Pearl Harbor - B-17C 40-2074
Destroyed by American bomber B-17C (serial number 40-2074). "Flying Fortress" of the 38th Intelligence Squadron at Hickam Air Field (Honolulu area) after the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor.
Under the command of Captain Raymond Swenson, it took off from an airfield in California the previous evening. On approaching Pearl Harbor, the pilot noticed the lights at on the ground, but the commander decided that it was the locals burning sugar cane.
The plane began to descend and the pilots saw a battle unfolding on the ground. At 600 feet the aircraft was attacked by a couple of Japanese "Zero" fighters. Aft gunner was wounded in the leg, and a fire started, but the captain managed to hold on and make the runway. Landing was hard and the fuselage broke in two.
This became the first American aircraft attacked by air during World War II.
Under the command of Captain Raymond Swenson, it took off from an airfield in California the previous evening. On approaching Pearl Harbor, the pilot noticed the lights at on the ground, but the commander decided that it was the locals burning sugar cane.
The plane began to descend and the pilots saw a battle unfolding on the ground. At 600 feet the aircraft was attacked by a couple of Japanese "Zero" fighters. Aft gunner was wounded in the leg, and a fire started, but the captain managed to hold on and make the runway. Landing was hard and the fuselage broke in two.
This became the first American aircraft attacked by air during World War II.