The B-17 Gunner Who Drowned In His Turret Defending His Friends
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- Опубліковано 19 лют 2024
- This is the incredible story of TSGT Arizona T. Harris, a Top Turret gunner and Flight engineer who died defending his friends to the last. In the video I explain the last mission of his B-17, Sons of Fury, and suggest three scenarios that might have led to Arizona being in that turret when the Fort sunk.
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⏱️ Timestamp:
0:00 intro
Images: other than where stated, images used in the video have been found on commons.wikimedia.org/
#aviationhistory#history
There must have been many stories like this that are lost to history that we will never know . Respects to those brave men !
So all of the airmen assigned to the B-17 ''Sons of Fury'' died at sea on 3 January 1943?
This story sounds very similar to an event portrayed in the novel 12 O'clock High (but not included in the movie). In the book the crew survives because of the sacrifice made by the flight engineer who posthumously receives the Medal of Honor. Is it fact or fiction?
The only scenario - other than those you mentioned Phil - that comes to mind is that the 190 pilot's after action report mentioned being shot at from the aircraft in the water /and/ which turret was shooting. That was /later/ matched to the aircraft and it was /assumed/ Harris was in that turret. Also assuming the 190 pilot was right about which turret shot back at him, and also assumes /anyone/ did. Being shot at gives him shooting back more legitimacy than shooting undefended men in a raft.
great video, as always 🤗👍
When I first read that story in 1950s it was a B24 Liberator.
You video is well done and in it you mention you have done hours of research on this topic. As a native of Tempe, Arizona with a personal interest in this story, I have done years of research on this story including personal interviews with his brother George and sister Ruth, and access to both 306th bomb group records and access to Pentagon records. It was through the research I've done and photos, I've provided, obtained from Todd's family, that Todd's Story (his family always called him Todd) is honored in the Cambridge American Cemetery's Hall of Sacrifice. I am glad you did this video to help keep Todd's story alive, however there are several discrepancies in our research I would like to make note of. In After Mission interrogation reports, Son's of Fury receive a direct flak hit over the target to the underside of the nose and taking out the number 3 engine also causing number two to be smoking. Reports also included information that up seven enemy fighters, including 190's and a single 109 were involved in the attack on Sons of Fury both before and after ditching. German fighters always tended to focus on damaged bombers first. Four chutes were seen prior to ditching. This info was all noted by other bomber groups and personal in the group, not only planes from the 306th, but also from the 91st, 303rd, and 305th who observed. His brother George also reported in interview that sometime after the war, William Casey, pilot, who was aboard another 306th plane, Banshee, made a trip to Tempe and told the family the story. Three different navigators who witnessed the ditching all gave coordinates at or near 49 degrees 3 minutes N and 5 degrees, 15 minutes W, which is a much different position of the ditching than noted in the video. My research through German records indicate that credit for the kill was given to two members of JG2, Ofw. Karlheinz Munsche and Uffz. Karl Höfer Knowing who Todd was as told by his brother, I am inclined to believe that your first scenario is the only possible one, but I concede that no one lived to tell the story. One other note, it was not a high school sweetheart back home Todd longed to come home to, his brother George and sister Ruth both remember letters home from Todd saying he found love in the village of Thurleigh and described the english girl he had fallen for. Both of them had always wondered what might have been, and what had happened to this girl. Much of Todd's letters and other items were lost in a fire many years ago, so her name will remain lost to time. Again, thanks for helping to keep Todd's story alive. If you are interested in the article I originally wrote for publication in Arizona Highways (it was never published as a result of a change in policy to not include history stories anymore) here is the link.
How this guy win an medal if no one lived to recommend him one?
As an Arizonan, Tempe and Phoenix are different cities, and in 1943 they were separated by about ten miles of farms, open desert, and a former river. Great story though!
Great stuff as always & very informative too! May I ask what do you use for the computer graphics showing the aircraft?
What a man! God bless you, your friends and partners! Would that we had your sort today!
Was it standard practice for Luftwaffe fighters/pilots to follow damaged bombers out over the channel? I know that bombers that were damaged and either fell out of, or fell behind the rest of the formation were often targeted to be finished off by German fighters, but I am curious as to the tactical reasoning for following a damaged bomber out over the channel, just to confirm the kill? Coup de grace? To get points for a bomber kill? Seems like a bit of a risk especially if there were allied fighters coming out to escort the bombers the rest of the way back to England.
Good video. Know that event and witness report (MACR 16427). German pilot Fritz Rosle shot down two B-17 at
Never knew about this.
I know the crash landing positions in the B17, But i can not find any information about the crash landing procedures in the B29. From what i know about the B29 there are next to no safe positions in the plane that i know of. But there must have been procedures for crash landing, fuel shy B29's they where ditching all the time the last year up to Japans surrender.
What depth is the sea where they ditched ? Any remains could still be in the aircraft so could be recovered and identified and laid to rest .
How does that turret operate? Hydraulic? Electric? Hand crank? And could it operate when the B17 was in the drink?
Looks like you used DCS for your video? Good choice.
I would like to know if possible, if any bodies were recovered
So what happened to the crew that did make it out of the plane then?