Shadowing Practice: When Two B-17s Piggybacked - Learn English Speaking with Video
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It's December the 31st 1944 and in the cockpit of his B-17, the little skipper, is Lieutenant Glenn Rojon alongside his co-pilot,
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Second Lieutenant William Leake.
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They're approaching Germany on a mission to flatten oil refineries in Hamburg.
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Flak erupts directly beneath them and all hell breaks loose.
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The men watch as they see B-17 after B-17 being shot out of the sky in the target area ahead of them.
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When the flak is at its thickest, Rojon sees a smoke target over the docks.
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It's the cue to drop the bombs.
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All the B-17s in Rojon's group that are still flying open their bomb bay doors.
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The flak intensifies with a ferocity that the pilots have never seen before.
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In the lead squadron, the B-17 falls rush in, is hit, dead center with flak.
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It veers off to the right and crashes directly into another B-17 called Kramps Tramps.
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The two planes crunch together and Kramps Tramps is sliced in two.
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Both planes fall from the air.
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Rojan and Lee can't believe their eyes.
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They think everyone is lost, but incredibly, three crew members from each plane get pushed into the void and manage to release their parachutes.
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I see six chutes.
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Rojong pushes the shock to the back of his mind and radios to the bombardier, Sergeant James Shirley.
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Confirm when bombs away.
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Bombs away.
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Through the B-17's huge bomb bay doors drops a stream of 500-pounders which plummet towards the Earth.
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On the little skipper, the ball turret gunner watches the bombs hit the target.
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Russo, out of the view.
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Right on target.
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After dropping the bombs, the formation follows the original plan and does a 180 straight back out to sea.
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They tighten formation as much as they can for the trip home.
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But just as they get in their box formation, Then it's 5 o'clock high!
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Around 50 German defenders race at full speed to intercept the Americans.
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The first on the scene are the jet-propelled Me 262s.
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One screams past the Americans from above, firing its Mk-108 cannons through the line.
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The Mr. Schmidt carries on below and pulls out in a wide arc, its contrails glistening in the sun.
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It's too fast to hit and is already gone before the gun has been targeted.
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Then BF-109s streak past the formation, attacking from the front and FW-190s buzz like Hornets.
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The Faithful Forever on Rojon's right position is lagging slightly back and already damaged from flat.
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and it's hit once again.
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Its pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Leo Ross gets on the radio.
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Ross manages to get his plane down to 5,000 feet straight
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and level despite its damage and all its crew bail and survive.
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Back with the main formation, all hope is lost and the Germans are weak in havoc on the now ragtag formation formation.
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They group at 8 o'clock high.
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Then the beautiful sight of American P-51s comes into view.
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It's fighter support.
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The German interceptors have softer targets and immediately turn and run.
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The American P-51s, safe in the knowledge that the Germans have gone, depart to defend other B-17s further along the line.
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P-51s leave to defend the ports in the upper front.
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Keep your eyes peeled, boys.
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Rojon and what's left of his formation fly on, alone.
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We're almost over the sea.
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Hold on, everyone.
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They approach the coast of Germany to the northwest of Hamburg and they can already see the flak starting up again.
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They battle through the flak once more but quickly they're out over the sea, moving slowly, but they might just make it home.
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The turbulence is now so bad that the B-17s can't hold the formation.
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Then, across the intercom, there is a call.
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Everyone is dreading.
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Then another.
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One of the block high.
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Another wave of German fighters flying from bases in Bremen
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and Oldenburg force their way in to intercept the now loose formation over the sea.
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In a desperate fight for the turbulence, the B-17s are trying to keep in close together.
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Plane after plane is hit.
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More holes in the formation start to appear as B-17s drift away, their engines streaming oil and fire.
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These are dangerous gaps for the German fighters to exploit.
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9 o'clock!
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There are too many of them!
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A Bf 109 flying in from the front strafes the nine lives, the lead plane in Rojon's formation.
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Bullets riddle the cockpit and both pilots are instantly killed.
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But all engines continue working and the remaining crew carry on the flight, unaware that no one's alive up front.
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Back on the little skipper, Rojon reacts quickly to fill the void, desperately trying to keep the formation together.
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Rojon nudges the little skipper into place, one hand on the column, the other ready to throttle back.
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He's looking for the Nine Lives, but the lead plane is nowhere to be seen.
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Pilot to crew, anyone sees McNabb?
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Nine Lives, where did it go?
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Little does he know that the pilots, McNabb and Vaughan, are slumped in their cockpit seats.
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The Nine Lives is flying straight, but not level.
