They Condemned His Plane — He Fixed It at Night and Flew Into Hell Anyway скачать в хорошем качестве

They Condemned His Plane — He Fixed It at Night and Flew Into Hell Anyway

They Condemned His Plane — He Fixed It at Night and Flew Into Hell Anyway August 7th, 1942. Captain Harl Pease Jr. had a problem. The Marines were about to land on Guadalcanal. Japanese bombers and fighters at Rabaul could slaughter them on the beaches. His squadron was launching 16 B-17s to destroy those aircraft before they could reach the invasion fleet. But Harl Pease's bomber had engine problems. It wouldn't be ready in time. The squadron commander assigned him a different aircraft. Then that one developed problems too. By evening, it was clear: Harl Pease would have to sit out the most important mission of the war. Instead, he walked out to the flight line. To the bomber everyone had written off. Two days earlier, this B-17 had been torn apart by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. Shrapnel destroyed the oxygen system. Damaged the superchargers on two engines. Punched holes through the fuselage. The ground crew had condemned it. Officially grounded. Unflyable. Harl Pease looked at that wreck and started asking for volunteers. They worked through the night. Scavenged parts from other damaged aircraft. Patched holes with whatever they could find. Rigged portable oxygen bottles. Tested systems that barely functioned. By 0400, the bomber could fly. Barely. No oxygen above 15,000 feet. Damaged superchargers meant it couldn't climb with the formation. Hydraulics were patched but unreliable. Harl Pease climbed into the cockpit anyway. The formation took off at 0500. Sixteen B-17s heading to Rabaul—the most heavily defended Japanese base in the Pacific. Five airfields. Hundreds of fighters. Anti-aircraft guns covering every approach. Pease's bomber struggled from the start. While the others climbed to 22,000 feet, his maxed out at 18,000. Four thousand feet lower. Within easier reach of the guns. More visible to Japanese fighters. The crew knew what that meant. They checked their weapons and waited. The formation hit Rabaul at 0645. Anti-aircraft fire erupted. The B-17s held course, released their bombs, and turned for home. Explosions tore across the Japanese airfield. Fuel dumps ignited. Aircraft were destroyed. The mission succeeded. Then the Zeros arrived. They went straight for Pease's bomber. The one flying lower. The one separated from the formation. Easy prey. The attacks came from every direction. Engine three failed at 0720. The B-17 fell further behind. Engine two failed at 0735. Now flying on two engines. Losing altitude. 150 miles per hour. Japanese fighters swarming. Pease's final radio transmission: "Under heavy attack. Losing altitude. Approximately 100 miles from Rabaul. Will try to reach..." Static. The bomber crashed 80 miles south of Rabaul. The crew never stopped fighting. Even as engines failed and the plane fell from the sky, the gunners kept firing. Three men survived the crash. Japanese forces took them prisoner. They did not survive the war. Harl Pease died in the wreckage. He was 24 years old. He became the first Army Air Forces pilot to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II. The Marines he helped save landed on Guadalcanal that morning. The Japanese air response from Rabaul was delayed and disorganized. The bombers and fighters that should have attacked the invasion fleet were destroyed or damaged on the ground. The connection was direct. Harl Pease's sacrifice gave the Marines the time they needed. 👍 LIKE if this moved you 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for more forgotten hero stories 💬 COMMENT where you're watching from #HarlPease #Rabaul #MedalOfHonor #ww2 #B17