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====Controls damaged by mid-air collision====
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*On 1 February 1943, the ''[[All American (aircraft)|All American]]'' [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17F]] was in formation with other bombers of the [[414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron|414th Bombardment Squadron]] to return to their base near [[Biskra]], [[Algeria]] when two [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]]s attacked the lead bomber and the ''All American.'' The first Bf 109 was downed by the bombers but the second continued its attack, flying towards the ''All American'' until its pilot was shot dead by machine gun fire and the Bf 109 collided with the ''All American'', shearing off the bomber's left [[horizontal stabilizer]] and leaving a huge hole at the tail section. The only thing holding the B-17F together was the metal frame connecting the tail section and the rear gunner.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-07 |title=Commentary - A new perspective on a challenging day at work |url=http://www.charleston.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123438088 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807134932/http://www.charleston.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123438088 |archive-date=2016-08-07 |access-date=2022-09-01 }}</ref><ref name="Leone">{{Cite web |last=Leone |first=Dario |date=2017-11-09 |title=THE STORY OF "ALL AMERICAN", THE B-17 THAT MADE IT HOME AFTER HAVING BEEN SLICED BY THE WING OF AN Me 109 |url=https://theaviationgeekclub.com/story-american-b-17-made-home-sliced-wing-109/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=The Aviation Geek Club |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=WarbirdsNews |date=2013-06-27 |title=WWII's B-17 "All American" Separating Fact and Fiction |url=https://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-articles/wwiis-b-17-all-american-separating-fact-fiction.html |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=Vintage Aviation News |language=en-US}}</ref> This caused the rudder, electricals, and oxygen systems to be damaged, removing the tail wheel and leaving only one operating elevator cable when the other control cables were destroyed.<ref>{{Citation |title=B17 All American ~ (Rev. 2a) (720p HD) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OAPgo1iUvM |language=en |access-date=2022-09-01}}</ref> Despite the mid-air collision, none of the crew on board were injured and the B-17F remained airborne. The other bombers slowed down to maintain formation with the ''All American'' to protect it from potential attacks from other [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]]s, which never happened. The B-17F managed to land back at the base with the tail section dragging the landing strip.<ref name="Leone"/>
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