[Theis]

The Flying Fortress was one tough bird!

An attacking Bf-109 fighter tumbled through the tail of a 97th Bomb Group B-17F named

[C]

There were some amazing recoveries in WWII...

[flyboy 28]

I remember seeing a shot of a B-17 without the entire tail section land safely.

[beaky]

I remember seeing a shot of a B-17 without the entire tail section land safely.

ThatI'd like to see... must've fallen off on landing or something... but if any airplane could pull that off, it'd likely be a Fort, so I'll take your word for it.
That picture of "All American" is one of my favorites... what a terrifying racket that must have made...sounding like it was all going to "depart" at any moment. What an interesting flight home that must have been...

[flyboy 28]

ThatI'd like to see... must've fallen off on landing or something...

From what I remember from the caption, the tail took a direct hit of flak; it was the actual shell that hit it.

Then of course, all the crew members got to go home.

[Jakemaster]

I heard of a DC-3 that took a hit from a plane (collision) and made it home.  Incredible stories are out there, you just gotta find them!

[C]

I remember seeing a shot of a B-17 without the entire tail section land safely.

I've seen a famous one of a B17 with one half of the tail missing returning.

The famous Gp Capt Leonard Cheshire VC came home early in the war in his AW Whitley with the port side of the fuselage ripped right open along half its length...

[flyboy 28]

I've seen a famous one of a B17 with one half of the tail missing returning.

That may be it.. in any case, that's one tough bird!

[C]

A few more...

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53255

[Woodlouse2002]

Stolen directly off Charlies thread but with good reason...





Forget the B17, that is awesome!

[flyboy 28]

I bet that Halifax driver was pissed.

[Willit Run]

It landed safely and then broke in two not to long after.

[beaky]

Let's see that again:

Stolen directly off Charlies thread but with good reason...





Forget the B17, that is awesome!

Damn right. Never seen that before. What a wonderful plane that was... probably my favorite fighter of all time.

[flyboy 28]

It landed safely and then broke in two not to long after.




Pilot- "Okay guys! I need you to chew all these five pounds of gum.. and hurry!"

[Scorpiоn]

I can't help but wonder about other nation's aircraft. (besides America and Britain) Was there ever a shot of an He 111 with no wingtips coming back to base?