How were tools delivered to a damaged B-17 in mid-flight?

Short answer

From another B-17: Lieutenant Colonel Conway S. Hall flew the Fortress from which special tools were cable-passed to a crewman leaning out of the radio hatch of the "Carolina Queen", which could not lower its landing gear. The manoeuvre copied the in-flight refuelling feats of earlier endurance flyers.

Published: November 2, 2026 · Updated: November 2, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

How were tools delivered to a damaged B-17 in mid-flight?

Sunset silhouette of flying fortress, Langley Field, Va

Five hours circling

The episode took place five hours after the rest of the group's aircraft had returned from a bombing mission over Oldenburg, Germany. Unable to lower the wheels into the normal landing position, Lieutenant Bond had to keep circling until what is believed to have been the first successful tool-passing in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) was completed.

Tools passed by cable between two Fortresses

The procedure was modelled on the in-flight refuelling feats with which earlier endurance test pilots had set their records, adapted to wartime conditions. Lieutenant Colonel Conway S. Hall, the group's deputy commander, flew the Fortress from which the special tools meant to release the "Carolina Queen"'s ball turret were passed by cable. At the other end of the cable they were received by a crewman at the radio hatch of the stricken bomber.

The result

With the tools delivered in this unusual way, the "Carolina Queen"'s turret could be loosened and eventually fell into the English Channel. Bond returned to base and brought the aircraft down in a perfect belly landing, made easier for both pilot and aircraft by the absence of the turret, which had protruded from the fuselage and placed it under strain. The damage was limited to a bent propeller and a scraped undercarriage, and the aircraft was expected to be flying again very soon.