The 11 - The True All Americans

I've long held a fascination with America’s WWII aircraft, especially the bombers. In October 2017, I began researching my paternal uncle, a WWII Army Air 1st Lt who piloted North American Aviation B-25D Mitchell (SN 42-29747). He and 13 other men in four aircraft (the B-25, an OA-10 Catalina and two P-38 Lightnings), died on 30 Dec 1942, near Kiska Island, the Aleutian Islands, AK. When I completed my research on them, I honored them by referring to them as The 14.

Then, on 1 May 2020, I received an email from a long-time friend, containing an amazing WWII story, accompanied with copies of numerous photographs. The story possibly published in Nov 2015, based on the dated comments at the end of the online article, was about the 10-man crew of a US Army Air Corps (AAC) 8th US Army Air Force, 97th Bomb Group, 414th Bomb Squadron (stationed in Biskra, Algeria, Africa) and their Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber named All American. On 1 Feb 1943, during her return from a bombing mission over the Tunis Docks in Tunisia (about 284-air miles from Biskra), she was involved in a mid-air collision with a German Messerschmitt Me 109 or Bf 109 fighter. Although various articles offer different models as the culprit, an Me 109 was identified on Lt. Harry Charles Nuessle’s (All American’s Navigator).

While reading the bizarre circumstances of how All American’s crew flew her back to base, I was absolutely captivated and amazed! However, the Mustad, UltraPoint Demon In-Line Circle 3 Tuna hook didn’t quite set!

Impossibilities about All American’s Flight after the Mid-air Collision

A second reading of the story, made me think some of the facts were possibly outlandish (and later discovered to be oft-reiterated) items of pure ‘puffery.’ Being an aficionado of many things WWII and a consummate fact-checker, I decided to research everything about All American and The 11. After seeing pictures of the damage she sustained, there’s no doubt as to the veracity of reports concerning the horrific damage caused when the German fighter’s wing, sliced a very long and wide gash, diagonally through her fuselage. According to various articles, after the collision, her two right engines were inoperable and one had a serious oil pump leak, the left horizontal stabilizer and left elevator were gone, the vertical fin and rudder were damaged and oxygen, electrical and hydraulic systems were damaged. As I do not hold an FAA Airframe and Powerplant license, I have to assume at least those items were true. In spite of all that damage, All American’s uninjured crew returned to base safely.

After a search of newspapers from 1943 for each of The 11, I found NO articles which had been puffed with the material found in today’s articles or videos. But, I discovered her Pilot - Capt. Kendrick Bragg, Jr., her Bombardier - Lt. Ralph Burbridge and her Tail Gunner - S/Sgt Sam Sarpolus, told or wrote exactly what happened - with NO embellishments. It’s possible someone wrote a ‘puff piece’ as a morale-booster for the folks back home and it never made it to the crew’s hometowns. The farfetched issues/myths reported in the article include the following:

Myth: The tail gunner was trapped at the rear - floor connecting the fuselage and tail missing.

ACB: The METAL floor portion of her fuselage was still intact upon landing.

Myth: The crew kept her tail connected to the fuselage with parachute cords and pieces of the German fighter.

ACB: I’m pretty sure parachute cords could not keep an 18-ton to 27-ton (empty to fully loaded) B-17 aircraft together when it’s flying. Plus, Bragg and Burbridge said The 11 each wore their own parachutes and none were sacrificed to help keep the aircraft together.

·Myth Because they hadn’t yet dropped their bomb load, they continued to Tunis. When the bomb bay doors opened, upon arrival at the Tunis Docks, the turbulence blew a Waist Gunner into the tail section. After safely retrieving him, they couldn’t get the Tail Gunner (Sam Sarpolus), because his weight was needed to add stability to All American’s tail, so it wouldn’t break off.

ACB According to Sgt. Sarpolus’ 16 Oct 1940 Draft Card, he was 5’ 8’ tall and weighed 150 lbs. Thankfully, Bragg and Burbridge said they already dropped their bombs over the Tunis Docks as planned, before the mid-air collision with the German fighter.

