4/7/2024 0 Comments Bombers in world war 2Somehow, Rojohn and his co-pilot landed the conjoined planes on German soil near Wilhemshaven. Rojohn survived what became one of the miracles of the war when his B-17 collided in mid-air with a bomber below it and became hooked together in what has become known as the “piggyback flight.” A propeller and top guns of the lower B-17 were jammed into Rojohn’s B-17 and he and his co-pilot, William Leek, were unable to free their plane, Cyndi Rojohn said. Besieged by heavy anti-aircraft flak near the target and wave after wave of strafing by German Messerschmitt fighters, 12 of 37 planes were downed and 100 crewmen were killed, captured or missing, according to David Rojohn and his sister, Cyndi Rojohn of Elizabeth Township. Rojohn, who grew up on a farm in Greenock, Elizabeth Township, was piloting a B-17 Flying Fortress in the New Year’s Eve attack on a synthetic oil factory in Hamburg when all hell broke loose. He would remain a German prisoner until the war’s end, five months later. New Year’s Day would not bring about much better memories because on the first day of 1945, Glenn Rojohn was a new prisoner of war. “We never celebrated New Year’s Eve,” said his son, David Rojohn of Jefferson. Rojohn had no interest in popping a bottle of champagne and ringing in the new year. 31, 1944, while under heavy attack during an ill-fated bombing mission over northern Germany, Glenn H.
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