Piggy Back B-17

Here’s an interesting email I received today & had to share it with y’all[^]

It is guys like this that kept us from having to learn German!!! PTR

Damndest WWII Flying Story I have ever heard


Glenn Rojohn and his crew.

Piggyback Hero
by Ralph Kenney Bennett

Tomorrow they will lay the remains of Glenn Rojohn to rest in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in the little town of Greenock, Pa., just southeast of Pittsburgh. He was 81, and had been in the air conditioning and plumbing business in nearby McKeesport. If you had seen him on the street he would probably have looked to you like so many other graying, bespectacled old World War II veterans whose names appear so often now on obituary pages.

But like so many of them, though he seldom talked about it, he could have told you one hell of a story. He won the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart all in one fell swoop in the skies over Germany on December 31, 1944. Fell swoop indeed.

Capt. Glenn Rojohn, of the 8th Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group was flying his B-17G Flying Fortress bomber on a raid over Hamburg. His formation had braved heavy flak to drop their bombs, then turned 180 degrees to head out over the North Sea. They had finally turned northwest, headed back to England, when they were jumped by German fighters at 22,000 feet. The Messerschmitt Me-109s pressed their attack so closely that Capt. Rojohn could see the faces of the German pilots. He and other pilots fought to remain in formation so they could us each other’s guns to defend the group. Rojohn saw a B-17 ahead of him burst into flames and slide sickeningly toward the earth. He gunned his ship forward to fill in the gap. He felt a huge impact. The big bomber shuddered, felt suddenly very heavy and began losing altitude. Rojohn grasped almost immediately that he had collided with another plane. A B-17 below him, piloted by Lt. William G. McNab, had slammed the top of its fuselage into the bottom of Rojohn’s. The top turret gun of McNab’s plane was now locked in the belly of Rojohn’s plane and the ball turret in the belly of Rojohn’s had smashed through the top of McNab’s. The two bombers were almost perfectly aligned – the tail of the lower plane was slightly to the left of Rojohn’s tailpiece. They were stuck together, as a crewman later recalled, “like mating dragon flies.”

Three of the engines on the bottom plane were still running, as were all four of Rojohn’s. The fourth engine on the lower bomber was on fire and the flames were spreding to the rest of the aircraft. The two were losing altitude quickly. Rojohn tried several times to gun his engines and break free of the other plane. The two were inextricably locked together. Fearing a fire, Rojohn cut his engines and rang the bailout bell. For his crew to have any chance of parachuting, he had to keep the plane under control somehow.

The ball turret, hanging below the belly of the B-17, was considered by many to be a death trap – the worst station on the bomber. In this case, both ball turrets figured in a swift and terrible drama of life and death. Staff Sgt. Edward L. Woodall, Jr., in the ball turret of the lower bomber had felt the impact of the collision above him and saw shards of metal drop past him. Worse, he realized both electrical and hydraulic power was gone.

Remembering escape drills, he grabbed the handcrank, released the clutch and cranked the turret and its guns until they were straight down, then turned and climbed out the back of the turret up ino the uselage. Once inside the plane’s belly Woodall saw a chilling sight, the ball turret of the other bomber protruding through the top of the fuselage. In that turret, hopelessly trapped, was Staff Sgt. Joseph Russo. Several crew members of Rojohn’s plane tried frantically to crank Russo’s turret around so he could escape, but, jammed into the fuselage of the lower plane, it would not budge. Perhaps unaware that his voice was going out over the intercom of his plane, Sgt. Russo began reciting his Hail Marys.

Up in the cockpit, Capt. Rojohn and his co-pilot 2nd Lt. William G. Leek, Jr., had propped their feet against the instrument panel so they could pull back on their controls with all their strength, trying to prevent their plane from going into a spinning dive that would prevent the crew from jumping out. Capt. Rojohn motioned left and the two managed to wheel the huge, collision-born hybrid of a plane back toward the German coast. Leek felt like he was intruding on Sgt. Russo as his prayers crackled over the radio, so he pulled off his flying helmet with its earphones.

Rojohn, immediately grasping that crew could not exit from the bottom of his plane, ordered his top turret gunner and his radio operator, Tech Sgts. Orville Elkin and Edward G. Neuhaus to make their way to the back of the fuselage and out the waist door on the left behind the wing. Then he got his navigator, 2nd Lt. Robert Washington, and his bombardier, Sgt. James Shirley to follow them. As Rojohn and Leek somehow held the plane steady, these four men, as well as waist gunner, Sgt. Roy Little, and tail gunner, Staff Sgt. Francis Chase, were able to bail out.

Now the plane locked below them was aflame. Fire poured over Rojohn’s left wing. He could feel the heat from the plane below and hear the sound of .50 machinegun ammunition “cooking off” in the flames. Capt. Rojohn ordered Lieut. Leek to bail out. Leek knew that without him helping keep the controls back, the plane would drop in a flaming spiral and the cntrifugal force would prevent Rojohn from bailing out. He refused the order.

