lda 3/22/16

Robert (Bob) Bily
Navigator, 305 Sqnd. 351st Bomb Group, Polebrook, England

Not all the risks flight crews took were associated with combat. Accidents involving airmen while in training killed thousands here in the states. Chapter member Bob Bily related one such incident in which he was involved.

Remember to Wear Your Parachute: “If it had not been for my bombardier and I witnessing a mid-air collision between two of our group’s B-17s, I would not be here today to tell this story. On January 7, 1944 the 2nd Provisional Group was returning from a gunnery mission over the Gulf of Mexico. I was lead navigator for the group and was responsible for bringing them back to our base in Dyersburg, TN.

As we approached Hardin Field in Baton Rouge, LA at 19,000 feet the bombardier and I looked to our left and behind and watched as two B-17s collided. It seems that one of the 17s had dropped its landing gear and was leaving the formation due to

a lack of oxygen. The plane to its left failed to see it, caught the mid-section and cut the tail section off the 17.
We watched as the two waist gunners fell out of the plane without parachutes. The tail section sailed down like a glider while the rest of the plane did an inside loop and disappeared below us. The formation scattered like ducks. Returning to our base, we learned that four crew members of the plane that was cut in two were killed when they were thrown out without parachutes. The other B-17 lost about 12 feet of one wing and made a crash landing injuring most of that crew. My bombardier and I immediately requested backpack type parachutes instead of the standard chest packs. It was clear that you might not have a chance to clip on the chest packs if your plane broke apart.

Twelve days later, we were again leading the formation returning from a training mission. We had just 10 days left before going overseas. For some unforeseen reason, the plane to our left, piloted by a good friend and roommate of mine, slipped underneath our plane and then stalled. The top turret of their plane smashed the nose of ours knocking me out at 16,000 feet. We didn’t have a bombardier on this mission, but Sgt. Bell, the ball turret gunner, had joined me in the nose earlier. Bell was caught in the wreckage of the nose, which ended up between the fuselage and the right inboard engine. Fred Heiser, our pilot noticed that Sgt. Bell had crawled from the wreckage and was on the left wing of the plane. Our co-pilot Bob Jones kept the plane level while they pulled Bell in through the pilot’s window.

At his point, the plane had no nose, no navigator, an injured gunner and a flight engineer who seemed to be having a nervous breakdown. Despite this and not being able to see out the windscreen due to wreckage, our pilot brought the B-17 home safely. A great feat of airmanship. Our propellers had unfortunately cut the other B-17 in two, killing all but two of its crew.

My crew shipped out without me as I spent two months in the hospital recovering from my injuries. I was able to tack onto another crew that needed a navigator and went on to complete my missions in the 351st Bomb Group in the later part of 1944. I learned from the incident that if you’re given a sign, you will either heed the warning or not. Had I not seen the tragic accident earlier, I would likely have not switched to the backpack parachute and not had one on when I was knocked out of the plane. “

Bob earned four Air Medals, The Distinguished flying Cross, and the ETO ribbon with two battle stars.

Sources: Various presentations Bob made to groups as part of educational programs at the Vintage Flying Museum, as well as a handwritten account of the event.

Editor’s note: The stories of these veterans are filled with such fluke circumstances that dictated life or death in a split second. When asked about such phenomenal luck most of them would just shrug their shoulders and say “it just wasn’t my day to die”. For Bob, that day wouldn’t come for another 60+ years.