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Her two lifeless pilots have pulled back on the column, and the B-17 moves on a slightly upwards trajectory.
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Ethan Porter, a captain in a nearby B-17, watches as the two planes get closer and closer.
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They're about to collide.
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Quickly he gets on the radio and tries to warn the pilots.
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Look out, they're gonna collide! But it's too late.
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At 12.44, Rojon and Leek are catapulted upward in an almighty shudder that throws Rojon's hand from the throttle levers.
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Leek's knees slam into the column.
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What in God's name was that?
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Violet to crew, what's this happen?
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Top turn!
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Leek and Rojon quickly test the hydraulics and the electrics.
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The systems are working but they're losing control of their fort.
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You're not gonna believe this!
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Rojon looks out to the left and behind.
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They can't believe his eyes.
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We're riding another fort!
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The Nine Lives has crashed mid-air into the little skipper and has pierced the aluminium belly of Rojon's fortress.
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Jeez, Glenn, we're stuck together like mating dragonflies.
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In the ball turret of the Nine Lives, Staff Sergeant Edward Woodall Jr. is covered in metal shards, the result of impact between the two planes.
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He's neither electrical nor hydraulic power, So he grabs his handcrank and prays that the lever does not snap.
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Agonizingly slowly, the guns drop to straight down
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and he is able to crawl backwards out of the turret and into the fuselage.
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Woodall looks down the fuselage.
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It's a mess of tangled metal.
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He knows that Corporal Joe Russo, bald turret gunner of the Little Skipper, hasn't a hope in hell.
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Russo's turret has been pushed down through the roof of the Nine Lives and is clamped in place by twisted metal.
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The gunner is trapped.
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Woodall sees Russo crossing himself through the plexiglass.
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The crew of the little skipper, still in contact with their gunner via the plane's intercom, can hear Russo reciting his fading Hail Marys.
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Bill Leake is deeply moved, hearing the anguish in his ball turret gunner's voice.
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He later said, I could not help him, and I felt that I was somehow invading his right to be alone.
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To allow Russo his final prayers, in private, Leek removes his helmet and his intercom.
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He later said that this was the hardest part of the ride for him.
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Meanwhile, engine number one on the Nine Lives is aflame, and it takes a herculean effort from Rojon
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and Leek to control the two planes' descent as they're locked together and are out of formation now at 15,000 feet.
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The pilots brace their feet against the little skipper's instrument panel for added purchase on the control column, their faces grimacing.
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Come on, I'm level out!
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Rojon tries several times to break the planes free.
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He guns the little skipper's radial engines, even tries to rock the two aircraft apart, but it's no use.
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Damn it!
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The fire will spread out on a wing.
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Let's shut the engines up and try to turn this thing, Bill.
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Rojon knows crashing into the sea is certain death, and to save his crew, he's gonna have to get his plane over land.
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We have to get above land to bail out.
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He doesn't know if he can manage to maneuver the two planes.
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Okay now.
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But he has to try.
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The engines of the little skipper are brought to idle.
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Slowly.
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In an incredible display of airmanship, Rojon and Leek manage to slowly get the two locked B-17s in a turn.
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The planes heave around slowly.
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The pilots are elated as they see the German coast slide once more into view of view.
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Rojon sees that the fire is now blanketing his left wing and the heat is penetrating the fuselage of the little skipper.
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He can feel the heat on his face through the aluminium skin.
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As they get closer to the coast, a flap starts again.
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And then the fireworks begin.
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It's a .50 caliber machine gun ammunition cooking off in the flames and the bullets are spewing into the air all around.
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Rojon and Leek lock eyes in a moment of silent terror.
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The horizon is nearing and Rojon takes to the intercom.
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We're almost over land.
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Get ready to bail out crew.
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You all gotta jump from the tail door.
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The door is directly in the wake of the relentless flames blackening and buckling the Nine Lives and the little skipper above.
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But there's no other way out.
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In the waste area, three crewmen, Elkin, Newhouse and Little are trying to free Russo.
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They can hear him inside still praying.
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They try with all their might, but the ball turret is completely jammed.
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Elkin later said it would not move.
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There was no means of escape for this brave man.
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Hail Mary, for grace, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
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Amen.
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Hail Mary, for grace, pray for the man.
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Reluctantly they move to Baal and with one One final look back towards Rousseau.
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They jump through the flames into the air.
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On the ground, German battery gunners on the North Sea coastal island of Wangaruga cannot believe their eyes.
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This eight-engined double bomber is careering landwards.
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A Wehrmacht captain looks up at the spectacle and realizes that these bombers are doomed and there's no need to fire.
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Fire!
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These guys are no chance!