Meanwhile, German soldiers and civilians on the ground that afternoon looked up in wonder. Some of them thought they were seeing a new Allied secret weapon – a strange eight-engined double bomber. But anti-aircraft gunners on the North Sea coastal island of Wangeroge had seen the collision. A German battery captain wrote in his logbook at 12:47 p.m.:
“Two fortresses collided in a formation in the NE. The planes flew hooked together and flew 20 miles south. The two planes were unable to fight anymore. The crash could be awaited so I stopped the firing at these two planes.”

Suspended in his parachute in the cold December sky, Bob Washington watched with deadly fascination as the mated bombers, trailing black smoke, fell to earth about three miles away, their downward trip ending in an ugly boiling blossom of fire.

In the cockpit Rojohn and Leek held grimly to the controls trying to ride a falling rock. Leek tersely recalled, “The ground came up faster and faster. Praying was allowed. We gave it one last effort and slammed into the ground.” The McNab plane on the bottom exploded, vaulting the other B-17 upward and forward. It slammed back to the ground, sliding along until its left wing slammed through a wooden building and the smoldering mess came to a stop. Rojohn and Leek were still seated in their cockpit. The nose of the plane was relatively intact, but everything from the B-17 massive wings back was destroyed. They looked at each other incredulously. Neither was badly injured.

Movies have nothing on reality. Still perhaps in shock, Leek crawled out through a huge hole behind the cockpit, felt for the familiar pack in his uniform pocket pulled out a cigarette. He placed it in his mouth and was about to light it. Then he noticed a young German soldier pointing a rifle at him. The soldier looked scared and annoyed. He grabbed the cigarette out of Leak’s mouth and pointed down to the gasoline pouring out over the wing from a ruptured fuel tank.

Two of the six men who parachuted from Rojohn’s plane did not survive the jump. But the other four and, amazingly, four men from the other bomber, including ball turret gunner Woodall, survived. All were taken prisoner. Several of them were interrogated at length by the Germans until they were satisfied that what had crashed was not a new American secret weapon.

Rojohn, typically, didn’t talk much about his Distinguished Flying Cross. Of Leek, he said, 'in all fairness to my co-pilot, he’s the reason I’m alive today."

Like so many veterans, Rojohn got unsentimentally back to life after the war, marrying and raising a son and daughter. For many years, though, he tried to link back up with Leek, going through government records to try to track him down. It took him 40 years, but in 1986, he found the number of Leeks’ mother, in Washington State. Yes, her son Bill was visiting from California. Would Rojohn like to speak with him? Some things are better left unsaid. One can imagine that first conversation between the two men who had shared that wild ride in the cockpit of a B-17. A year later, the two were re-united at a reunion of the 100th Bomb Group in Long Beach, Calif. Bill Leek died the following year.

Glenn Rojohn was the last survivor of the remarkable piggyback flight. He was like thousands upon thousands of men, soda jerks and lumberjacks, teachers and dentists, students and lawyers and service station attendants and store clerks and farm boys who in the prime of their lives went to war.

He died last Saturday after a long siege of sickness. But he apparently faced that final battle with the same grim aplomb he displayed that remarkable day over Germany so long ago. Let us be thankful for such men.

The 350th’s Glenn H. Rojohn Crew
Please use the Site Search Engine for more information on this crew. They were involved in the famous “Piggy Back” incident on December 31, 1944. There is a vast amount of data on this crew in our web site… pw (100th Photo Archives)

Copyright The Artist
Related Pages:
1st Lt. William G. MacNab
Piggyback As Reported By Paul Zak
Breeding Dragonflies Over The North Sea
A/C #42-31987… MACR #11550, Microfiche #4246

2nd Lt Glenn H. Rojohn P POW 31-Dec-44 Hamburg
2nd Lt William G. Leek CP POW 31-Dec-44 Hamburg
2nd Lt Robert Washington NAV POW 31-Dec-44 Hamburg
Cpl Edward G. Neuhaus ROG POW 31-Dec-44 Hamburg
Cpl Orville E. Elkin TTE POW 31-Dec-44 Hamburg
Cpl Joseph R. uso BTG KIA 31-Dec-44 Hamburg
Cpl Roy H. Little WG KIA 31-Dec-44 Hamburg
Cpl Robert W. Baker WG NOC – –
Cpl Herman G. Horenkamp TG CPT – –

Un-freakin’ believable. Migod. How I salute those guys.

That was a great story. It’s sad to see all of our WWII vets passing away; seems that was one of the last wars that was fought for a good and concrete cause(can’t be said about Vietnam & Iraq). Thx for posting!

I saw that painting up at the 8th Airforce museum in Savannah a couple of years ago and was really amazed at this story.Those are some pilots boy.

It is a great story which I felt had to be shared with y’all. This comes to me at a time when I’ve been realizing that we are losing a large number of True Americans whom have made this country what it is for us, A Free Country. Those who served during WWII are moving onto another realm and their stories are being lost. We as a people need to remember lest we forget. That was our Last great cause and Korea, 'Nam & Iraq are by far no where near what WWII was. I salute ALL Vets
Yer [#welcome] for this posting & Thank you for your Service[^]

Ed , as a vietnam vet and as the father of a son now serving in Iraq i appreciate your salute . I want to say though that no matter what the cause for the war , or how popular or unpopular that cause is ,young men and women still risk and lose their lives and limbs for the same cause , serving and protecting this country .

