Dozens more are in storage or on static display. ", "German wonder weapons: degraded production and effectiveness. "Books of The Times; How Both Sides' Artists Saw World War II" (review). [222], The Flying Fortress has also been featured in artistic works expressing the physical and psychological stress of the combat conditions and the high casualty rates that crews suffered. Of those servicepeople, 2,382 were killed while serving aboard UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the ubiquitous "Huey." [21] Doyle notes, "The loss of Hill and Tower, and the Model 299, was directly responsible for the creation of the modern written checklist used by pilots to this day. Given German Balkenkreuz national markings on their wings and fuselage sides, and "Hakenkreuz" swastika tail fin-flashes, the captured B-17s were used to determine the B-17's vulnerabilities and to train German interceptor pilots in attack tactics. No products in the cart. As of November 2022, four aircraft remain airworthy, none flown in combat. The four-engine plane typically carried a crew of 10, several of whom. As each of these wounded airplanes returned, the legend of the B-17 grew. [136][137] Luftwaffe fighter pilots likened attacking a B-17 combat box formation to encountering a fliegendes Stachelschwein, "flying porcupine", with dozens of machine guns in a combat box aimed at them from almost every direction. [176] In a well-publicized mission on 12 May of the same year, three Y1B-17s "intercepted" and took photographs of the Italian ocean liner SS Rex 610 miles (980km) off the Atlantic coast. Kelly's B-17C AAF S/N 40-2045 (19th BG / 30th BS) crashed about 6mi (10km) from Clark Field after he held the burning Fortress steady long enough for the surviving crew to bail out. Best Answer. The Allison V-1710 was allocated to fighter aircraft. [125][126] The remaining seven transports and three of the eight destroyers were then sunk by a combination of low level strafing runs by Royal Australian Air Force Beaufighters, and skip bombing by USAAF North American B-25 Mitchells at 100ft (30m), while B-17s claimed five hits from higher altitudes. [142] Its toughness was compensation for its shorter range and lighter bomb load compared to the B-24 and British Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. [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. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). [164] One hundred and seven B-17s were converted to drones. On 28 May 1962, N809Z, piloted by Connie Seigrist and Douglas Price, flew Major James Smith, USAF and Lieutenant Leonard A. LeSchack, USNR to the abandoned Soviet arctic ice station NP 8, as Operation Coldfeet. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.034, B-17 Flying Fortress bomber dropping bombs on targets in Europe, 1944-45. 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. Initially, it could carry a payload of 2200 kg along with 5x .30-inch machine guns. [64][65][66] The final production blocks of the B-17F from Douglas' plants did, however, adopt the YB-40's "chin turret", giving them a much-improved forward defense capability. The current total of surviving B-17 bombers located in the United States stands at 40: Nine (9) B-17 planes are airworthy, such as "Texas Raiders", "Sentimental Journey" and "Aluminum Overcast". Losses were so heavy on the mission it became known as Black Thursday." Losses to flak continued to take a high toll of heavy bombers through 1944, but the war in Europe was being won by the Allies. This. This aircraft, now restored to its original B-17G configuration, was on display in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon until it was sold to the Collings Foundation in 2015. Two experimental versions of the B-17 were flown under different designations, the XB-38 Flying Fortress and the YB-40 Flying Fortress. In fact, he wasn't a pilot at all . [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. It was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. The ammunition load was over 11,000 rounds. [149] Others, with the cover designations Dornier Do 200 and Do 288, were used as long-range transports by the Kampfgeschwader 200 special duties unit, carrying out agent drops and supplying secret airstrips in the Middle East and North Africa. Yenne, Bill, "B-17 at War": p. 16; Zenith Press; 2006: B-17 Erection and Maintenance Manual 01-20EE-2. These aircraft had landed with mechanical trouble during the shuttle bombing raids over Germany or had been damaged by a Luftwaffe raid in Poltava. The competition for the air corps contract was to be decided by a "fly-off" between Boeing's design, the Douglas DB-1, and the Martin Model 146 at Wilbur Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. [111], By September 1944, 27 of the 42 bomb groups of the 8th Air Force and six of the 21 groups of the 15th Air Force used B-17s. The B-17 was designed by the Boeing Aircraft Company in response to a 1934 Army Air Corps specification that called for a four-engined bomber at a time when two engines were the norm. This made a formation of bombers a dangerous target to engage by enemy fighters. It had a crew of ten and could carry 6,000 pounds of bombs at 300 miles per hour for a range of 2,000 miles. 