Browne, Robert W. "The Rugged Fortress: Life-Saving B-17 Remembered.". 2012-03-07 01:27:07. [100], A second attempt on Schweinfurt on 14 October 1943 later came to be known as "Black Thursday". how many b17s were shot down during ww2 - bagtical.com Three squadrons undertook Met profiles from airfields in Iceland, Scotland and England, gathering data for vital weather forecasting purposes. [178] During the war, the largest offensive bombing force, the Eighth Air Force, had an open preference for the B-17. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - The National WWII Museum But he wasn't a fighter pilot. Wiki User. [173], The B-17, a versatile aircraft, served in dozens of USAAF units in theaters of combat throughout World WarII, and in other roles for the RAF. [118] B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 398th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, taking fire from flak over Germany, 1944-45. The resulting "Combined Bomber Offensive" weakened the Wehrmacht, destroyed German morale, and established air superiority through Operation Pointblank's destruction of German fighter strength in preparation for a ground offensive. Its main use was in Europe, where its shorter range and smaller bombload relative to other aircraft did not hamper it as much as in the Pacific Theater. They were chosen specifically for these missions as being more suitable for this role than other available German aircraft; they never attempted to deceive the Allies and always wore full Luftwaffe markings. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Battle Over Bougainville". In fact, he wasn't a pilot at all . [105] German fighters needed to respond, and the North American P-51 Mustang and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters (equipped with improved drop tanks to extend their range) accompanying the American heavies all the way to and from the targets engaged them. All were Allison powered. An early model YB-17 also appeared in the 1938 film Test Pilot with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, and later with Clark Gable in Command Decision in 1948, in Tora! About 130 B-17s were converted to the air-sea rescue role, at first designated B-17H and later SB-17G. [37] Scheduled to fly in 1937, it encountered problems with the turbochargers, and its first flight was delayed until 29 April 1938. Captured B-17 Bombers in World War II - warhistoryonline info@nationalww2museum.org 60 B-52s Shot Down In One Day? Today's U.S. Air Force Can - Forbes One of these Taiwan-based B-17s was flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines in mid-September, assigned for covert missions into Tibet. The small force of B-17s operated against the Japanese invasion force until they were withdrawn to Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. 21) rocket mortar by the Luftwaffe in mid-August 1943 promised the introduction of a major "stand-off" style of offensive weapon one strut-mounted tubular launcher was fixed under each wing panel on the Luftwaffe's single-engine fighters, and two under each wing panel of a few twin-engine Bf 110 daylight Zerstrer aircraft. In 1957 the surviving B-17s had been stripped of all weapons and painted black. Answer (1 of 12): Yes but the kill ratio generally favored attacking fighters. And by 27 April 1945, 2 days after the last heavy bombing mission in Europe, the rate of aircraft loss was so low that replacement aircraft were no longer arriving and the number of bombers per bomb group was reduced. [citation needed], Two additional groups arrived in Britain at the same time, bringing with them the first B-17Fs, which served as the primary AAF heavy bomber fighting the Germans until September 1943. The Allison V-1710 was allocated to fighter aircraft. The 4x Hornet Radial Engines could produce 750 HP at 2100 meters. These losses were a result of concentrated attacks by over 300 German fighters. Also on board were Wright Field test observer John Cutting, and mechanic Mark Koegler. [84], As use by Bomber Command had been curtailed, the RAF transferred its remaining FortressI aircraft to Coastal Command for use as a long-range maritime patrol aircraft. [71][162][163], In 1946, surplus B-17s were chosen as drone aircraft for atmospheric sampling during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests, being able to fly close to or even through the mushroom clouds without endangering a crew. The aircraft went through several alterations in each of its design stages and variants. how many b17s were shot down during ww2. [177][note 5], Many pilots who flew both the B-17 and the B-24 preferred the B-17 for its greater stability and ease in formation flying. How many b17 are still flying? In a USAAC competition, Boeing's prototype Model 299/XB-17 outperformed two other entries but crashed, losing the initial 200-bomber contract to the Douglas B-18 Bolo. The largest of the ghettos where Eastern European Jews were first confined and, later, deported to extermination camps by the Nazis was set up in Warsaw, Poland. [91], The USAAF began building up its air forces in Europe using B-17Es soon after entering the war. (U.S. Air Force photo) The Boeing B-17 was one of the primary heavy bombers built by the United States during World War II. ", "Question How many bomber flight crews completed their 25 missions to go home?". The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber used by the United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces during World War II. Tragically, the plane stalled and spun into the ground soon after takeoff, bursting into flames. ", "German wonder weapons: degraded production and effectiveness. These aircraft had landed with mechanical trouble during the shuttle bombing raids over Germany or had been damaged