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It's now minutes until impact.
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Rojon knows it's Leek's last chance to bail out.
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Bill, you got a jump?
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Go!
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Now!
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Leek, in defiance of Rojon's orders, is still inside the cockpit.
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He knows Rojon can't control the plane alone.
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Without Leek's additional muscle, the two planes would enter a spiral, and Rojon would be unable to bail.
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Bill!
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Unstained, Landon.
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Rousseau, in his ball turret, encased by the fuselage of the Nine Lives, perhaps mercifully did not see the ground rushing upwards.
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The ground accelerates towards them.
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The pilots are shouting their prayers as it fills their view.
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Lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil.
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The Nine Lives explodes and disintegrates on impact, vaulting the little skipper upwards like an athlete on a pole an athlete on a pole.
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The skipper, momentarily airborne again, belly flops back to Earth and her left wing slices through a wooden building,
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splitting the fuselage in the process and launching the nose of the ship forwards until finally it stops.
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There's silence.
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Incredulous, the two pilots dare to look at each other.
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They're both alive, neither is badly injured with just cuts and bruises to report.
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Leek crawls from a gaping hole behind the cockpit and emerges into the daylight.
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Finding his feet, he pats his breast in search of a well-earned smoke.
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He's just about to light up when a gun muzzle pointing straight between his eyes forces him to pause.
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Halt!
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A German soldier gestures wildly to the gasoline pouring out over the wing from the ruptured fuel tanks.
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What the hell are you doing?
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Are you crazy?
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You bring us all to flame!
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In no small part, because of Rojon and Leek's airmanship and their ability to turn the two planes around towards land,
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six crewmen survived from the little skipper and four crews survived from their nine lives.
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Rojon, humble to the end, didn't talk much about the distinguished flying cross he earned for his actions.
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He always maintained that he owed his life to Leek.
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In all fairness to my co-pilot, he's the reason I am alive today.
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Please check out the amazingly researched book The Piggyback Flight Pilot's
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Journey by Cindy Rojon for all the details on this incredible story.
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That was incredible, but have you heard about the B-17 tail gunner that fell without a parachute and survived?
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Click here and watch the film to find out more.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Este vídeo tiene 189 frases y 2159 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 14:30. El hablante mantiene un ritmo constante de unas 149 palabras por minuto, cómodo para el shadowing. Solo el 75 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
15 palabras del vídeo que vale la pena aprender, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| skipper sustantivo | /ˈskɪp.ɚ/ | patrón |
| bail sustantivo | /beɪl/ | fianza, caución |
| column sustantivo | /ˈkɒləm/ | columna, pilastra |
| flame sustantivo | /fleɪm/ | flama, llama |
| pray verbo | /pɹeɪ/ | rezar, orar |
| fighter sustantivo | /ˈfaɪtɚ/ | guerrero, combatiente |
| upwards adverbio | /ˈʌpwɚdz/ | hacia arriba, arriba |
| rush verbo | /ɹʌʃ/ | correr, apurarse |
| defend verbo | /dɪˈfɪnd/ | defender, defensar |
| fort sustantivo | /fɔɹt/ | fuerte, fortín |
| prayer sustantivo | /pɹɛɚ/ | oración, rezo |
| tail sustantivo | /ˈteɪ̯l/ | cola, rabo |
| bullet sustantivo | /ˈbʊlɪt/ | bala, proyectil |
| pole sustantivo | /pəʊl/ | polo |
| athlete sustantivo | /ˈæθ.liːt/ | atleta |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| bail out verbo | pagar la fianza | |
| check out verbo | investigar, chequear | |
| find out verbo | averiguar, anoticiarse | |
| light up verbo | iluminar | |
| look back verbo | recordar, volver la cabeza | |
| look out verbo | mirar a, dar a | |
| start up verbo | /stɑɹˈtʌp/ | encender, acender |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 24 contracciones y formas reducidas, como they're, can't, we're. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “th”: athlete /ˈæθ.liːt/, beneath /bɪˈniːθ/, northwest /nɔɹθˈwɛst/, throttle /ˈθɹɔ.tl̩/
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: rush /ɹʌʃ/, shock /ʃɔk/, shout /ʃaʊt/, ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/, distinguish /dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: aluminium /ˌæl.(j)uˈmɪn.i.əm/, electrical /ɪˈlɛktɹɪkəl/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, desperately /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/, ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Haz shadowing frase por frase a velocidad normal, repitiendo cada una hasta que tu ritmo coincida con el del hablante.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como skipper, bail, column.
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | being shot · is hit · is sliced |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | have never seen · has been targeted · have gone |
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.