whatilearned
Read more: https://access.historyhit.com/warfare/videos/chuck-richardson-b17
TIL while bombing Munich, a B17 got 2 engines knocked out & was denied permission to land in Switzerland. On the flight back to UK the crew jettisoned anything weighty, including their parachutes. They lost another engine but landed in Dover. The plane had 600 Bullet Holes
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Also the landing gear wouldn’t descend, so they had to hand crank that down, and when the fuel tanks were checked afterwards, there was zero fuel left.
My grandfather won the DFC when he landed his B17 with two engines out, no control of his rudder and his whole crew survived, on his last mission of the war.
He beached in France on Christmas day. We still have the telegram he sent to his parents. “Completed assignment, beach landing, be home soon.”
He met my Grandmother the day he got home at a BBQ.
Incredible!!
Parachutes weigh that much ? That would not be on my list to chuck out the window.
If you’re at the point you’re tossing the parachutes, it’s probably well past time to have used them.