Thanks

Damn…
Another “Ordinary Hero” gone…they were nothing out of the ordinary, they weren’t supermen, nothing special, they were just like you and me…that’s what they’ll all tell you.

They faced death and danger every day - sometimes willingly, sometimes not…but they were there…and they did their job.

They were all heroes…

Thanx Ed for sharing that heart felt story.

I’m with Shellback I’m a Vet of Desert Storm, OEF & OIF and thanks for the salute, the bad thing is that most Americans have a very short attention span, unless it’s in the media (which I feel is the demise of this great country) they really don’t care about anything, to hear another great unsung hero passing is sad, but they made it worth it for themselves and us to carry on for what they beleived in

“You’ve never lived, until you’ve almost died.
For those who fight for it, life has a savor
the protected can never know.”

This applies to anyone who deliberately goes in harm’s way, not because they want to, but because they believe they must. But it is not enough. It may be sufficient for them, themselves, but it should not be sufficient for the protected, who owe them, as a minimum, their undying respect and memory.

A friend I cared for a great deal once asked me, “Why do you build models of war machines? Why do you like them so much? Why celebrate war?”

I answered, “I build them as a monument to those who served, the terrible risks they took, and the sacrifices they made. The affection I have for these things is in the remembrance of those who used them. I do not celebrate war, I celebrate the vaunting humanity of those who served, fought, suffered, and shed their blood for the sake of others, just as I spit on those who would use the sacrifice of others for their personal gain.”

I realize the Media doesn’t cover the War much these days, not like they did in WWII. Each & Every vet from the Civil War to the Soldiers of OIF have done a great service to this country and those who sit at home & turn a blind eye to what’s going on fail to understand Freedom is Not Free. IT has been bought in Blood through those who’ve fought & of those whom gave their lives.

Let Us remember those who serve & have served this country giving us our Freedom. Y’all are making good points here.[:D]

yuppers,it’s there…i be a member of the mighty eighth museum,i try to go at least once a month and volunteer when they have functions

wow…just wow. that’s a pretty amazing story.

I think this quote should go in an issue of FSM,along with the Piggyback story. Are the editors watching?

Is there a kit-basher who’s willing to recreate this pic so the whole thing can be featured in FSM? Just a thought[8D] Dave Voss, Jeff Herne, care to comment on this[;)]

Every time I see some a car with one of those bumper stickers that says “Stuff Happens” (or words to that effect - keeping in mind this is a family forum) I cannot help but think to myself “you have no idea”!

I also think the same thing when I see the “NO FEAR” sticker. Anyway, thank you Ed for sharing it with us. Look at the faces of that B-17 aircrew. They are all in their early 20s, if that. There was a point in the war (WWII) when the chances of completing the 25 missions for a rotation home was 0%. That means that every time you climbed into the airplane the odds were 100% that you would not return. Despite the odds, and the ceartin fear and stress, they did it anyway. God bless them all.

Ed, I am in the process of sending you another picture. It just so happens that it is another B-17. I think you will like it. I will eventually share it with this forum when the model is done, so be patient folks you will get to see it at a later date. You B-17 lovers will love this one. It also has a story to go with it and judging on the responces to this story I think I’ll include it with the picture. Now all I have to do is figure out how to post the pictures and use my new digital camera so I can take pictures of the model. Thanks again Ed, for all of your help.

Fully agree with that reason to build any aircraft that has been proudly used by our servicemen. Same reason that I study our nation’s history starting back in 1760’s. Only wish I had been able to serve (would have gone USAF in '88), had it not been for a neck injury near the time of H.S. graduation. Proud that my dad & sister did serve in USAF.

Rangerj, No prob, I look foreward to it[:P] Many of the B-17 crew were qquite young thats for sure & even tho the odds were against them they brought 'er back. Not to mention the fact, the B-17s would take a pounding yet, they brought their crews back[tup]

Well said, and thanks Ed

Jerry

DDRmaniac:

You sir make statements you write as fact. I am a retired US Marine. I have been to war, 3 times. I did not serve in Vietnam. I was worth it, todays current war is worth it. Have you been to Iraq ? I have talked to “regular,every day people” of Iraq.Most are VERY happy that we are there. Yes they do not want us there forever. Niether do we. 23 million Iraqis now have a chance at what you have FREEDOM. I gov’ t “of the people ,by the people”.

All the "bad guys "an to Iraq to fight those of us in the US Military. Think about it they went to Iraq to fight us and not sneak into the US and kill you and your family. I am proud of what we have accomplished. There is a long way to go,the ball is in Iraq’s court. It took the US 11 years to come up with a stable gov’t after the July 4 th 1776 Declaration of Independance.

When were you in Iraq, what have YOU seen with your own eyes, made up your opinion from what facts you have seen frist hand.Not from our current socialist media. You want answers to your questions ask someone who has been there.

Lifes problems can not be solved in an hour,including the commericals. So things take time.

Respectfully

Ferg