Blister Gunner - 1944

20:47 mareku 0 Comments

In 1944, Allied forces executed an aerial bombardment of the heavily fortified Japanese Island of New Britain in the South Pacific. Many planes were shot down. Waiting for messages that a pilot had ditched his aircraft, amphibious PBY planes were ready to skim over the water, locate the pilot, land on the surface, and send out a rubber raft to bring the pilot back to safety. On one such occasion, a blister gunner on one of the PBY planes spotted a severely burned pilot, hanging onto life only by a tattered life preserver. The gunner, knowing that there was not enough time to send out the rubber raft, stripped off his clothing and dove into the water to rescue the pilot himself. After he had returned to the PBY plane with no time to dress, he immediately returned to his post. Horace  Bristol considered this man's actions among the bravest deeds that he witnessed during the war.

Photo by Horace Bristol (American, 1909-1997)
Sold for $17,500 at Sothebys New York

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