The B-17 Gunner Who Fell 20,000 Feet with No Parachute (And Lived) - A True Story 

Your sponsoring by the infernal RAID whores made me stop watching.

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Hey T.J. , very Well Met. 😊 I hate to Nit-Pick , but at several points you call the aviation branch of the U.S. Military ; Air Force, Air Forces and lastly Army Air Force. Since the United States Air Force was not a separate branch of the U.S. Military until 18 Sept., 1947 . I know this and much more about My/Our beloved USAF since I'm a Veteran of said Air Force and I remember the emphasis Command was putting on to young Airmen like I was in 1986 as we prepared for the 40th Anniversary Celebrations down at Lackland Air Force Base {AFB} when I was there going through Boot Camp.👍😄 And with regards to you saying "Army Air Forces" you were close, but it should have been ""The Army Air Corps"" since the Air Force was still a part or the US Army from 1 Aug., 1907 till 17 Sept., 1947. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. While it was a part of the US Army the USAF was much like the US Marine Corps in that they were both a lower, lesser part of a bigger whole part ~~~ the Air Corps a part of ' The Department of the Army ', and the Marine Corps a part of " The Department of the Navy". It was the NSA that got the Air Force free and out from under the Army's shadow and let it "Spread It's Wings", so to speak. Now a days we have the Marines still under the Dept. of the Navy, the Dept. of the Army on it's own as well as the US Coast Guard who is now a part of Homeland Security. And then the US Air Force has been it's own Master since Sept.18th, 1947 so 74 + years now with a Big 75th U.S.Air Force b-day coming up on the September date next year. 🙂

No!Never!

@@T--madefromstalinium h in vb.

Wow!!

Wow!

That's incredible. Thank-you for his service.

great to here his story keeping them remembered ,i live in England close to old b17 bases like Chelveston ,Poddington , to name a few

I bet he had the "falling" nightmare often after that. That would be horrifying.

Exactly , it is as I try to say to any that will listen to my words since I am of Irish--German blood "" Not all Germans were Nazi's , and not all Nazi's were German" . Just look at the main character of the fantastic movie " Schindler's List ", Oskar Schindler. He was not German but Czech if memory serves me well tonight ? He is also , I believe , the only Non-Jewish person honored on their / Israel's "Walk of Life" {?}/ Edit: Ok, it was called the " Righteous Among the Nations ", and Oskar Schindler was the only active Member of the Nazi Party to be honored with that title and distinction.

@@TheSirStrazzen you also had the German called the "Good Doctor" who was anti nazi but continued to serve his job as a doctor.

My father lived in the Netherlands during WW2. He said the average German fighting man (soldier) was a decent man. He never had good words for the SS though.

@@TheSirStrazzen amogus

almost more incredible

I remember that incident very well. Years and years ago, when I was in grade school, there was an article about him in my Weekly Reader magazine. It was entitled “I fell 18,000 feet and lived.” He made it sound like it was no big deal.......hit some snow covered branches and landed in a deep snow drift. Wow!

@@surferdude44444 Wow. Weekly Reader. That brought back memories! (could've done without the "years and years ago" part, though). 🤨

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@@meanderingmarley3910 I read this too, way - way back in 1960 something in 4th grade. My how time flies when you're having fun!

Falling from that height, survival is nothing but pure luck. What likely saved him is the fact that he never hit the ground.

Praise God for his survival.

Indeed praise god.

Simon Clarke you are correct. The story of a B 17 crewman doing this is a fabrication. The Lancaster tail gunner jumped because he thought that dying by hitting the ground was preferable to burning to death. He did indeed hit trees and landed in a snow drift. He was injured and the Germans picked him up. They accused him of being a spy because he had no parachute. Later when they inspected his aircraft they found the remains of his parachute still in its place in the rear of the aircraft.

Did the Lancaster’s fly at same altitudes (20K-28K Ft.)?

@@kennyj4366 according to Google 24,000 feet.

I was wondering how the TBF came into play. :) Your video called to mind a book I have. War Pilot by Richard Kirkland recounts the author witnessing a B-25 crash in the Pacific. A crew member fell out of the (inverted) bomber and landed on a tent before it crashed. Highly recommend the book.

Fantastic video. Excellent work in bringing this story forward to all of us. Thanks a million. 👍

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Look up Harry Dennison of North Bay Ontario Canada, AKA as No Chute

it was excellent !!

you saw "GO IN"?

Uh what? You had 10 or 11 fatalities and people kept coming back?

@@bradsanders407 No I was was a skydiver and spend a lot of time at drop zones Zephyrhills is and still has been a very popular drop zone and keep in mine this was late 70s early 80s The transition from round canopies to square canopies was interesting and sometimes just accidents two people colliding and not wearing helmets both knocked out all the way to the ground most likely not hard when you jump out of a DC3 with 30 or 40 people in the air at one time or in some cases 2 or 3 planes there no little mistakes I think Zephyrhills in one year in the early 80s Zhills had like 25,000 jumps made and two people die and both where rookie at the sport one I think had 20 something jumps and remember no static line

I am a skydiver and I have seen 4 people go in, but only one with nothing out at all and I think that was a suicide. The sound of a body hitting the ground and the thud that goes along with it is impressive......and very sad.

