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On October 10, 1943 the 8th Air Force flew a bombing raid against the city of Münster in Nazi Germany. Of the 14 bombers that pressed on to the target that day, only one bomber made it back. A B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed, “Royal Flush” (B-17F-45-VE 42-6087 — LD-Z), flown by pilots Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal and Winifred T. “Pappy” Lewis of the 418th Bomb Squadron.

As the bombers neared Münster, the Luftwaffe commenced its first attacks. After the attack all but one of the 100th BG’s B-17s had been hit and destroyed.

Rosenthal and Lewis soon found themselves facing dozens of attacking Luftwaffe fighters. They were alone and an “easy target”.. The gunners kept up return fire as Rosenthal and Lewis threw the plane from left to right attempting to dodge the attacks. Incredibly, their flying caused many of the attackers to miss, but they were losing altitude fast since the bomber had only two engines running.

Royal Flush” made it back to Engla...

Photorealistic and Digitally painted aviation art works by Airpower Art. Featuring classic and modern aircraft art pieces. Visit us at airpowerart.co.uk. Contact us if you would like to commission a piece or licence any current images.