first started training, most of us had never shot any kind of a gun before in our lives. So we started with 22 caliber rifles shooting at moving targets, like at the amusement parks. From there we went to moving targets on a rifle range. Then we learned to shoot the 50 caliber machine guns at stationary and moving targets on the ground.


In the air we could only use 30 caliber guns because the training planes couldn't carry the larger 50 caliber units plus 4-5 trainees. From these planes we practiced on air targets being towed by another plane. Needless to say, these were attached as far away from the towing plane as physically possible. Each student had his own colored ammunition, so after each flight we could tell who had how many hits. We also trained on stationary targets in the ocean from a two-seater trainer with the machine gun mounted on a semicircular ring type arrangement in the rear seat. This ring was so set up that the machine gun could not be positioned in such a way as to shoot off the wings or tails of the trainer. I always wondered which came first, the design of the mount or an indication of the need for such a design.


We also trained on the ground with shotguns mounted on an airplane type turret, doing skeet and trap style shooting. We had two houses releasing the clay pigeons, one low and one high. This was the most fun of all, and I got quite good at it, in spite of a rather frightening incident. The turrets we used had Plexiglas shields, usually broken to some degree, to protect us from flying pigeon pieces. One day when I hit one of the birds, a shard came through one of the holes and hit me in the eye. When I opened my eye, I couldn't see anything out of it. It was like staring at an opaque white sheet with no objects or details on it. I was terrified. I dismounted the turret and ran to the range office and told him what had happened. He immediately called an ambulance, which whisked me off to the hospital. There they found that the piece had hit the eyeball, but fortunately just missed the pupil, so they felt no permanent damage was done. Later that day I began to see about half of what I was looking at, and within a couple days had regained by sight completely. But that was a very panicky time, not only because of the fear of losing my sight, but maybe more so fearing it would be the end of my military career.


On the skeet range we also used jeeps, holding a shotgun while standing in a supporting ring. When we were using vehicles, we were told to only load one shell at a time. However, when no instructor was riding along we'd put in 2-3 rounds, and rapid fire at the same target, really pulverizing it. Of course the instructors could hear what was going on, but no one would ever admit to it.


We were scored on our performances in each day's training, either by an instructor if one was present, or by keeping our own score. The base had a monthly newsletter, and the last page was devoted to Gunner of the Month, including a picture. The last month we were there, there was a close match for this honor between another trainee and me. However, the final tally gave it to him, and I can still remember how disappointed I was. (snip)

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Gunners piloting a crippled B-17 to a landing sounds far fetched.

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Gunners piloting a crippled B-17 to a landing sounds far fetched.

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What about the bears used to test the B-58 escape capsule system?