Posted on 01/27/2016 9:18:27 AM PST by Kartographer
Disaster struck when a machine gun went off without warning, hitting two crew members and shooting off the plane's right stabilizer.
In a jaw-dropping display of valour and skill, Capt Rogers and Lt Gorse managed to control the stricken aircraft for two hours.
They jettisoned their bombs in The Wash, off the UK's east coast, and allowed their seven crewmates to bail out safely.
Once the last two had jumped through the bomb bay near King's Lynn, Rogers and Gorse continued to the North Sea. THE LIFE OF NORVILLE GORSE
Born in 1924, he was the son of a Chicago tailor who counted gangster Al Capone among his customers.
He began his pilot training aged just 19, eventually leaving the Air Force in 1945.
Lt Gorse went on to design rockets for NASA.
He married and has a son who is a specialist doctor in Missouri.
His nephew remembers him as a disciplined man who would do 50 sit-ups and push-ups a day at the age of 79. Lt Norville Gorse ended the War in a PoW camp
Lt Norville Gorse ended the War in a PoW camp
By now the engines were starting to fail and the battered bomber was fast losing height.
In his account, Gorse wrote: 'Rogers told me to jump.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
With all due respect - machine guns just don't go off without a "warning." Someone f*cked with the trigger. Exception for rounds "cooking off" after prolonged use but that is not this case.
Yup.
Thanks for the post.
Tweeted the link.
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Hmm... :-)
Well, it’s a great story but there are a few questions:
They accidently shot off the stabilizer but why did the engines overheat?
The group photo is not in front of a B-17. The tail looks like a B-24 but it looks small, and it has windows!
It’s what the Brits called a Hudson bomber. Actually a Lockeed Lodestar.
Itâs what the Brits called a Hudson bomber. Actually a Lockeed Lodestar.
Whoever wrote the title for this doesn’t know what a fight and bomber are “US WW2 fighter plane Flying Fortress discovered off Norfolk coast | Daily Mail Online”
Thanks for the photo. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.
Lockheed Hudson in costal command paint scheme.
I can see how it shot its own tail off.
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