Ubs Securities Llc Board Of Directors, Articles H

The first combat use of the B-17 came not with the USAAC (U.S. Army Air Forces after 1941), but with the Royal Air Force. 223 Squadron, as part of 100 Group, operated a number of Fortresses equipped with an electronic warfare system known as "Airborne Cigar" (ABC). [133] Defensive armament increased from four 0.50in (12.7mm) machine guns and one 0.30in (7.62mm) nose machine gun in the B-17C, to thirteen 0.50in (12.7mm) machine guns in the B-17G. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Crisis in the Cockpit". Answer (1 of 12): Yes but the kill ratio generally favored attacking fighters. The operation, which involved remotely flying Aphrodite drones onto their targets by accompanying CQ-17 "mothership" control aircraft, was approved on 26 June 1944, and assigned to the 388th Bombardment Group stationed at RAF Fersfield, a satellite of RAF Knettishall. [156] The three bombers, which still contained their top secret Norden bombsights, were ferried to Japan where they underwent extensive technical evaluation by the Giken, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force's Air Technical Research Institute (Koku Gijutsu Kenkyujo) at Tachikawa's air field. They were brave. Swiss aircraft attempted to intercept and force individual aircraft to land, interning their crews; one Swiss pilot was killed, shot down by a U.S. bomber crew in September 1944. 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. How effective was WWII bombers self defense anti-air armament? [160][170], B-17s were used by the CIA front companies Civil Air Transport, Air America and Intermountain Aviation for special missions. List of surviving Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses - Wikipedia The 8th Air Force then targeted the ball-bearing factories in Schweinfurt, hoping to cripple the war effort there. 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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: The Right Touch". One of the most significant weapons of World War II would be ready, but only by a hair. As each of these wounded airplanes returned, the legend of the B-17 grew. Of the 291 attacking Fortresses, 60 were shot down over Germany, five crashed on approach to Britain, . For many, the B-17 is the iconic bomber of the war, and the Flying Fortress"remains a symbol of American might. The Eighth Air Force vs. The Luftwaffe - The National WWII Museum [85] These were augmented starting in July 1942 by 45 Fortress Mk IIA (B-17E) followed by 19 Fortress Mk II (B-17F) and three Fortress Mk III (B-17G). 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. About 130 B-17s were converted to the air-sea rescue role, at first designated B-17H and later SB-17G. Arriving over the target, LeMay's bombers encountered little flak and were able to place approximately 300 tons . [150][151] One B-17 of KG200, bearing the Luftwaffe's KG 200 Geschwaderkennung (combat wing code) markings A3+FB, was interned by Spain when it landed at Valencia airfield, 27 June 1944, remaining there for the rest of 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. [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. how many b17s were shot down during ww2. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.048, The B-17 was legendary for its toughness as this photo shows a bomber that survived its nose being crushed and returned to its base in England, 1944-45. The experience showed both the RAF and USAAF that the B-17C was not ready for combat, and that improved defenses, larger bomb loads and more accurate bombing methods were required. Hess, William N. and Jim Winchester. [134] To address this problem, the United States developed the bomb-group formation, which evolved into the staggered combat box formation in which all the B-17s could safely cover any others in their formation with their machine guns. [110] The escort fighters reduced the loss rate to below 7%, with a total of 247 B-17s lost in 3,500 sorties while taking part in the Big Week raids. 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. How many B-17s were shot down during World War 2? As sufficient Consolidated Liberators finally became available, Coastal Command withdrew the Fortress from the Azores, transferring the type to the meteorological reconnaissance role. This. The Allison V-1710 was allocated to fighter aircraft. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.044, Group of B-17 bombers over Europe with vapor trail flowing behind them, 1944-45. Although the prototype was company-owned and never received a military serial (the B-17 designation itself did not appear officially until January 1936, nearly three months after the prototype crashed),[29] the term "XB-17" was retroactively applied to the NX13372's airframe and has entered the lexicon to describe the first Flying Fortress. [11] It combined features of the company's experimental XB-15 bomber and 247 transport. 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. 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. Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II. The problem was there was no easy way to hit Germany, as a cross-channel invasion of Europe was still years away. 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. [172] N809Z was used to perform a Skyhook pick up in the James Bond movie Thunderball in 1965. No products in the cart. 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. While models A through D of the B-17 were designed defensively, the large-tailed B-17E was the first model primarily focused on offensive warfare. [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. It was a four engine, heavy bomber which first flew on July 28, 1935. Regardless, the USAAC had been impressed by the prototype's performance, and on 17 January 1936, through a legal loophole,[27][28] the Air Corps ordered 13 YB-17s (designated Y1B-17 after November 1936 to denote its special F-1 funding) for service testing. American bomber numbers continued to build in Europe and attacks (and losses) began to build up. 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. [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. [16] On 20 August 1935, the prototype flew from Seattle to Wright Field in nine hours and three minutes with an average cruising speed of 252 miles per hour (406km/h), much faster than the competition. All were Allison powered. [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 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). The B-17 Flying Fortress became symbolic of the United States of America's air power. [91], The USAAF began building up its air forces in Europe using B-17Es soon after entering the war. 