An Amazing WWII Story

[ronscarpa]

          An Amazing WWII Story

 

What a terrific - story!!!

 

                                                         Photo was not allowed by DV...!

 

This story is confirmed in Elmer Bendiner's book, The Fall of Fortresses.

*Sometimes, it's not really just luck.*

Elmer Bendiner was a navigator in a B-17 during WW II. He tells this story of a World War II bombing run over Kassel, Germany , and the unexpected result of a direct hit on their gas tanks. "Our B-17, the Tondelayo, was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns.

That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion our gas tanks were hit. 
Later, as I reflected on the miracle of a 20 millimeter shell piercing the fuel tank without touching off an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple. "On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck.

 

The crew chief told Bohn that not just one shell but 11 had been found in the gas tanks. 11 unexploded shells where only one was sufficient to blast us out of the sky. It was as if the sea had been parted for us. A near-miracle, I thought.

 

Even after 35 years, so awesome an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest of the story from Bohn. "He was told that the shells had been sent to the armorers to be defused. The armorers told him that Intelligence had picked them up. They could not say why at the time, but Bohn eventually sought out the answer. "Apparently when the armorers opened each of those shells, they found no explosive charge. They were as clean as a whistle and just as harmless.

 

Empty? Not all of them! One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it was a scrawl in Czech. The Intelligence people scoured our base for a man who could read Czech. Eventually they found one to decipher the note. It set us marveling.

Translated, the note read: *"This is all we can do for you now... Using Jewish slave labor is never a good idea."

 

 

 

[gymrat76541]

WOW amazing!

[EagleEye]

it certainly took me back.....Dec 20th 1972 over Hanoi, NVM, I was the co-pilot in a B-52D model with a SAM locked on to our aircraft and rapidly approaching (visible on my side), I called BREAK...and the Aircraft Commander turned into the missile...what happened next astounded everyone...there was a loud clang on the underside of the Nav's hatch, as if we had been struck.....the explosion gave the AC flash blindness momentarily...I took over the airplane and rolled out wings level....although the Nav went numb from the waist down briefly...there was no apparent damage to the ship....nor any sign of the hit when we landed in Thailand....the "experts" all said it was IMPOSSIBLE...the missile had a solid lock which never broke....the sound was attributed to the shock wave of the missile passing by the ship ....therefore only about 1' and there was no understandable reason that it did not do to us what happened to more that 20 B-52's in the same predicament....

 

OH....did I neglect to mention my silent and rather hastily uttered prayer just before "impact"..."Father I cannot handle this one !"...there is more but that is the gist of the story

 

On the ground I determined to find my true purpose...I have pastored for nearly 30years now...to God be ALL the glory !!

 

HE SAVED ME WHEN I COULD NOT SAVE MYSELF !!!

[ronscarpa]

Good Story Eagle Eye - God bless you (+1) ... I've got a few stories of my own from flying RC-135D/Ms from Haiphong South to Da Nang, and worked  in conjunction with the SR-71 missions. We had the linguists, tacticians, and ravens on-board for the 12-13 hours on station.  We flew down from Kadena AFM, Okinawa to our station, then back - 18.5-21 hours. I was also flying my second mission on the day of the Tet offensive, when the whole country was on fire...awful stuff..! God's hand was definitely upon both of us (Psalm 91) - you to be a pastor and me an evangelist (33+ years).

 

Definitely....to God be the Glory..! 

[EagleEye]

small world indeed my brother....my USAFA classmate and pilot training Bible study buddy Charles Baldwin flew Jolly Greens and went on to become the Chief of all Chaplains...

 

PS our Class motto; Esse Non Videri

 

 

To be not to seem !!

[ronscarpa]

I was in Class 66A at Craig AFB in Selma, AL - started 1 July 1964, and graduated in August 1965..! My first juant to VN was in 67 in KC-135's then in RC's in 1968 until Feb 1971. I went to work at North American on the B-1 program, then to Western Airlines in Feb 1973....merged with Delta in 1987, and retired from Delta on Jan 1st, 2003 (29 years 11 months).  Started ministering in 1981, helped plant 3 churches, and got a DMin in Biblical Counseling in 2002. Worked as a police Chaplain for 3 agencies for 5 years, and as a volunteer hospital & Hospice Chaplain  for about 15 years (still volunteer). Sorry I rambled...blessings, RON 

I'm on linked-in:

www.linkedin.com/pub/ronald-scarpa/3b/685/76a/

[Thriver]

Ron & EagleEye. Thanks to both of you for your service and ministries! Blessings!