Preceptor
New Member
The B-17 bomber used during World War II was known as the “flying fortress” because of its heavy artillery load and ability to withstand enemy fire. The Jeannie Marie was one such plane.
Her crew had just completed a mission when German fighter jets descended on them with a storm of cannon fire. The plane was hit by several shells before allied forces were able to chase the enemy away. The crew had to extinguish a fire on the left wing before the pilot could return to base camp.
Once on the ground, the crew surveyed the damage to the plane. The Jeannie Marie had been hit by seven cannon shells, of which three were still intact. The men realized they had more than the aircraft’s sturdy construction on their side that day.
The cannons had been manufactured in an armament plant in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The Czech people were forced to provide labor to support the Nazis – a task they despised as much as they did their oppressors.
Of the three shells retrieved from the Jeannie Marie, two were blanks and the third held a note: “THIS IS OUR WAY OF HELPING!”
Her crew had just completed a mission when German fighter jets descended on them with a storm of cannon fire. The plane was hit by several shells before allied forces were able to chase the enemy away. The crew had to extinguish a fire on the left wing before the pilot could return to base camp.
Once on the ground, the crew surveyed the damage to the plane. The Jeannie Marie had been hit by seven cannon shells, of which three were still intact. The men realized they had more than the aircraft’s sturdy construction on their side that day.
The cannons had been manufactured in an armament plant in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The Czech people were forced to provide labor to support the Nazis – a task they despised as much as they did their oppressors.
Of the three shells retrieved from the Jeannie Marie, two were blanks and the third held a note: “THIS IS OUR WAY OF HELPING!”