LedZap
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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 one of 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, John Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple.
"On the morning following the raid, John had gone down to ask our crew
chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck. The crew chief told
John 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 John.
"He was told that the shells had been sent to the bomb experts
to be defused. The armorers told him that after extensive examination
they could not say why the shells never exploded. John 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 was mind-boggling.
Translated, the note read:
*"This is all we can do for you now........."* "Using Jewish slave labor is
never a good idea."
story of a World War II bombing run over Kassel, Germany, and the unexpected
result of a direct hit on one of 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, John Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple.
"On the morning following the raid, John had gone down to ask our crew
chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck. The crew chief told
John 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 John.
"He was told that the shells had been sent to the bomb experts
to be defused. The armorers told him that after extensive examination
they could not say why the shells never exploded. John 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 was mind-boggling.
Translated, the note read:
*"This is all we can do for you now........."* "Using Jewish slave labor is
never a good idea."
