Us Official Photographs

Rockets aid fortress in short take off

ROCKETS AID FORTRESS IN SHORT TAKE-OFF. Twelve rockets mounted beneath the wings of a B-17 Flying Fortress of the U. S. Army 8th Air Force aid this crash-landed plane to make a take-off short enough to clear obstacles at the end of a small ploughed English field. Fences and trees at one end of the field, located in a valley between two hills, offered extreme danger to the pilot, who successfully cleared them on the short take-off. The novel and success-ful experiment was conducted by Capt. Richard G. Holub, Grass Valley, Calif., for bombers which crash-land away from sizeable air strips.