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. It should have been a peaceful Sunday morning in Hawaii. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft. ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: A Point of Honor. The. O'Bannon was the US Navy's most decorated destroyer during World War II, earning 17 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. Wikipedia says: Defensive armament increased from four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and one 0.30 in (7.62 mm) nose machine gun in the B-17C, to thirteen 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the B-17G. [163] They were used primarily in the "Dumbo" air-sea rescue role, but were also used for iceberg patrol duties and for photo mapping. Linn joined The National WWII Museum staff in 2014 andservedas a Curator until 2020. 206 Squadron RAF sank U-627 on 27 October 1942, the first of 11 U-boat kills credited to RAF Fortress bombers during the war.[86]. Wixley, Ken. From then on, red and white neutrality bands were added to the wings of Swiss aircraft to stop accidental attacks by Allied aircraft. The first raid on 17 August 1943 did not result in critical damage to the factories, with the 230 attacking B-17s being intercepted by an estimated 300 Luftwaffe fighters. The problem was there was no easy way to hit Germany, as a cross-channel invasion of Europe was still years away. "Anniversary talks: Battle of the Bismarck Sea, "B-17 Pilot Training Manual (Formation). "[22][23], The crashed Model 299 could not finish the evaluation, disqualifying it from the competition. [38] The aircraft was delivered to the army on 31 January 1939. Life and Death Aboard a B-17, 1944. Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. Britain in WW2 . ", "B-17 Flying Fortress to join CF - the Collings Foundation", "414th Squadron Planes and Crews circa 1943", "Memphis Belle bomber newly restored and unveiled at US Air Force museum", "Going from lucky in love to lucky to be alive in 1943", "The Swoose comes home to roost at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force", "A Higher Call: autographed by JG 27 Bf-109 ace Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown of the B-17 "Ye Olde Pub", "Airpower Classics: B-17 Flying Fortress. For many, the B-17 is the iconic bomber of the war, and the Flying Fortress"remains a symbol of American might. [107][108], A third raid on Schweinfurt on 24 February 1944 highlighted what came to be known as "Big Week",[109] during which the bombing missions were directed against German aircraft production. [98], Operation Pointblank opened with attacks on targets in Western Europe. [102] Of the 291 attacking Fortresses, 60 were shot down over Germany, five crashed on approach to Britain, and 12 more were scrapped due to damage a loss of 77 B-17s. [100], A second attempt on Schweinfurt on 14 October 1943 later came to be known as "Black Thursday". Frisbee, John L. "Valor: 'Valor at its Highest'". [165] The last operational mission flown by a USAF Fortress was conducted on 6 August 1959, when a DB-17P, serial 44-83684 , directed a QB-17G, out of Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, as a target for an AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missile fired from a McDonnell F-101 Voodoo. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Battle Over Bougainville". Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II. The bomber's topside surfaces were repainted a dark olive drab, but retained its light gray under wing and lower fuselage surfaces. They also believed they had an aircraft which could fight its way in and out of the target area, unescorted, and return home safely. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. Post accident interviews with Tower and Putt determined the control surface gust lock had not been released. Wiki User. The loss was not total but Boeing's hopes for a substantial bomber contract were dashed. ", "Giant Bomber Flies Four Miles Per Minute. The prototype B-17 Bomber was built at the company's own expense and was a fusion of the features of Boeing XB-15 and Boeing 247 Transport Aircraft. 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. [20] The YB-17 incorporated a number of significant changes from the Model 299, including more powerful Wright R-1820-39 Cyclone engines. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: First of the Few". [116] A series of disputed discussions and decisions, followed by several confusing and false reports of air attacks, delayed the authorization of the sortie. On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10. [166] Perhaps the most famous B-17, the Memphis Belle, has been restored with the B-17D The Swoose under way to her World War II wartime appearance by the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. 504-528-1944, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Black Volunteer Infantry Platoons in World War II, Kasserine Pass: German Offensive, American Victory, Gallantry against Great Odds: LTC George Marshall and Operation RESERVIST, Prelude to Liberation: Genesis of American Amphibious Assault in the ETO, Black Thursday October 14, 1943: The Second Schweinfurt Bombing Raid, An Exercise in Depravity: The Establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad, Stalingrad: Experimentation, Adaptation, Implementation. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. The U.S. produced an amazing 276,000 aircraft during World War II, with 16 new B-17s per day rolling out of the factories per day by April 1944. They also desired, but did not require, a range of 2,000mi (3,200km) and a speed of 250mph (400km/h). Forty-five planes survive in complete form, 38 in the United States. [17], At the fly-off, the four-engined Boeing's performance was superior to those of the twin-engined DB-1 and Model 146. ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: A Tale of Two Texans.". As the war intensified, Boeing used feedback from aircrews to improve each new variant with increased armament and armor. How many B-17s were shot down during the Second World War? ", "Durable B-17s hard for pilots to forget: Love for plane outweighs bitter memories of war", "World War II War Production Why Were the B-17 and B-24 Produced in Parallel? Japanese fighter pilots machine-gunned some of the B-17 crew members as they descended and attacked others in the water after they landed. While the US Fifteenth Air Force also had B-17s, the most famous group to fly them during the war was the US Eighth Air Force based out of England. Blast damage was caused over a radius of 5 miles (8.0km). An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. It was code-named "Tachikawa 105" after the mystery aircraft's wingspan was measured (104-ft.) but never identified. Trescott, Jacqueline. German ground-based antiaircraft artillery and 300 fighters shot down 60 of the aircraft, with 600 crewmen killed or taken prisoner, the largest Army Air Force loss of the war to date. Bigger WWII bombers like e.g. AFA Statement on Loss of Historic B-17: Painful Reminder of the Sacrifices of WWII Airmen The tragic crash of a historic B-17 Oct. 2 cost the nation an enduring symbol of the sacrifices and heroism displayed by American Airmen in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II. [122] Five of the Japanese fighters strafing the B-17 aircrew were promptly engaged and shot down by three Lightnings, though these were also then lost. Eighty years ago, the Red Army managed to stop, contain, and ultimately defeat the largest German army on the Eastern Front. [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. How many b17 bombers were lost in ww2? [40] The Y1B-17A had a maximum speed of 311 miles per hour (501km/h), at its best operational altitude, compared to 239 miles per hour (385km/h) for the Y1B-17. As he maneuvered his unarmed B-17 bomber over the island of Oahu, U.S. Army Lt. Robert Thacker was puzzled. [160][163] Coast Guard PB-1Gs were stationed at a number of bases in the U.S. and Newfoundland, with five at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, two at CGAS San Francisco, two at NAS Argentia, Newfoundland, one at CGAS Kodiak, Alaska, and one in Washington state. These losses were a result of concentrated attacks by over 300 German fighters. "The Battle of the Bismarck Sea", pp. [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. [citation needed], In July 1945, 16 B-17s were transferred to the Coast Guard via the Navy; these aircraft were initially assigned U.S. Navy Bureau Numbers (BuNo), but were delivered to the Coast Guard designated as PB-1Gs beginning in July 1946. [92] On 17 August 1942, 12 B-17Es of the 97th, with the lead aircraft piloted by Major Paul Tibbets and carrying Brigadier General Ira Eaker as an observer, were close escorted by four squadrons of RAF Spitfire IXs (and a further five squadrons of Spitfire Vs to cover the withdrawal) on the first USAAF heavy bomber raid over Europe, against the large railroad marshalling yards at Rouen-Sotteville in France, while a further six aircraft flew a diversionary raid along the French coast. It carried Swiss national white cross insignia in red squares on both sides of its rudder, fuselage sides, and on the topside and underside wings. B-17s flown by the Eighth saw some of the fiercest combat of the war. [104], Such high losses of aircrews could not be sustained, and the USAAF, recognizing the vulnerability of heavy bombers to interceptors when operating alone, suspended daylight bomber raids deep into Germany until the development of an escort fighter that could protect the bombers all the way from the United Kingdom to Germany and back. [123] The allied fighter pilots claimed 15 Zeros destroyed, while the B-17 crews claimed five more. (06/2. Work on using B-17s to carry airborne lifeboats had begun in 1943, but they entered service in the European theater only in February 1945. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, each producing 750 hp (600 kW) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m). Study now. These aircraft were primarily used for agent drop missions over the People's Republic of China, flying from Taiwan, with Taiwanese crews. 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.
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how many b17s were shot down during ww2