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 The idea of a pilot's checklist spread to other crew members, other air corps aircraft types, and eventually throughout the aviation world. The Name Special airdrop B-17s supported Australian commandos operating near the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul, which had been the primary B-17 target in 1942 and early 1943. Wiki User. [92], The U.S. did not offer B-17s to the Soviet Union as part of its war materiel assistance program, but at least 73 aircraft were acquired by the Soviet Air Force. [163] They were used primarily in the "Dumbo" air-sea rescue role, but were also used for iceberg patrol duties and for photo mapping. Meantime 60 B-17's were lost to all causes (including flak). From then on, red and white neutrality bands were added to the wings of Swiss aircraft to stop accidental attacks by Allied aircraft. The German fighters found that when attacking from the front, where fewer defensive guns were mounted (and where the pilot was exposed and not protected by armor as he was from the rear), it took only four or five hits to bring a bomber down. Wixley, Ken. [121] While there, the Fifth Air Force B-17s were tasked with disrupting the Japanese sea lanes. Wagner, Ray, "American Combat Planes of the 20th Century", Reno, Nevada, 2004, Jack Bacon & Company, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 16:26. It also developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. In January 1938, group commander Colonel Robert Olds flew a Y1B-17 from the U.S. east coast to the west coast, setting a transcontinental record of 13 hours 27 minutes. [95] The raid helped allay British doubts about the capabilities of American heavy bombers in operations over Europe. M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. Next worst were the P-39 at 245, the P-40 at 188, and the P-38 at 139. Unlike the fighter pilots, individual bomber gunners did not receive official credit for any of their shootdowns. 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. [20] While the air corps was still enthusiastic about the aircraft's potential, army officials were daunted by its cost;[24] Douglas quoted a unit price of $58,200 (equivalent to $916,000 in 2021) based on a production order of 220 aircraft, compared with $99,620 (equivalent to $1,568,000 in 2021 ) from Boeing. The British had been bombing from the air, but heavy losses forced them to switch to nighttime area bombing, greatly reducing its effectiveness. Browne, Robert W. "The Rugged Fortress: Life-Saving B-17 Remembered.". Posted on . All of these modifications made the YB-40 well over 10,000lb (4,500kg) heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. Eighty years ago, the Red Army managed to stop, contain, and ultimately defeat the largest German army on the Eastern Front. [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. The B-17 was reported as shot down by observers, but it survived and brought its crew home without injury. Artists who served on the bomber units also created paintings and drawings depicting the combat conditions in World War II. "Operation Pointblank: Evolution of Allied Air Doctrine During World WarII". The Americans believed the B-17, with the Norden bomb sight, could be that bomber. On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10. Later on footage shows German paratroopers and American P-51 mustangs. The B-17's greatest success in the Pacific was in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, in which aircraft of this type were responsible for damaging and sinking several Japanese transport ships. One of the two "E" Flying Fortresses was photographed late in the war by U. S. aerial recon. 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. They were also used to provide search and rescue support for B-29 raids against Japan. The Me 262, however, had moderate success against the B-17 late in the war. 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. How many helicopters were shot down in Vietnam? ", "Why Use Colourful Camouflage in World War 2? Later that year, two groups moved to Algeria to join Twelfth Air Force for operations in North Africa. The Ball turret itself has inspired works like Steven Spielberg's The Mission. dream of kissing a dead celebrity meaning how many b17s were shot down during ww2. The B-17 saw early action in the Pacific War, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields. Fewer than 10 are airworthy . These aircraft were primarily used for agent drop missions over the People's Republic of China, flying from Taiwan, with Taiwanese crews. Lieutenant General James Doolittle, commander of the 8th, had ordered the second Schweinfurt mission to be cancelled as the weather deteriorated, but the lead units had already entered hostile air space and continued with the mission. 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. "Boeing's Battle Wagon: The B-17 Flying Fortress An Outline History". Tora! [123] The allied fighter pilots claimed 15 Zeros destroyed, while the B-17 crews claimed five more. Although initially deemed repairable, 40-2049 (11th BG / 38th RS) received more than 200 bullet holes and never flew again. By 1944, a further upgrade to Rheinmetall-Borsig's 30mm (1.2in) MK 108 cannons mounted either in the wing, or in underwing, conformal mount gun pods, was made for the Sturmbock Focke-Wulfs as either the /R2 or /R8 field modification kits, enabling aircraft to bring a bomber down with just a few hits.[103]. [25] Army Chief of Staff Malin Craig cancelled the order for 65 YB-17s, and ordered 133 of the twin-engined Douglas B-18 Bolo, instead.[19][20]. Yes, for instance, M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. [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. How many Cobras were shot down in Vietnam? - 2023 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. [12], The first flight of the Model 299 was on 28 July 1935 with Boeing chief test-pilot Leslie Tower at the controls. 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. B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 398th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, taking fire from flak over Germany, 1944-45. 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. [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. Yenne, Bill, "B-17 at War": p. 16; Zenith Press; 2006: B-17 Erection and Maintenance Manual 01-20EE-2. 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. 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. Post accident interviews with Tower and Putt determined the control surface gust lock had not been released. Life and Death Aboard a B-17, 1944 - EyeWitness to History