When a WWII Pilot and Co-Pilot Got Into a Fistfight as Enemy Fighters Tore Their Plane Apart

A Flight into Chaos

On March 9, 1944, a B-17 Flying Fortress named Lucky Lass flew high above German-occupied Europe. The U.S. Eighth Air Force had launched a bombing mission aimed at a critical aircraft factory in Berlin. Lucky Lass flew in formation with other bombers, pushing through the cold skies with ten men onboard. These young airmen had seen combat many times before, and each carried unspoken burdens. They knew the sky ahead would be filled with anti-aircraft fire and enemy planes, but none of them imagined the biggest threat might come from inside their own aircraft.

The crew had flown over sixteen missions together, and stress had left its mark. Among them were Staff Sergeant Ray “Tex” Hollister, the waist gunner from Texas, and Corporal Danny Price, the radio operator from Brooklyn. Their personalities clashed from the start. Tex saw Danny as careless and loud, while Danny thought Tex was bossy and quick-tempered. During a mission over Bremen, their arguing almost turned physical. The pilot, Captain John Leland, had to warn them both. But warnings don’t always stop tempers in the heat of war. The tension between the two men was still simmering when the Lucky Lass headed for Berlin.

The Storm Breaks

As the bomber entered enemy airspace, the sky exploded with black clouds of anti-aircraft fire. The metal body of the plane shuddered under the pressure. Everyone was at their posts, breathing through oxygen masks and focused on their tasks. Tex watched for fighters from his starboard window. Danny adjusted radio settings, struggling to fix a failing intercom system. When Tex believed he spotted enemy fighters approaching from below, he shouted for Danny to alert the captain. But Danny, focused on fixing the signal, didn’t answer right away. Tex shouted again, louder and angrier.

Danny finally turned around and yelled back, slamming his hand near the intercom. Tex saw this as a challenge. Outside, enemy planes screamed past, bullets ripping through the fuselage. One of the gunners, Joe Stanson, was hit in the leg. Inside, Tex unstrapped and stormed toward Danny. His oxygen hose snapped off behind him. Danny stood up, ready. Before either could say another word, they were locked in a violent fistfight—punching, grappling, and slamming each other into the sides of the bomber. All this while the aircraft was under attack and their crewmates fought to stay alive.

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The Breaking Point

Captain Leland struggled to keep control of the plane as German fighters closed in. In the cockpit, he and co-pilot Terry Nolan tried to maintain altitude while dealing with damage to the wing. A brief message came over the failing intercom—someone in the back had started a fight. Leland radioed an angry warning, threatening to have both men removed from duty. But his message barely made it through the static.

A shell then hit the port wing, and the plane began leaking smoke. With the aircraft in real danger, wounded gunner Joe crawled through the narrow space, blood trailing from his leg. He reached Tex and Danny mid-fight. Grabbing Tex’s shoulder, he shouted that they would all die if he didn’t return to his station. Something changed in Tex at that moment. He let go. Danny, breathless and bruised, nodded. No more words were needed. Tex ran back, reconnected his oxygen, and opened fire on a fighter closing in behind them. Danny returned to the radio and sent out their damage report.

A Bond Forged in Survival

The rest of the mission blurred into smoke and fire. Somehow, Lucky Lass held together long enough to drop its bombs and limp back to base in England. They were the last to land, greeted by medics and mechanics. Joe’s injury was serious, but treatable. In the debriefing room that night, silence hung over the crew. The captain addressed Tex and Danny directly, calling their actions a disgrace—but also recognizing they had helped save the aircraft. He chose not to ground them. The war itself, he said, had already punished them enough.

Days later, on the next mission, Tex and Danny sat beside each other again. This time, Danny handed over a prepped oxygen mask, and Tex shared a chocolate bar from his rations. They never became close friends, but they flew together again with a kind of quiet respect.

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Echoes After the War

Years later, long after the war, the story of the mid-air brawl became something of a legend among veterans. Tex returned to Dallas and opened a mechanic shop. Danny ran a radio repair business in Brooklyn. Each year, without fail, Tex received a holiday card from Danny. Inside was always the same thing: a stick of chewing gum and the line, “Next time throw your left first.” Tex would reply, “Only if you promise to duck faster.” What happened in that plane was more than a fight. It was a moment of madness—one that could only be understood by those who had once fought to live while everything around them tried to tear them apart.