Myth When the German fighters attacked All American a second time, the two Waist Gunners stuck their heads up through the 16’ long gash and shot at the enemy fighters.

ACB Can crew members even remove 84-pound Browning M2 .50 cal. machine guns from their bolted-down tripods, hold belts of .50 cal ammo and fire upward through the roof of a B-17 flying at speed?? I think not. Plus, Lt. Burbridge said the German fighters did not re-engage, as the US bomber formation was beyond the Messerschmitts’ distance capabilities.

Myth ‘The Tail Gunner had to shoot in short bursts because the recoil was causing the plane to turn.’

ACB: Sarpolus only had two of the B-17’s thirteen .50 cal M2 Browning machine guns. Is there enough recoil to cause a B-17 to turn?

Myths (two): 1.) An Allied P-51 Mustang fighter pilot took All American’s aerial photograph

2.) The photo was taken over the English Channel.

ACB: Both are NOT true, for several reasons:

According to Harry C. Nuessle, All American’s Navigator, Lt. Cliff Cutforth, was the Navigator aboard a 340th BS B-17 named Flying Flit Gun (SN 41-24412). Flying Flit Gun was adjacent to All American’s port side, when Lt, Cutforth took her aerial picture.

A fairly close examination of Lt. Cutforth’s photograph, reveals All American, with her obviously damaged tail, to be flying over what appears to be hills, amid somewhat brown and arid land, not water.

According to a B-17’s specifications, its maximum range is 2,000 miles. The distance from All American’s assigned base in Biskra, Tunisia, to the closest WWII US AAF airbase in England, was at Colchester, England or about 1,400 miles - one way. Common sense dictates the B-17 couldn’t and wouldn’t attempt that trip, with or without a full complement of bombs nor over Germany or Italy, without a fighter escort! Plus, The American Air Museum in Britain’s online records had information from All American’s Aircraft Record. It showed from 13 Nov 1942 until 1 Feb 1943 (when she was combat-damaged) that she was stationed ONLY in Maison Blanche, Tafaraoui and Biskra, Tunisia. In his Navigator’s Log, Lt. Nuessle said their target was the Tunis Dock, Tunis, Tunisia, about 300-miles from Biskra. So, it’s highly improbable she flew to England.

Crew of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress named All American

12th AF, 97th BG, 414th BS

(the group crew picture is thhe Gallery)

Front (l to r) Harry Nuessle, Navigator; Godfrey Engel, Jr., Co-pilot; ‘Sonny’ Bragg, Jr., Pilot; Ralph Burbridge, Bombardier; Paul Galloway, Radio Operator/Photographer

Rear (l to r) Elton Conda, Ball Turret Gunner; ‘Mike’ Zuk, Sr., Waist Gunner; ‘Hank’ Heyland Jr., Ground Crew Chief/Mech; ‘Joe’ James, Jr., Engineer; ‘Tony’ Sarpolus, Tail Gunner

While still in England, All American’s 10-man crew was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 97th Bomb Group (BG), 414th Bomb Squadron (Heavy). I’m unsure if they were assigned to the 12th AF while they were in England or upon their arrival in Africa. There’s an eleventh person, who also is part of this paper. He was the Navigator aboard a 340th BS B-17 named Flying Flit Gun (SN 41-24412), in All American’s formation.

In a nutshell, after completing a bombing mission to the Tunis Docks in Tunis, Tunisia, Africa, on 1 Feb 1943, All American was returning to her base in Biskra, Tunisia, when she was involved in a mid-air collision with a German fighter. After the incident, which resulted in her fuselage sustaining a 16’ gash (as reported in articles) through her tail section the Navigator aboard Flying Flit Gun snapped an aerial photo of All American, as seen in the picture.

