Pilot

Amidst the thundering battles of World War II, November 21st, 1944 was a relatively calm night. Being afforded a break from the incessant barking of orders and the drumming of heavy leather boots crashing against the ground, the Belgian Royal Airforce team was watching the clear night sky in anticipation of what tomorrow will bring their way. The soothing experience lasted for a couple of breaths, but the peace and quiet was soon broken. In the distance, the familiar buzzing of the Boeing B-17 bomber class bird started to take over the otherwise unperturbed atmosphere, and it quickly became the central attraction that claimed the entire team's attention. 

Though jets flying back from hostile territory was a welcome sight, this one had an eerie air about it. Its arrival was unannounced, unexpected, but most importantly, quite hasty. Following this sighting, the air force team assumed the worst and quickly sounded the alarms to alert the higherups who ordered immediate emergency protocol execution. 

The SUVs' engines were revved up, the soldiers buckled up, and they eagerly awaited the plane to make its landing. Inching closer, everyone expected the pilot to slow down, but to their amazement, the B-17 soared full speed across the airfield, and the touchdown was anything but graceful. Miraculously, the plane touched down in a nearby field, and the rough contact with friendly soil did not cause a major disaster. Instead, the manoeuvre looked like a routine and clean emergency landing to the untrained eye. The sight, though grim, still bore some hope that the crew may yet make it out with minimal injury. 

In a heartbeat, the soldiers, accompanied by Major John V. Crisp, surrounded the plane, and they held their breath as they awaited the emergence of the plane's crew so that they can provide prompt medical care and get answers to the questions they so desperately held. Five whole minutes went by, and the silence that was solely broken by the clanking of the propellers against the hard soil made it seem like an eternity. The clock ticked another 10 minutes, then 15, and finally 20. At that point, Mjr. Crisp grew restless, and he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

Not knowing what to expect, Mjr. Crisp took up arms in an abrupt gesture, and he cautiously made his way to the plane, taking great care as to not brush up against the fuming propellers that stubbornly kept spinning. After locating the door, the officer stepped inside of the airplane, and to his utmost horror, not a single soul was to be found on board. 

After that discovery, Mjr. Crips did not give in to his puzzled mind and troubled heart, instead, he quickly turned off the plane's engines, grabbed his report book, and noted down the whole ordeal. In his words, the parachutes were all accounted for and looked ready for use, the food was left half-eaten, and leather jackets, one of the cornerstones of the air force, were laid on the seats. But perhaps most unsettling of all, Mjr. Crips found the captain's log with the final entry being "bad flak," and he could almost feel the blank pages taunting him to write the ending to this chilling tale.

Wasting no time, Mjr. Crisps went back to his men and ordered them to scrutinize the plane screw by screw to find the crew that was once aboard this ship. Indeed, the officer knew all too well that "they disappeared without a trace" wasn't an acceptable response when asked to report the event. 

Thus, the legend of the "Phantom Fortress" which recounts the manless landing of the U.S behemoth of a plane in the Belgian airfield was born, and it did not fail to send chills down the spines of listeners, causing their imagination to run wild with possibilities as to what may have occurred on that fateful night. 

And now, for the facts of the matter.

The "phantom" B-17 was manned by Lt. Harold R. Debolt, and the crash was a result of a failed mission over the German skies that targeted oil refineries in Merseburg. After his plane was fatally wounded, the Lt. engaged the autopilot and commanded his crew to abandon ship since, by his estimation, there was no conceivable way they'd make it back to England. Luckily for them, the entire crew made it safely to a nearby allied airfield. Of course, this story does not explain the whole picture since some details are left unanswered.

Well, to understand what really happened, let's go back to Riseley, England. In 1943, young John Gell was looking up to the sky with his family, keeping a lookout for what became a tradition for them. Every now and then, they'd watch B-17 bombers and other planes come back from successful missions over German skies, but on October 14, one of the Boeings was reportedly flying with the flock until it seemingly lost control and crashed in Gell's backyard. His father, quick to lend hand, rushed towards the crash sight, but the plane was empty. 

What does that have to do with anything? Well, as it turns out, the "Phantom Fortress" was born from the merging of both stories. In other words, many have recounted the story, and the details of both planes crashing were mixed up, resulting in the creation of a false fantastic tale that haunted soldiers for a while. Further, the description about the parachutes being intact and the food being half-eaten were all conjectures, and the Major's official report never included any of these details. 

Actually, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where the mix-up happened, but a book written by Martin Caidin in 1991 titled "Ghosts of the Air: True Stories of Aerial Hauntings" features the story of Gell, and it may have been the catalyst for the tale. 

So, what do you think? Is this legend an intentional act meant to spook listeners? Or can it simply be brushed off as human error? Well, I for one am impressed at the number of unmanned planes that somehow manage to crash-land themselves at very convenient places. No matter the case, I hope you enjoyed this read. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this text, I would greatly appreciate any feedback, have a good one!

The facts reported in this post have been mostly taken from the following sources: 

- Brian Dunning: The Phantom Fortress

- The Why Files - Legend of the Phantom Fortress | The Ghost Plane that Flew and Landed Itself

- Christopher Hoitash: Phantom Fortress: The Crewless Landing of a B-17