All American (aircraft) All American (aircraft) The All American (full name All American III) was a World War II Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress bomber aircraft that was able to return safely to its base after having its rear fuselage nearly cut off by an in-flight collision with a German fighter over enemy-held territory. The bomber's flight is said to have yielded one of the most famous photographs of World War II, and has been linked with the phrase "Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer." It inspired the 414th Bombardment Squadron's emblem, an image of a puppy praying atop an aircraft's tail
Alan Magee Alan Magee Alan Eugene Magee (January 13, 1919 – December 20, 2003) was an American airman during World War II who survived a 22,000-foot (6,700 m) fall from his damaged B-17 Flying Fortress. He was featured in "Smithsonian Magazine" as one of the 10 most amazing survival stories of World War II. Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, Magee joined the United States Army Air Forces and was assigned as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber. On January 3, 1943, his Flying Fortress—B-17F-27-BO, "41-24620", nicknamed "snap! crackle! pop!"—part of the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, was on