Following Memorial Day, and 77+ years after All American’s mid-air crash, I finally corrected the misspellings of All American’s Co-pilot and Ground Crew Chief / Mechanic’s names and attribute her aerial photograph to the correct photographer. When someone’s name is not spelled correctly, no one is able to research them. To honor them with their names listed correctly, I honor the eleven World War II heroes, simply as The 11.

The 11 - The True All Americans

Boeing B-17F-5-BO Flying Fortress (SN 41-24406) named All American

8th AF, 97th Bomb Group, 414th Squadron

1st Lt. Kendrick Robertson ‘Sonny’ Bragg, Jr. Pilot ASN 14051695

24 Mar 1918 to 13 Oct 1999 (81)

1st Lt. Godfrey Engel, Jr. Co-pilot ASN 18041158

14 Aug 1915 to 03 May 2007 (92)

1st Lt. Harry Charles Nuessle Navigator ASN 13029268

18 Jan 1917 to 27 June 1991 (74)

1st Lt. Ralph Burbridge Bombardier ASN 17016626

19 Feb 1920 to 03 Feb 2013 (92)

T/Sgt. Joseph Costner ‘Joe’ James, Jr. Engineer ASN 34123026

12 Apr 1914 to 20 Sep 1993 (79)

T/Sgt. Paul Abrams Galloway - Radio Operator/Photog ASN 14034782

06 Aug 1917 to 27 Nov 2011 (94)

Sgt. Elton Artilio Conda Ball Turret Gunner ASN 12010890

06 Sep 1920 to 21 Apr 2006 (85)

Sgt. Michael A. ‘Mike’ Zuk, Sr. Waist Gunner ASN 31269674

18 Aug 1917 to 03 Jun 2002 (84)

S/Sgt. Sam Anton ‘Tony’ Sarpolus Tail Gunner ASN 16061383

21 Apr 1917 to 10 Jan 1988 (70)

Sgt. Herman Rene ‘Hank’ Heyland, Jr. Ground Crew Chief/Mechanic

ASN 17028163 08 Apr 1919 to 06 Sep 2001 (82)

on 1 Feb 1943, Lt. Cutforth was the Navigator aboard the 340th BS B-17 Flying Flit Gun (SN 41-24412), adjacent to All American, when he took her aerial photograph over LAND, not the English Channel.

1st Lt. Charles Clifton ‘Cliff’ Cutforth Navigator ASN 19002894

29 July 1913 to 17 Aug 1982 (69)

Correction of the Names of Two of All American’s Crew Members

I do make light of the puffery in the article, perhaps due to the sensationalism of many of this decade’s factually reported events. However, portions of All American’s story continue to overshadow what these heroes actually told others about the events. As the last of The 11 died more than seven years ago, no one has the ability to talk with them to confirm or not confirm what truly happened. The puffery issue aside, my main focus was to amend the continuing name inaccuracies and the failure to attribute a photograph to its owner, as was finally accomplished in the June 2019 online issue of airscape Magazine.

With the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) story, were a number of photographs of All American, most taken upon landing back at Biskra, Algeria. Her most famous is an aerial photograph, which was attached to a letter Harry C. Nuessle, her Navigator, sent home. The letter also had signatures from The 11 after their names and assignments. Two of the signatures (the Co-pilot and the Ground Crew Chief/Mechanic), were a bit difficult to decipher. Most all articles and blogs have the same two inaccurate names as they assumed were on the 1943 Nuessle letter. I thank the EAA and airscape magazines for correcting their information.

While researching The 11, I found information on only eight of the 10-man crew and the photographer from the Flying Flit Gun, who took her aerial photo. I could locate nothing on her Co-pilot (written as Boyd everywhere) nor her Ground Crew Chief/Mechanic (written as Hyland everywhere). Thinking the names may have been misspelled, I went one step further and enlarged the signatures (see last page), to better view them. I saw the name Boyd was actually Engel and Hyland was Heyland. Although I’m not a handwriting expert, based on comparisons of Engel’s and Heyland’s signatures on their October 1940 Draft Cards and the Nuessle letter, I’m satisfied their correct names are:

Co-pilot - 1st Lt. Godfrey Engel, Jr.

