A Brief History
On December 10, 1941, Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr. became the first in a long line of American heroes that flew the great Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a pairing of the greatest bomber of World War II and the greatest bomber pilots.
Digging Deeper
Only 3 days after the catastrophic raid on Pearl Harbor thrust the US into the War, the Philippines were next on the Japanese list of American targets, and Kelly with his bomber and crew were there to face the threat. On a mission to attack Japanese naval forces, Kelly bombed the Japanese cruiser Natori, inflicting light damage on the ship. On the return trip to their home airfield at Clark Airfield, the big bomber was beset by numerous Japanese A6M Zero fighter planes.
Battling numerous fighters proved to be problematic for the bomber, but the gunners managed to repel the determined Zeros, though the Fortress took heavy damage itself. As the bomber approached Clark Airbase, a fire broke out and it was clear the bomber could not safely land. Kelly ordered his crew to bail out while he stayed at the helm, piloting the plane until his 9 men safely bailed out. The bomber then exploded, killing Kelly, and making him an instant hero at a time when America was starved for heroic stories.
The Japanese fighter pilots had to turn away before seeing the bomber crash, and thus only claimed a “probable” kill. Confused reports of the bombing mission misidentified the Natori as the battleship Haruna, and reports circulated that the battleship had been sunk. On top of that, it was wrongly reported that Kelly sacrificed himself by flying his crippled bomber into the Haruna, striking the big ship in the smokestack and sinking the vessel. Other bungled reports had the bomber sinking the Natori, or another cruiser that was in the area, or sinking the Haruna with bombs. The “Fog of War” is a profound confusion typical of most battles through the ages, and in this case even the date was confused in early reports, with the date of battle given as December 9 instead of December 10. Even the so called 20/20 hindsight provided by the passage of time does not always help clarify things, as some modern accounts of the incident still claim Kelly had sunk one ship or the other and had done so suicide style. Kelly’s surviving crew reported the Natori heavily damaged, when the real damage was slight.
Still, even with the confusion about the details of the battle, Kelly stands out as a hero and rightfully was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross to go with his previously awarded Distinguished Flying Cross. A Liberty ship was later named in Kelly’s honor. Streets and schools have been named in Kelly’s honor, and his son was given an appointment to West Point where he graduated in 1963. Colin Kelly was only the first of many heroic fliers that took the B-17 into combat, one of the greatest legacies in the history of aerial warfare.
Question for students (and subscribers): Why is Kelly considered a hero? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Salecker, Gene E. Fortress Against The Sun: The B-17 Flying Fortress In The Pacific. Da Capo Press, 2007.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="15001 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=15001">38 Comments
What an iconic figure in history!
This is so awesome. Definitely worthy of the recognition!
Kelly was such a hero!
War is filled with amazing military personnel that never really got the recognition they deserved.
We need to hear more stories like these across the world.
Great American hero story!
I agree and it is nice to hear about people like this.
Kelly was a great hero. Anyone who saves the lives of his crew deserves the highest honor. Too bad they had “fake news” back then too.
This was a great article with all that is going on with the World it is nice to read about heroes. We as a Country need good stories like this.
It’s nice to see stories about heroes!
One of many heroes that helped to stimulate the American Forces. I would like to think that his last moments were flying that plane straight into the faces of the Japanese sailors.
As far as war goes, I always find planes as the most interesting part of the war. They play a huge part in the war and a lot of the times, there are great heroes that come from them like the above story.
Learning about the “Fog of War” was interesting!
I am glad that Kelly was given credit for what he did for the country. Many of the American pilots played a huge part in WWII.
I’m glad that Kelly got the credit he rightfully deserved. I feel that so many men and women do heroic actions and do superhuman feats in the face of battle and their story goes untold.
Ive never heard of Colin Kelly and I just found out he was only the first of many heroic fliers that took the B-17 into combat.
I never heard of the story of Colin Kelly. I’m glad he was given credit for what he did. He truly was a hero.
I’m glad that Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr. was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross to go with his previously awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for the bravery that he showed when he put the lives of his men above his own. That is the ultimate sacrifice of any service person. So, Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr., I salute you.
Although there were many conflicting reports Kelly is still a hero, he did his duty to save his men as well as fight till his last breath. I am glad he was given the award for his service.
So many go unrecognized for their heroic efforts. Although it is sad that he lost his life saving his crew he was definitely a hero. In a time of war with so much confusion happening it is no wonder that times, dates and actions are misreported .
He was indeed a hero. He sacrificed his life to save others. No greater honor than that. However, there are still many that are awaiting the recognition that they rightfully deserve.
I love that his crew claimed there was more damage to the ship than there was. It speaks to the time and how Americans were out for blood. They needed a hero, and they needed to hear that some Japanese had been killed in revenge. I wonder if the crew understood this, and that is why they claimed more damage? Or they were just confused because it was so hectic, and they truly believed what they said.
In my opinion, this time in American history is dark and bloody. I often wonder if the need America had to claim a “hero” wasn’t to help them justify all of the bloodshed and loss.
It us amazing what people would do in earlier time. Congrats to this man and his heroic actions.
What an interesting point Autum makes. I always applauded the achievements of these war men and women.
Military history is not usually very interesting to me but it is interesting to learn about a war hero like Kelly.
It is interesting to learn of the term “Fog of War,” which I imagine must apply to many more wartime events than most realize. Due to how chaotic the battlefield can be, it is a marvel that any military members can correctly remember and report events as they happen, and I wonder how frequently our modern understanding of such events is misconstrued by unreliable accounts. This certainly seems like an event for which that could be the case.
When the U.S.S. Ashland (LSD 48) was shot at by Somalian pirates in 2010, there were so many different versions of the story, from so many different view points… Some people would glorify things, some would not know all of the details and leave out or make up parts…. It’s really a game of “telephone” hearing someone’s account when there’s so much chaos going on at that given time. I cant imagine an even more chaotic scene!
Interesting! Imagine how many more heroes have stories untold.
Truly a hero! It is interesting how many amazing stories I have learned throughout this course.
Great! After watching one of the videos for this week, it is apparent that B-17 pilots had stamina and drive. If I remember correctly the cockpits were not pressurized nor did they have heat! Crazy!
I never heard of Colin Kelly Jr. before and didn’t know he was a hero and great bomber during WWII.
There are sooo many people who do not get recognized for the accomplishments.. I’m glad these articles have informed me about people who are just as important.
A lot of these articles have provided me with information that I would otherwise not know about. Never heard of this man until now.
He was a war hero and made a great contribution as a pilot
Kelly was a war hero during the fighting war at Pearl Harbor.
He saved nine fellow men’s lives and still the need to make things bigger and better. Were they worried that he had other options and could have landed safely?
I vacationed next to West Point several years back but did not have the ability to visit. I wish I would have. I would have loved to learn about the history. I am glad his son was given an appointment there! That is a great way to honor him!