Valor at Polebrook

Air Classics, Sep 1998

Rick School and Jeff Rogers VALOR AT POLEBROOK Rick School POB 83, Kimberly, WI 54136-1246 $25 including packing and shipping

Subittled The Last Flight of Ten Horsepower, this book details the story of oneB-17G 7G and its crew. Ten Horsepower was assigned to the 351 st Bombardment Group and this book takes a close examination of the aircraft and its ten-man crew on the fateful day of 20 February 1944 when determined Luftwaffe attacks killed the plane's pilot and seriously wounded the co-pilot.

TOD turret i inner Carl Moore mund to aet out of his turret and crawl into the pilots' compartment, horrified at the carnage that greeted him. He managed to get at the controls and pull the stricken Fort out of a spin that was sending the bomber toward the ground at an alarming speed. At this point, the bombardier bailed out of the 17- logically reasoning that the aircraft was doomed.

At this point, those remaining alive aboard Ten Horsepower agreed to try to get the plane and the wounded safely back to their base at Polebrook, England. What followed would be an agonizing journey as the damaged bomber and crew struggled against heavily-stacked odds - a journey that would ultimately see the awarding of two Medals of Honor. This is a fascinating and well-told tale of young Americans in combat and the authors have done an excellent job of assembling material to tell the heroic story of Ten Horsepower and its brave crew.