A family friend who was in radio in Canton, Ohio, in the early sixties, told his story. He was a B-17 pilot stationed in England. On a bombing mission to Germany, during initial climb to altitude, the top turret gunner had a problem with his turret. Jim got out of his seat, released the crotch straps of his parachute, and re-hitched the releases outside his hips to enable him to move around the aircraft without binding. After the turret problem was resolved, he again took his seat and fastened his seat belt and shoulder harness. Their B-17 was attacked over the target and damaged by flak and fighters, but they completed their bomb run. On the flight back to England, they lost two engines on the same wing, and had to slowly descend. With the English Channel in sight, the third engine caught fire and had to be shut down. Just as they crossed the coast at 12,000 feet altitude, the one remaining engine started to surge, a sure sign of impending failure. With two crewmembers already killed by enemy fire, Jim ordered the crew to bail out. When he saw that everyone who was able had departed, he left his seat, went aft to the open bomb bay. There he found his navigator sitting on the edge of the bay. He pushed him out, then followed. His parachute opened properly, but as he looked up at the canopy, he noticed that the harness chest strap was about arms length above his head. He then discovered that his elbows had slid into the leg straps that he had fastened outside his hips. Realizing his luck, he locked his arms across his chest. All was well until he had the idea that by grasping the chest strap before he landed in the water, he could simply release his grip when he splashed down, releasing the chute to blow away instead of dragging him through the water. He reached up with one hand to see if he could reach the chest strap, and the canopy started getting smaller. Realizing what had happened, he start the count' "One thousand one, one thousand two". He reached ten and stopped counting. His last recollection was the fluttering, tiny parachute canopy framed between his boots as he fell head first toward the water. He was seen to hit the water by a German E-boat (torpedo boat), and was fished out of the water and made prisoner. He spent two years in captivity, during which time he had two surgeries to repair back and neck injuries from the fall. He was well treated by his captors, and was given affidavits by the Germans documenting his fall into the Channel without his parachute. He passed away in the early seventies. Regards, Clark