On November 29, 1943, Eugene Paul Moran, serving as a tail gunner on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, narrowly survived a harrowing crash when his bomber was struck and destroyed during a mission over Germany. Such a catastrophic incident would typically leave no survivors, especially for someone in the tail gunner’s vulnerable position. Yet, defying all odds, Moran miraculously emerged alive from the wreckage.
This remarkable tale reveals the extraordinary survival of a modest tail gunner who overcame the unimaginable after being brought down by enemy fire.
Enlisting in the US Army Air Forces (USAAF)
Eugene Moran, born on July 17, 1924, in Wisconsin, grew up working on his family’s farm near Soldiers Grove. When World War II began, instead of continuing his farm work, he answered the call to serve his country overseas, in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Motivated by these events, he enlisted in the US Army Air Forces (USAAF).
Like many of his peers, Moran enlisted at the age of 18 in October 1942. Following his training, he was assigned to the 96th Bombardment Group, 339th Bombardment Squadron, Eighth Air Force.
Eugene Moran enters the fight
Now in the fight, Eugene Moran became a tail gunner aboard the B-17 Flying Fortress Rikki Tikki Tavi, after the mongoose in the Rudyard Kipling novel, The Jungle Book. He, along with the nine crewmen, were stationed at RAF Snetterton Heath, tasked with flying daytime bombing runs over Germany.
Moran and the rest of Rikki Tikki Tavi‘s crew had only completed four missions when disaster struck.
Disaster strikes the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Rikki Tikki Tavi
On November 29, 1943, Rikki Tikki Tavi joined other B-17s of the Eighth Air Force on a mission to Bremen, Germany. After completing their bombing run over the city, Rikki Tikki Tavi lagged behind the formation, becoming the sole focus of the German defenses.
The B-17 endured heavy damage from both air and ground assaults. Eight crew members lost their lives, leaving only Eugene Moran and the bomber’s navigator as survivors. The navigator, positioned in the forward section, managed to parachute to safety, while Moran remained trapped in the tail section.
Things go from bad to worse
Despite the dire circumstances, things were about to get worst. Before Eugene Moran could react, German flak hit Rikki Tikki Tavi, ripping it apart. The tail section, just ahead of the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, managed to stay intact. Moran tried to open a hatch to escape, but it was stuck.
Luckily, the tail section fell less violently than the rest of the B-17, allowing Rikki Tikki Tavi’s tail to glide relatively smoothly.
Eugene Moran fought until the very end
For most people, survival would have been their first priority. With that out of his hands, Eugene Moran continued to fight until he reached the ground. He fired his two M2 Browning machine guns at the Luftwaffe-flown Messerschmitt Bf-109s that continued to attack him. Seeing a seemingly unknown aircraft above, the German flack batteries also continued firing at Moran.
A few moments later, the tail section of Rikki Tikki Tavi glided down to earth, stopping abruptly when it flew into a tree. Moran was alive, but badly injured. He was bloodied and had a cracked skull from when his head was thrown against his machine guns upon impact. He’d also sustained broken ribs and forearms. Moran was attended to by two Serbian prisoners of war (POW), who were doctors. They’d seen the crash and rushed to help.
Surviving his time as a prisoner of war (POW)
Luckily, the American tail gunner went on to make a full recovery. That being said, he wasn’t out of the woods. Over the course of 17-18 months, Eugene Moran was moved to different prisoner of war camps in Germany, Russia and Poland, and also survived a 600-mile march between February and April 1945.
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On April 26, 1945, Moran, weighing only 128 pounds, was liberated by his fellow Americans in Bitterfeld, Germany. Upon his return to the United States, he was awarded two Purple Hearts, the Air Medal with Gold Leaf Cluster, the Good Conduct Medal and the European Theater Award.