Us Official Photographs

B-17 Flying Fortress down in Adriatic

15TH ARMY AIR FORCE--"Evil Eye Egbert", B-17 Flying Fortress of the Fifteenth AAF, ran out of gas and let its crew down on the Adriatic Sea, 800 yards off the Italian shore and al-most within sight of an emergency field. The Fortress remained afloat, however, and the crew was rescued by Italian fishermen in small boats. The B-17 had been on a mission and on its return flight encountered unexpectedly strong headwinds. The rough Adriatic battered the plane on rocks before casting it up on shore for salvage.