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Re: B-17 #42-97899

Posted by Alan Morton on 4/6/2007, 8:41 pm, in reply to "B-17 #42-97899"
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Hi David ... Plane s/n 42-97899, piloted by Lt John F. Angier, was hit by a couple bursts of flak as they approached the target at Hamburg. The entire right wing was on fire and the #3 engine fell away from the plane. They dove down trying to extinguish the fire and leveled off for a few minutes before it exploded. Some chutes were seen. Howard Lang's chute failed to open. (See John Angier's story of this mission in "Black Puff Polly" by Roland Byers) Just as a matter of interest: as a former Flight Engineer like Lang, the Engineer's position was a precarious position immediately behind the Pilot and Co-Pilot. The Engineer's gunner's standing position was in the Top Turret. In order to operate the Top Turret the Engineer had to fly in the turret WITHOUT his chest pack parachute on, which he laid on the floor next to his turret. The likelihood the Engineer could not find his chute as the aircraft went into a dive to blow out an engine fire is REALITY. At this point, if the aircraft exploded the Engineer would have been blown out of the aircraft without his chute. This scenario is more likely fact than suggesting Lang's chute failed to open because of a chute malfunction.

Responses: Re: B-17 #42-97899 - Alan Morton 4/9/2007, 7:25 pm « Back to thread

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