‘Hold My Legs’: How Ernie Sisto Shot a Sky-High Disaster

Ernie Sisto, a photographer for the New York Times, captured images of the B-25 bomber that struck the Empire State Building on July 28, 1945, by positioning himself on a building ledge with another person holding his legs. The bomber, piloted by Lieutenant Colonel William Franklin Smith Jr., hit the 79th floor of the building at 9:49 a.m., killing 14 people. Sisto's photographs documented the damage and rescue efforts immediately following the collision.

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