by a Luftwaffe raid in Poltava. Operational History. [105] The 8th Air Force alone lost 176 bombers in October 1943,[106] and was to suffer similar casualties on 11 January 1944 on missions to Oschersleben, Halberstadt, and Brunswick. Top Image:Close-up of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in flight, 1944-45. Almost all of the other bombers suffered some level of damage. The aircraft was turned over to the Swiss Air Force, who then flew the bomber until the end of the war, using other interned but non-airworthy B-17s for spare parts. How many B-17s were shot down during World War 2? "[141] Martin Caidin reported one instance in which a B-17 suffered a midair collision with a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, losing an engine and suffering serious damage to both the starboard horizontal stabilizer and the vertical stabilizer, and being knocked out of formation by the impact. National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 2870 / Local Identifier 18-C-406-2 - AIR WAR IN EUROPE - War Department. [160][170], B-17s were used by the CIA front companies Civil Air Transport, Air America and Intermountain Aviation for special missions. The bomber's topside surfaces were repainted a dark olive drab, but retained its light gray under wing and lower fuselage surfaces. All of these modifications made the YB-40 well over 10,000lb (4,500kg) heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. Meantime 60 B-17's were lost to all causes (including flak). M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. [15], Boeing was quick to see the value of the name and had it trademarked for use. 11,846 helicopters According to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, a total of 11,846 helicopters were shot down or crashed during the war, resulting in nearly 5,000 American pilots and crew killed. The B-17s were primarily involved in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign against German targets ranging from U-boat pens, docks, warehouses, and airfields to industrial targets such as aircraft factories. With a renewed focus and power, the Allies finally achieved the air supremacy needed over Normandyfor the D-Day landings in June 1944. [112], On 7 December 1941, a group of 12 B-17s of the 38th (four B-17C) and 88th (eight B-17E) Reconnaissance Squadrons, en route to reinforce the Philippines, was flown into Pearl Harbor from Hamilton Field, California, arriving while the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was going on. ", "Giant Bomber Flies Four Miles Per Minute. [ Via] B17f-42-30336 landed in a field at Norholm Estate near Varde Denmark on 9.10.1943 after developing engine trouble, the crew baled out and the pilot landed the plane . In October 1943 the Swiss interned Boeing B-17F-25-VE, tail number 25841, and its U.S. flight crew after the Flying Fortress developed engine trouble after a raid over Germany and was forced to land. The B-17 saw early action in the Pacific War, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields. After Dallas airshow crash, how many B-17s are still flying? [75], Three damaged B-17s, one "D" and two "E" series, were rebuilt during 1942 to flying status by Japanese technicians and mechanics, using parts salvaged from abandoned B-17 wrecks in the Philippines and the Java East Indies. She was featured in a USAAF documentary, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. [12] [160][168] PB-1Ws continued in USN service until 1955, gradually being phased out in favor of the Lockheed WV-2 (known in the USAF as the EC-121, a designation adopted by the USN in 1962), a military version of the Lockheed 1049 Constellation commercial airliner. [citation needed], The B-17 was noted for its ability to absorb battle damage, still reach its target and bring its crew home safely. The electrical systems were less vulnerable to damage than the B-24's hydraulics, and the B-17 was easier to fly than a B-24 when missing an engine. B-17s were used in early battles of the Pacific with little success, notably the Battle of Coral Sea[120] and Battle of Midway. Lacking a true heavy bomber at the start of World War II, the RAF purchased 20 B-17Cs. To enhance performance at slower speeds, the B-17B was altered to include larger rudders and flaps. The pilots flying the ME-109s and FW-190s were professionalsthe best in the world. The Air Corps was looking for a bomber capable of reinforcing the air forces in Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska. Mayday! When bombers crashed in Switzerland - SWI swissinfo.ch B-17 pilot flew unexpectedly into the middle of Japanese attack on The FEAF lost half its aircraft during the first strike,[117] and was all but destroyed over the next few days. [180], Many B-17 crew members received military honors and 17 received the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States:[197], Data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft[38], Hollywood featured the B-17 in its period films, such as director Howard Hawks' Air Force starring John Garfield and Twelve O'Clock High starring Gregory Peck. Though the crash of the prototype 299 in 1935 had almost wiped out Boeing, now it was seen as a boon. 2012-04-07 03:53:31. A number of B-17Gs, redesignated B-17Hs and later SB-17Gs, were used in the Pacific during the final year of the war to carry and drop lifeboats to stranded bomber crews who had been shot down or crashed at sea. There are very few films left in existence showing the Me 262 in action, especially shooting down allied bombers with P-51 escorts. Most of the escorts turned back or missed the rendezvous, and as a result, 60 B-17s were destroyed. The first B-17 raid in Europe took place on August 17, 1942, when 12 planes attacked the railroad marshaling yards in