Ground Crew Chief / Mechanic - Sgt. Herman Rene ‘Hank’ Heyland, Jr.

1st Lt. Charles Clifford ‘Cliff’ Cutforth - Took All American’s Aerial Photograph

On the Nuessle letter, the signature, ‘Cliff Cutforth’ and a phrase above it stating - Photo By, was the only time I saw a name associated with All American’s oft-used aerial photograph. Then, an article entitled Down in One Pieces, in the June 2019 online issue of airscape Magazine, attributed the photo to Lt. Cutforth in. After comparing Cutforth’s signature on Nuessle’s letter and Cutforth’s Draft Card, I’m not sure who signed Cutforth’s name. But, as confirmed by documents and discussions with people who knew Cutforth, the man who took her picture was indeed 1st Lt. Charles Clifton ‘Cliff’ Cutforth.

Conversation with Jim Bracewell about his friend Hank Heyland

To reconfirm that Ground Crew Chief/Mechanic Sgt. Herman Rene ‘Hank’ Heyland was on All American, I talked with a man from Iowa who posted a comment regarding the June 2019 online issue of airscape Magazine. He said on 1 Feb 1943, Ernst F. Knobloch, his father, was Flying Flit Gun’s Ball Turret Gunner. Ernst, Hank and James M. ‘Jim’ Bracewell (ASN 17029363) were all assigned to the 97th Bomb Group, 414th BS.

I talked with Jim on 23 May 2020 and he said all were part of the 97th’s first bombing mission to France. After WWII, they remained life-long friends, until Hank and Ernst’s deaths. Jim said while they were stationed in North Africa, Hank crewed on the All American. Jim spent 30-years in the Army until 1970, when he retired. Sadly, World War II US Army Air Corps Chief Master Sergeant James M. ‘Jim’ Bracewell passed away just five days short of his 98th birthday (22 Nov 1923 to 17 Nov 2020).

Final Notes

Of the 12,731 B-17 Flying Fortresses built from 1936 through 1945 by Boeing, Douglas and Vega (1945 cost - $238,329; 2020 cost - $3,440,694), 4,735 were lost in combat. On 6 Mar 1943, just 33-days after All American’s mid-air collision, her repairs were completed and she was transferred to the 12th AF, 353rd BS, 301st in Saint-Donat Airfield (near Tadjenanet), Algeria. In 1945 in Italy, All American’s end came, as it did to thousands of WWII Warbirds, which served their crews so well: she was scrapped. Only 40 Forts survive today in the US and most are in storage, on static display or under restoration.

Thankfully, beginning in the mid-1950s, the founders of the Commemorative Air Force and other people / groups began saving these aircraft from the aircraft graveyards or recycling yards. A few of these magnificent WWII aircraft are in collections as static displays or have been fully restored to airworthiness by various groups the world over. Today, these groups provide bomber and fighter flights for children of ALL ages, who want to take a flight back in time. Even the Veterans, who want to go up just one more time or just touch the windscreen of an old Warbird, similar to the ones in which they spent a lifetime.

There are many examples of the Warbirds, like All American, damaged so badly in battle in WWII, no one expected them to return to base. The fact is, B-17s were built to last. Their ability to return to base is a testament to the hard-working men and women who worked night and day to make those aircraft safe and dependable.

To go for a flight in a Flying Fortress is to take a ride back in time and be a witness to United States history in the air. It behooves every child (of every age!) to look for the closest B-17 or find out their schedules and book a flight for your parents, children, a local Veteran AND yourself. When they fly in to your area, you’ll never forget the sight of that magnificent Flying Fort, the sound of those four massive engines, nor the squeals of delight from all aboard, including yourself!

submitted by Anne Constantin Birge

Kendrick R Bragg