"There we were, going backwards, toward the end of the runway with all four engines at full take-off power." (a real ground loop story... Flak hits? No problem. No instruments? No problem. Land in mud, do a 180, and firewall the engines to nail the landing? Hold my beer))

It had been raining for weeks when we took off, the steel mat runway was covered with three inches of slimy mud.

Airplanes, taking off and landing just pushed the steel mat deeper into the mud. Every time an airplane took off or landed, more and more slimy mud had pushed up on top of the steel mat. So as we approached the mud-covered runway, there were three or four inches of slippery slime on top of the mat. 

But we were not worried until I called for flaps, my copilot, replied, "We don't have any. They're not coming down" and it was too late to crank them down by hand.

We weren't about to go around again without an airspeed indicator. Due to the "hot" approach speed we didn't touch down until we were half-way down the field. The airplane in front of us made a normal landing and turned off at a taxi-strip about five- hundred feet short of the end of the runway. That pilot managed to land short enough to turn to the left onto that first taxi strip. 

As he turned, he looked out his left window and saw that we were halfway down the field, he turned to his co-pilot and says, "Look out that right window. George is going to crash into the gully at the end of the runway." (Several British bombers had hit that gully in the past, and they blew up).

We finally got the plane on the mud and I hit the brakes. No brakes! (in a B-17, the pilot and co-pilot can look out their window and see the wheel on their side). Every time I touched the brakes, the wheels would stop, lock, and we'd hydroplane over the mud.

I had one choice, something we'd normally try to avoid. "Ground-loop"

 I pulled No. 3 and 4 engines all the way back. I pushed No. 1 and 2 throttles forward to take- off power, I started tapping the right brake (trying to ground loop to the right, and let centrifugal force tip the left wing into the ground). We'd damage the airplane but avoid crashing into the gully.

Normally, the plane would turn and leave the runway. But it was so slimy, the wheels had no friction to make it turn. The plane just kept sliding forward. No. 1 and 2 engines at full take-off power caused the airplane to spin around while sliding straight down the runway. As it approached 180 degrees, I pushed number 3 and 4 throttles full forward.

Now we had "take off" power on all four engines. There we were, going backwards, toward the end of the runway with all four engines at full take-off power.

Well, we stopped right on the very end of the runway and immediately started to  move back to the taxiway we just landed on before sliding backwards.

You can imagine how scared our navigator and the bombardier were. Sitting in the nose of the airplane, as it approached the end of the runway and began to spin. This maneuver is one that I'm sure had never been done previously nor will it ever be done again.

It was the most unforgettable landing in a B-17.

http://www.richlandbombers.com/dayspay.html

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/16159