All American (aircraft) plane together or for an in-flight rescue of crew members from the isolated tail section. The Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh 1943 song “Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer” was not written about "All American" as sometimes reported, but was about another 97th Bomb Group B-17, "Thunderbird." Navigator Harry C. Nuessle listed the "All American's" crew on its February 1, 1943 flight: 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
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress extent in the War in the Pacific, early in World War II, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields. From its prewar inception, the USAAC (by June 1941, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. It developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. The B-17 developed a reputation as an effective bomber, dropping more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of the of bombs