On Al Spierling's thirteenth mission, over Berlin in 1944, as the squadron began its bomb run, turbulence caused the B-17 above Spierling to drop so close that he could count the rivets on its bomb bay doors. The other ship sheared off “Georgia Peach’s” stabilizer, or tailfin, then dropped its bombload. Somehow, the bombs missed and “Peach” kept flying. Until the trip home.



Then a German anti-aircraft shellburst perforated the fuselage next to Spierling.



He was okay. The plane was not.



Flak from the exploding shell had severed the throttle cables to both engines, No. 1 and No. 2, on the left wing. “Peach” lumbered toward the European coast on two engines, losing altitude.

When the B-17 was 1000 feet above the water, the pilot yelled “Al! Get me some power! NOW!”



As soon as Lt. Clarkson bellowed for more power, Spierling understood what had happened. He said this was because of eighteen weeks of training, but I think his intuition--he had an inborn mechanical instinct-- led to what happened next.



He crawled into the bombardier’s station wiggled beneath the pilots’ seats, and found the two severed cables. He gave them a yank. The B-17 was now 200 feet above the water.

The engines re-started.



“Peach” made it home safely; Mr. Spierling would win a Distinguished Flying Cross.

He was twenty-one years old.



He had twenty-two more missions to fly.



After the War, Spierling would earn his Bachelor's Degree at the University of California-Santa Barbara and his Master's Degree at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. For many years, he taught auto shop at Arroyo Grande (CA) High School. His students loved him. Many of them have said that Mr. Spierling was their favorite teacher in high school.