Unfortunately that "someone from above" didn't watch out for seven other crew members of that B-17 or the approximately 50 million other people who died in WW2.

@@ALSmith-zz4yy : well, I guess that "someone" was too busy with saving Allan Magee.

@@ALSmith-zz4yy ...well, "ya can't please EVERYBODY!!"

@@stranraerwal Or there was no "someone".

@@ALSmith-zz4yy Whether you like it or not, or agree with it or not, "Someone" does things His own way, in His own time. "Someone" doesn't owe me a damn thing, but chose to send His Son to deliver us from the perils we ALL suffer. Some much worse than others.

Nicholas Alkemade, RAF?

Elmer

His parachute was still in the plane as the Germans found it in the plane wreck. This is how they confirmed his story otherwise the Gestapo were gonna shoot him as a spy if he did not tell them where his parachute was buried. He had time to check on it while the plane was falling , but discovered that it was on fire in the place that it was stowed so he left the burning wreck and landed in 18 inches of snow under a load of pines that slowed his fall from 18000 feet. It seems that later on in his life he had a few more near death experiences. The Grim reaper just could catch this guy.

Cedar tree .

...WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?!!

Thanks!

How high was the fall?

@@tinchorb1340 18,000ft. The Gestapo didn't believe him and we're going to shoot him as a spy but he kept insisting it was true. Eventually they found the Lancaster remains with the burnt parachute which saved Alkemade. The Germans had a ceremony by his bedside toasting the miracle of his survival, later he became something of a celebrity in the POW camp.

@@thylacinenv incredible Thanks

@@thylacinenv That is Exactly what I call a "Happy ever After" tale, and I Love them! Thanks!

i bet you believe in santa claus too--shit happens,good or bad

...the Purple Heart is awarded for being INJURED- if you can walk away without a SCRATCH- it doesn't count!!!

He never said he didn't suffer any injuries just that he was able to walk away.

@@andysnyder4506 ...LET'S NOT SPLIT HAIRS-!!!

I live not far from where your uncle's B17 crashed. If you watch the 1985 British comedy movie "Clockwise " starring John Cleese, there is a scene about half way through where John sits on the roadside grass verge with a girl, right by a triangular road sign. This is the exact spot the centre section and cockpit of the B17 came down on the road. Whenever l drive on that particular road l spare a thought for your uncle and his crew mates and will visit the crash site in November on the 80th Anniversary, they are not forgotten in Shropshire.

Thanks!

Thanks Kyle!

It's not even the hitler channel any more.

History Channel needs an enema.( I thought I was the only one who noticed it was "Those evil Nazis!!!!" Channel"

@@ColKorn1965 Haha. We used to call it the nazi channel when we were deciding what to have on in the bunk room at the station. It was like, "What do you want on?" The answer was usually, "Eh, let's watch the nazi channel."

@@NickDanger0001 w

Thanks!

you will find FEW atheists in a dire situation/fire fights, etc.

Hence the phrase "there are no atheists in foxholes" 😇

@@jimmyhaley727 Jimmy,that is the truest statement that I have ever heard,and I am 60 yrs old brother.

Why do you speak as though its proof? Or rather, that people who say that it's "luck" are being dismissive of such. Very obviously people, not all are even religious, tend to pray, or "petition". I'd say that you're attributing evidence where there is none or that can easily be attributed to coincidence, but that's exactly why this is an impossible argument either way. Nonetheless I do completely agree how miraculous what that man went through was.

@@lethauntic The question is how many people petitioned God and didn't get a miracle? 🤔 Even a broken clock is right twice a day...😜

Thanks!

I believe that airman in the Alps was my neighbor, Cooper Bryant, in Jackson, Mississippi. He fell into a snow bank head first with his legs being spread apart so far he tore his groin area. He woke up in a POW hospital of sorts and spent the rest of the war a POW. His wife only knew he was missing until after the war. They had a daughter and he was a successful oil and gas investor. He was very nice.

@@alspille5867 He ripped apart his groin and still had kids? Even a plane crash can’t break balls of steel that big.

I just found his channel and it’s top notch. Better than the history channel lol.

I'll look it over! May or may not use it but feel free to send it to TJ3business@gmail.com

@@TJ3 Must dig out those old files - will pass something on within a few days.

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Thanks man!

There's a guy in guiness world records who's survived multiple falls without a parachute. Something like 3 or 4 times.

Thanks!

Moist Mike - I'd heard many years ago of a Russian airman who fell from a great height. He apparently landed almost at the peak of a snow covered mountain & slid down the side (much like the 1972 Andes passenger plane did in "Alive") & survived. Perhaps the story you related is the same one I had heard about.