22,000' Free Fall With No Parachute.....

Geico266 said:
...and survives. :eek:

A WWII ball turret gunner in a B-17 recounts his miraculous survival of a free fall of 22,000' after his plane was shot up and crippled.

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war...00-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survived.html
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To leave a burning ship, to free fall for 2 minutes from the icy cold without O2, in sheer terror once realizing no chute, to surviving to become POW is amazing story. I wonder if that terror is what rendered him unconscious before impact.

The latter part of the article contains an odd sentence. Although attributed to a statement as recalled by his friend, I thought the Luftwaffe was in command of airmen POWs and it was known the Luftwaffe take good care of their POW, to treat them as comrades. I imagine many nationalities would be in somewhat awe of a miracle survivor.
 
Geico266 said:
He would have passed out due to lack of 02.
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I would suppose it quite easy to remain conscious by holding one's breath for the one minute it takes to descend to thicker air but that hyperventilation due to intense terror would be the culprit. In any case, how merciful to have blacked out.

The many forms of hell of war....

In his famous book, Sabastion Junger provides a very good clinical description of the physiology of drowning. Here it would be good to be provided a clinical expose on the effects of terror and/or the physiological response of falling at terminal velocity from high altitude.
 
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Richard said:
I would suppose it quite easy to remain conscious by holding one's breath for the one minute it takes to descend to thicker air but that hyperventilation due to intense terror would be the culprit. In any case, how merciful to have blacked out.

The many forms of hell of war....
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It really is an amazing story of survival.

Makes me wonder about all of the guys who didn't make it. They lost 75 men and 7 planes on that one mission. :eek:
 
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Geico266 said:
It really is an amazing story of survival.
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While that is very much true, I feel it is short shrift to say only that. It's bloody miraculous. Note that he had just left a burning ship under attack. From the frying pan into the fire, as it were.
 
Geico266 said:
He would have passed out due to lack of 02.
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Doubt it, 22 to 10k with a vertical speed of 120MPH ish.

I've jumped from 18 and haven't even been close to feeling it.
 
Tail gunner in B17 flown by big frank Valesh , blown out of airplane by attacking German fighter cannon fighter, thought dead but survived to be captured by Germans after parachuting. ( described in "Flying Fortress " by ed Jablonsky. ) Another b 17 tail gunner came down inside tail that had been blown off, landed in haystack and made it! I think harry Truman gave him a medal. ( big frank went thru seven, 7 , B17s all called " hang the expense". ) not to mention former Senator George Mc Govern , who , after his B24 was shot up and some crew wounded, saved them all by landing on an emergency field that was 2500 feet long! ( incentive for those of you who think this is a short runway for a 172.! McGovern got the DFC.
 
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I just don't understand how he was able to survive an impact with a roof at terminal speed (120 mph +/-). He must have broken a lot of bones.
 
There was a similar story by a British Lancaster tail gunner. The gunner's compartment was small enough that their parachute was stored right outside it. When he came out to get his chute, it was burning. He jumped figuring it was better than burning with the plane. He fell through a fir tree onto a pile of brush covered with snow. He had a few broken bones (IIRC). The Germans initially thought he was a spy and had hidden his chute. When they checked out his story (parachute harness snaps and not been used, burned remnants of his chute in the tail of the crashed bomber) they decorated him and gave him a certificate to keep. Then interred him in a POW camp.

I read the story in Reader's digest "I Fell 18,000 Feet and Lived!" as a boy.

John
 
If he was in a Cirrus, he'd have been sipping tea on the way down.....
 
Sac Arrow said:
I just don't understand how he was able to survive an impact with a roof at terminal speed (120 mph +/-). He must have broken a lot of bones.
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Not a unique occurrence, knew a jumper that went in with nothing out and lived. Has happened a bunch. You just gotta hit the right stuff.
 
Vesna Vulović fell from 33,000 and lived.
 
James331 said:
Doubt it, 22 to 10k with a vertical speed of 120MPH ish.

I've jumped from 18 and haven't even been close to feeling it.
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So you are calling the man that survived a lier? Or are you saying that a planned jump is just the same as bailing out under actual combat conditions, with no chute, and your plane is spiraling out of control? :dunno:

"Magee plunged almost 22,000 feet, falling unconscious before crashing into the roof of the St Nazaire railway station. When he regained consciousness, as the Germans were taking him to hospital, he exclaimed, ‘Thank God I am alive.” Magee once told his friend that the Germans had great respect for those who survived miraculously."
 
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Obviously impact with the ground could have caused loss of consciousness. Freefall from 22k by itself, not so much. But if you ever worked with freefall students you'd know their recall is less then spectacular. Diminished state of consciousness, sure, unconscious from the altitude, maybe if he was huffing and puffing at 22k for awhile. Normal fear induced not having a clue what just happened in freefall, well that is a given.
Geico266 said:
So you are calling the man that survived a lier? Or are you saying that a planned jump is just the same as bailing out under actual combat conditions, with no chute, and your plane is spiraling out of control? :dunno:

"Magee plunged almost 22,000 feet, falling unconscious before crashing into the roof of the St Nazaire railway station. When he regained consciousness, as the Germans were taking him to hospital, he exclaimed, ‘Thank God I am alive.” Magee once told his friend that the Germans had great respect for those who survived miraculously."
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Geico266 said:
So you are calling the man that survived a lier? Or are you saying that a planned jump is just the same as bailing out under actual combat conditions, with no chute, and your plane is spiraling out of control? :dunno:

"Magee plunged almost 22,000 feet, falling unconscious before crashing into the roof of the St Nazaire railway station. When he regained consciousness, as the Germans were taking him to hospital, he exclaimed, ‘Thank God I am alive.” Magee once told his friend that the Germans had great respect for those who survived miraculously."
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No, I'm just saying I highly doubt he passed out due to his brief time falling through thin air.

Probably passed out as he knew he was going to die, plus his first jump (I'd imagine) and under the circumstances, could have taken a blow to the head while bailing out, etc, etc.

If he was in such poor health that he passed out from that short a periorid of thin air, I'd imagine he would have been in such frail condition to begin with he would have ether A) not been put on active duty and B. died from the said fall.
 
Richard said:
To leave a burning ship, to free fall for 2 minutes from the icy cold without O2, in sheer terror once realizing no chute, to surviving to become POW is amazing story. I wonder if that terror is what rendered him unconscious before impact.

The latter part of the article contains an odd sentence. Although attributed to a statement as recalled by his friend, I thought the Luftwaffe was in command of airmen POWs and it was known the Luftwaffe take good care of their POW, to treat them as comrades. I imagine many nationalities would be in somewhat awe of a miracle survivor.
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The point of loss in of consciousness is not often not accurately recalled, "I don't remember anything after that," is a typical phrase used. He may very well have been conscious to impact and the last few seconds just never made it into memory.
 
This kind of stuff always blows my mind. Than you here about someone tripping on the sidewalk and dying from a hit to the head.
 
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