Rouen, France. The first Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid occurred during >World War II (1939-1945). John Keema of the 390th Bomb Group said, "No matter the target they were defending, they were balls to the wall. As each of these wounded airplanes returned, the legend of the B-17 grew. [144], After examining wrecked B-17s and B-24s, Luftwaffe officers discovered that on average it took about 20 hits with 20 mm shells fired from the rear to bring them down. Though initially surviving the impact, Hill died within a few hours, and Tower on 19 November. The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. As the Americans flew further into Europe and Germany, the missions became deadlier. The "D" model, later deemed an obsolescent design, was used in Japanese training and propaganda films. "The Battle of the Bismarck Sea", pp. How many Cobras were shot down in Vietnam? - 2023 1, 17 August 1942", "How Allied Air Attacks Evolved During World War II", "Combat Chronology of the U.S. Army Air Forces: April 1945.". Of 2,900 men in the crews, about 650 did not return, although some survived as prisoners of war. [71], Late in World WarII, at least 25 B-17s were fitted with radio controls and television cameras, loaded with 20,000lb (9,100kg) of high explosives and dubbed BQ-7 "Aphrodite missiles" for Operation Aphrodite. It is the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. The authors of a photo book about the planes and . The AAF's worst accident rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51: a staggering 274 accidents per 100,000 flying hours. [101] While the attack was successful at disrupting the entire works, severely curtailing work there for the remainder of the war, it was at an extreme cost. [135] In order to more quickly form these formations, assembly ships, planes with distinctive paint schemes, were utilized to guide bombers into formation, saving assembly time. This led to more widespread conversion of B-17s as drones and drone control aircraft, both for further use in atomic testing and as targets for testing surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. From then on, red and white neutrality bands were added to the wings of Swiss aircraft to stop accidental attacks by Allied aircraft. Log in. His views were supported by Eighth Air Force statisticians, whose mission studies showed that the Flying Fortress's utility and survivability was much greater than those of the B-24 Liberator. Blast damage was caused over a radius of 5 miles (8.0km). in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. The Me 262, however, had moderate success against the B-17 late in the war. In the infamous "Black Thursday" raid of 14 October 1943, B-17 gunners claimed 288 German fighter aircraft kills whereas in actuality about 40 were shot down. With its usual nose-mounted armament of four MK 108 cannons, and with some examples later equipped with the R4M rocket, launched from underwing racks, it could fire from outside the range of the bombers' .50in (12.7mm) defensive guns and bring an aircraft down with one hit,[147] as both the MK 108's shells and the R4M's warheads were filled with the "shattering" force of the strongly brisant Hexogen military explosive. Flight crews ferried the bombers back across the Atlantic to the United States where the majority were sold for scrap and melted down, although significant numbers remained in use in second-line roles such as VIP transports, air-sea rescue and photo-reconnaissance. Footage from Twelve O' Clock High was also used, along with three restored B-17s, in the 1962 film The War Lover. [103] However, due to the slow 715mph velocity and characteristic ballistic drop of the fired rocket (despite the usual mounting of the launcher at about 15 upward orientation), and the small number of fighters fitted with the weapons, the Wfr. In years following World War I, the United States was heavily influenced by Italian air-power theorist Giulio Douhet who called for heavy investment in a force of bombers to fly over the front-lines, destroy an enemys infrastructure, and break their will to fight. The B-17s attracted a number of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, which were in turn attacked by the P-38 Lightning escorts. [103] Early versions of the Fw 190, one of the best German interceptor fighters, were equipped with two 20mm (0.79in) MG FF cannons, which carried only 500 rounds when belt-fed (normally using 60-round drum magazines in earlier installations), and later with the better Mauser MG 151/20 cannons, which had a longer effective range than the MG FF weapon. The RAF entered World War II with no heavy bomber of its own in service; the biggest available were long-range medium bombers such as the Vickers Wellington, which could carry up to 4,500 pounds (2,000kg) of bombs. The XB-38 was an engine testbed for Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engines, should the Wright engines normally used on the B-17 become unavailable. [127] On the morning of 4 March 1943, a B-17 sank the destroyer Asashio with a 500lb (230kg) bomb while she was picking up survivors from Arashio. Losses were relatively low - below the 5% threshold that was the. [11] It combined features of the company's experimental XB-15 bomber and 247 transport. [115] When the FEAF received word of the attack on Pearl Harbor, General Lewis H. Brereton sent his bombers and fighters on various patrol missions to prevent them from being caught on the ground. [34][35] The 13th Y1B-17 was delivered to the Material Division at Wright Field, Ohio, to be used for flight testing. The Combined Bomber Offensive was effectively complete. These modifications resulted in a 20% increase in aircraft weight.
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