EFrem,

Actually, I think that this and a huge number of other stories fall into the "urban legend" range. They circulate for decades, often with just slight variations to keep them up to date. Psych speaking, this is supposed to stem from our ingrained desire to tell stories to warn of danger and amuse; from millenium of sitting around the campfire. The story about the "little boy" or "old man who no one would listen to" and letting the airs out of the semi-trailer tires (which was stuck under a bridge!) has been kicking around since the 1950s and if I hear it one more time from another "eye witness" I think that I will scream.

As for the bomber issue; re: did the British fly B-17s? The 8th AF (technically Army Air Corps until 1947) flew our beloved B-17s by day, while the Brits struck at German cities by night in their Halifaxes, Sterlings, Lancasters, and Blenheims (early on), etc. Prior to 1942, there were a few test 17s, which the British did fly. Actually, the Luftwaffe even had three captured B-17s too!!! The early tests helped to point out the need for twin 50's in the nose (which showed up in the G and H models) to avoid the frontal, barrel-roll tactics employed by the Luftwaffe.

However, past the initial stage of the air war, the British did not fly our Boeings. Definitely not by 1944 as indicated in the "story". So, the story is critically flawed, anyway. On a sidenote, I have heard this one from ~ 1980 on, and yes it used to be a Boeing 707 and at least they referenced an American pilot who used to fly for the 8th AF. Ah well, the urban legends roll on; albeit in a faster form now.

P.S. "Butcher Bird" was the 8th AF slang term for the Focke-Wolf 190A, arguably the best piston-engine fighter (esp. below 25,000 feet) which the Luftwaffe had. I.e., it was called that for the way that it hacked through the bomber stream.