Good piloting skills there !!
Nick
"In all my years as a soldier, I have never seen men fight so hard." - SS Obergruppenfuhrer Wilhelm Bittrich - Arnhem
Would have been a short flight!
And whats going on with the fuselage aft of the turret? ??
More damage - it looks squashed?
" I'm putting off procrastination until next week "
Good piloting skills, bad physics application... Lucky guys nevetheless!
These guys were the best back then.
That is some flying.
Description of damage from book by Barrett Tillman.
TBM-3 White 113 of VT-82, USS Bennington (CV-20), February 1945
"This Avenger was subject to one of the most dramatic aircraft photos of World War 2. Heavy flak damage resulted in the loss of nearly half the port wing, in addition to a five foot section of fuselage decking immediately aft of the turret. However, the VT-82 pilot skillfully retained control of his doomed TBM long enough to make a successful water landing."
At least they survived.
A very Challenging event.
John
I specialize in M1 carbines and Lugers.
good pilot.
Grumman wasn't called the 'Ironworks' for no reason. The turkey was pretty rugged and stable in flight. so long as no vital systems were compromised a visibly damaged aircraft can remain airborne a long time without a lot of extra piloting effort. There are some B-17 's that are way worse off than this poor guys that managed to limp back.
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