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Beyond Mere Luck
Sunday, June 1, 2014 8:52
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Fwd: Beyond Mere Luck
Allies come from places we never thought of…..
This story is confirmed in Elmer Bendiner’s book,
The Fall of Fortresses.
*Sometimes, it’s not really just luck.*
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 anti aircraft 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.
Eleven 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 all these 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.”
Here’s another kicker for you:
Here’s another kicker for you:
Imagine the German gunners who thought they
were missing the plane with those shells..
Source: http://nesaranews.blogspot.com/2014/06/beyond-mere-luck.html
