World War II: Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid Summary - ThoughtCo [72], The first four drones were sent to Mimoyecques, the Siracourt V-1 bunker, Watten, and Wizernes on 4 August, causing little damage. However, the USAAF continued using the B-17 as a day bomber, despite misgivings by the RAF that attempts at daylight bombing would be ineffective. A merica joined Britain's strategic air campaign designed to destroy Nazi Germany's industrial capacity soon after her entrance into World War Two. Three squadrons undertook Met profiles from airfields in Iceland, Scotland and England, gathering data for vital weather forecasting purposes. Four are airworthy. [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. They also believed they had an aircraft which could fight its way in and out of the target area, unescorted, and return home safely. B-17 Is Shot Down (1943) - YouTube The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. The loss was not total but Boeing's hopes for a substantial bomber contract were dashed. [57] The B-17E was an extensive revision of the Model 299 design: The fuselage was extended by 10ft (3.0m); a much larger rear fuselage, vertical tailfin, rudder, and horizontal stabilizer were added; a gunner's position was added in the new tail;[note 4] the nose (especially the bombardier's framed, 10-panel nose glazing) remained relatively the same as the earlier B through D versions had; a Sperry electrically powered manned dorsal gun turret just behind the cockpit was added; a similarly powered (also built by Sperry) manned ventral ball turret just aft of the bomb bay replaced the relatively hard-to-use, Sperry model 645705-D[60] remotely operated ventral turret on the earliest examples of the E variant. Forty-five planes survive in complete form [1] [a], including 38 in the United States. Their first operation, against Wilhelmshaven on 8 July 1941 was unsuccessful. How many B-17 were shot down over Germany? 2012-03-07 01:27:07. "Boeing Model 299 (B-17 Flying Fortress).". The plane was pulled out of front-line service and used as a transport plane and even drones. Forty-five planes survive in complete form, 38 in the United States. Its famous nickname came from the fact it carried 13 .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns for protection, and had a legendary toughness for carrying its crew home on one engine or even with the tail shot away. [97], The two different strategies of the American and British bomber commands were organized at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. Moreover, German fighter aircraft later developed the tactic of high-speed strafing passes rather than engaging with individual aircraft to inflict damage with minimum risk. [10] The B-17's armament consisted of five .30 caliber (7.62mm) machine guns, with a payload up to 4,800lb (2,200kg) of bombs on two racks in the bomb bay behind the cockpit. [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. Wiki User. 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. Additional armament included an additional dorsal turret in the radio room, a remotely operated and fired Bendix-built "chin turret" directly below the bombardier's accommodation, and twin .50in (12.7mm) guns in each of the waist positions. Best Answer. 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. In 1942, when Eighth Air Force heavy bombers based in Britain first went operational in Europe, they mostly flew what were termed "milk runs" over France, accompanied by fighter escorts. 21 never had a major effect on the combat box formations of Fortresses. 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. The Americans, on the other hand, were proponents of daylight, precision bombing using their state-of-the-art and top-secret Norden bomb-sight. [36] Experiments on this aircraft led to the use of a quartet of General Electric turbo-superchargers, which later became standard on the B-17 line. [50] The B-17C changed from three bulged, oval-shaped gun blisters to two flush, oval-shaped gun window openings, and on the lower fuselage, a single "bathtub" gun gondola housing,[51] which resembled the similarly configured and located Bodenlafette/"Bola" ventral defensive emplacement on the German Heinkel He 111P-series medium bomber. Designating the aircraft Fortress Mk I, the aircraft performed poorly during high-altitude raids in the summer of 1941. As each of these wounded airplanes returned, the legend of the B-17 grew. [70] Initially designated SB-17G, a number of B-17Gs were also converted for search-and-rescue duties, later to be redesignated B-17H. They could also pose as ground controllers themselves with the intention of steering nightfighters away from the bomber streams. [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. Footage of a B-17 bombing raid that was attacked by German flak and Bf-109's in which bombers are hit and shot down. [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. 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. A retirement ceremony was held several days later at Holloman AFB, after which 44-83684 was retired. [128], At their peak, 168 B-17 bombers were in the Pacific theater in September 1942, but already in mid-1942 Gen. Arnold had decided that the B-17 was unsuitable for the kind of operations required in the Pacific and made plans to replace all of the B-17s in the theater with B-24s (and later, B-29s) as soon as they became available. [30] One suggestion adopted was the use of a preflight checklist to avoid accidents such as that which befell the Model 299. [140], After the first Y1B-17s were delivered to the Army Air Corps 2nd Bombardment Group, they were used on flights to promote their long range and navigational capabilities. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Gauntlet of Fire". [citation needed], Another early World War II Pacific engagement, on 10 December 1941, involved Colin Kelly, who reportedly crashed his B-17 into the Japanese battleship Haruna, which was later acknowledged as a near bomb miss on the heavy cruiser Ashigara. How many Cobras were shot down in Vietnam? - 2023 Thomas, Geoffrey J., and Ketley, Barry, "KG 200 The Luftwaffe's Most Secret Unit", Hikoku Publications Ltd., Crowborough, East Sussex, UK, 2003, Correll, John T. " Rendezvous With the 'Rex'. Gr. The Ball turret itself has inspired works like Steven Spielberg's The Mission. Blast damage was caused over a radius of 5 miles (8.0km). Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.041, B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 398th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, in-flight above cloud level in Europe, 1944-45. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. Did the gunners aboard B-17 bombers in WWII manage to shoot down enemy Shores, Christopher, Brian Cull and Yasuho Izawa. 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. This B-17F-27-BO (41-24585; PU-B) was crash-landed near Melun, France by a crew from the 303d Bombardment Group on December 12, 1942 and repaired by Luftwaffe ground staff. [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. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - Wikipedia Although initially deemed repairable, 40-2049 (11th BG / 38th RS) received more than 200 bullet holes and never flew again. There were 12,731 B-17s built between 1936 and 1945. All of these modifications made the YB-40 well over 10,000lb (4,500kg) heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10. The idea of a pilot's checklist spread to other crew members, other air corps aircraft types, and eventually throughout the aviation world. The B-17 evolved through numerous design advances[4][5] but from its inception, the USAAC (later, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft as a strategic weapon. Clearly, something had to be done because the bomber was not getting through. [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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Courage and Conviction". 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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: The Right Touch". Assembly Ships", "Polka Dot Warriors > Vintage Wings of Canada", "Excerpts from B-17 Pilot Training Manual (The Story of the B-17). Post accident interviews with Tower and Putt determined the control surface gust lock had not been released. All were Allison powered. [citation needed] After the defeat in Java, the 19th withdrew to Australia, where it continued in combat until it was sent home by General George C. Kenney when he arrived in Australia in mid-1942. 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. With a renewed focus and power, the Allies finally achieved the air supremacy needed over Normandyfor the D-Day landings in June 1944. The operation did not work as expected, with 90 Squadron's Fortresses being unopposed. [9] Requirements were for it to carry a "useful bombload" at an altitude of 10,000ft (3,000m) for 10 hours with a top speed of at least 200mph (320km/h).[10]. In theory, in the words of British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin,the bomber will always get through. The Americans believed the B-17, with the Norden bomb sight, could be that bomber. When bombers crashed in Switzerland. This type replaced the vulnerable twin-engine Zerstrer heavy fighters which could not survive interception by P-51 Mustangs flying well ahead of the combat boxes in an air supremacy role starting very early in 1944 to clear any Luftwaffe defensive fighters from the skies. Life and Death Aboard a B-17, 1944 - EyeWitness to History National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 2870 / Local Identifier 18-C-406-2 - AIR WAR IN EUROPE - War Department. in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. However, the use of this rigid formation meant that individual aircraft could not engage in evasive maneuvers: they had to fly constantly in a straight line, which made them vulnerable to German flak. 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. [17], At the fly-off, the four-engined Boeing's performance was superior to those of the twin-engined DB-1 and Model 146. But he wasn't a fighter pilot. 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. "Operation Pointblank: Evolution of Allied Air Doctrine During World WarII". ", "Why Use Colourful Camouflage in World War 2? Some SB-17s had their defensive guns removed, while others retained their guns to allow use close to combat areas. The iconic bomber of the European theater, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, carried the fight to the Germans in the skies over Europe. And of those 276,000 planes, 68,000 were lost. Who manufactured the Norden bombsight? - TimesMojo [98], Operation Pointblank opened with attacks on targets in Western Europe. One of the worst days of the war for the B-17 and its crewmen was the second raid on German ball bearing production in Schweinfurt, Germany on October 14, 1943. 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. Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. German Me 262s Gun Down B-17s | Military.com The B-17F variants were the primary versions flying for the Eighth Air Force to face the Germans in 1943 and had standardized the manned Sperry ball turret for ventral defense, also replacing the earlier, 10-panel framed bombardier's nose glazing from the B subtype with an enlarged, nearly frameless Plexiglas bombardier's nose enclosure for improved forward vision. On 3 March 1943, 13 B-17s flying at 7,000ft (2,000m) bombed the convoy, forcing the convoy to disperse and reducing the concentration of their anti-aircraft defenses. The authors of a photo book about the planes and . [155], Official Swiss records identify 6,501 airspace violations during the course of the war, with 198 foreign aircraft landing on Swiss territory and 56 aircraft crashing there. [92] It has been alleged that some B-17s kept their Allied markings and were used by the Luftwaffe in attempts to infiltrate B-17 bombing formations and report on their positions and altitudes. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating deep into enemy . Captured B-17 Bombers in World War II - warhistoryonline
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