11. Falling Out of an Airplane Without a Parachute – and Surviving
Serving in a bomber during WWII was as dangerous a job as it got for the Western Allies’ fighting men in Europe. Especially in the days before Allied fighters secured aerial supremacy, and bomber losses were horrific. In 1943, for example, some American Eighth Air Force bomber groups recorded a 400 percent turnover in personnel in just three months. At the time, bomber crews were tasked with a 25-mission tour of duty. However, most never made it past their fifth mission.
Things were even more horrendous for British bomber crews. Out of a total of 125,000 aircrews who flew for the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, over 55,000 were killed – a 44.4% death rate. Another 8400 were wounded in action, and nearly 10,000 were taken prisoner, for a total loss rate of 58%. However, amidst that carnage, there were some amazingly strange survival stories – such as those of airmen who somehow survived falling without a parachute from miles up in the air.
