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. Of the surviving aircraft, 17 were so badly damaged that they were scrapped. It should have been a peaceful Sunday morning in Hawaii. [98], Operation Pointblank opened with attacks on targets in Western Europe. [138][139][140] Wally Hoffman, a B-17 pilot with the Eighth Air Force during World WarII, said, "The plane can be cut and slashed almost to pieces by enemy fire and bring its crew home. [33] The mission was successful and widely publicized. Later that year, two groups moved to Algeria to join Twelfth Air Force for operations in North Africa. The Combined Bomber Offensive was effectively complete. [76] The British heavy bombers, the Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax, dropped 608,612 long tons (681,645 short tons) and 224,207 long tons (251,112 short tons)[77] respectively. Instead of building models based on experimental engineering, Boeing had been hard at work developing their bomber and now had versions ready for production far better than would have been possible otherwise. Only 33 bombers landed without damage. How many helicopters were shot down in Vietnam? [221] Both films were made with the full cooperation of the United States Army Air Forces and used USAAF aircraft and (for Twelve O'Clock High) combat footage. The first two ex-USAAF B-17s, a B-17F (later modified to B-17G standard) and a B-17G were obtained by the Navy for various development programs. Also on board were Wright Field test observer John Cutting, and mechanic Mark Koegler. B-17 | Crew, Range, & Bomb Load | Britannica Browne, Robert W. "The Rugged Fortress: Life-Saving B-17 Remembered.". M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. 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 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. For the film, see, "B-17 Flying Fortress" redirects here. [20] The YB-17 incorporated a number of significant changes from the Model 299, including more powerful Wright R-1820-39 Cyclone engines. This. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, each producing 750hp (600kW) at 7,000ft (2,100m). [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]. Sakai, Saburo with Martin Caidin and Fred Saito. How many b-17s were shot down during World war II? O'Bannon was the US Navy's most decorated destroyer during World War II, earning 17 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. How many B-17 Crews died? [36], A 14th Y1B-17 (37-369), originally constructed for ground testing of the airframe's strength, was upgraded by Boeing with exhaust-driven General Electric turbo-superchargers, and designated Y1B-17A. They were brave. [91], The USAAF began building up its air forces in Europe using B-17Es soon after entering the war. But he wasn't a fighter pilot. It was a very effective weapons system, dropping more bombs during the . [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. The bomber's topside surfaces were repainted a dark olive drab, but retained its light gray under wing and lower fuselage surfaces. While the US had less than 200 at the start of the war, more than 12,000 B-17s were produced by the end and served in every theater. 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. 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. The only prototype XB-38 to fly crashed on its ninth flight, and the type was abandoned. It was a four engine, heavy bomber which first flew on July 28, 1935. [30] One suggestion adopted was the use of a preflight checklist to avoid accidents such as that which befell the Model 299. B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 398th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, taking fire from flak over Germany, 1944-45. How many B-17s were lost during the Second World War? Tora! [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. How many b17 are still flying? 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]. dream of kissing a dead celebrity meaning how many b17s were shot down during ww2. Unlike the fighter pilots, individual bomber gunners did not receive official credit for any of their shootdowns. The prototype B-17, with the Boeing factory designation of Model 299, was designed by a team of engineers led by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells, and was built at Boeing's own expense. But because the bombers could not maneuver when attacked by fighters and needed to be flown straight and level during their final bomb run, individual aircraft struggled to fend off a direct attack. [99], Since the airfield bombings were not appreciably reducing German fighter strength, additional B-17 groups were formed, and Eaker ordered major missions deeper into Germany against important industrial targets. [163] They were used primarily in the "Dumbo" air-sea rescue role, but were also used for iceberg patrol duties and for photo mapping. 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. Donald, David. The Name [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. Operational History. 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. "Boeing's Battle Wagon: The B-17 Flying Fortress An Outline History". Losses were relatively low - below the 5% threshold that was the. [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. Covering 12,000 miles (19,000km) they returned on 27 February, with seven aircraft setting off on a flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, three days later. [1][13] The day before, Richard Williams, a reporter for The Seattle Times, coined the name "Flying Fortress" when observing the large number of machine guns sticking out from the new airplane he described it as a "15-ton flying fortress" in a picture caption. By the end of the war, the B-17 was an obsolete aircraft which had been surpassed by another Boeing bomber, the B-29 Superfortress. [131] These aircraft were nicknamed Dumbos, and remained in service for many years after the end of World War II.[132]. Footage from Twelve O' Clock High was also used, along with three restored B-17s, in the 1962 film The War Lover. [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. How many B-17s were shot down during the Second World War? The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating deep into enemy . [175] Six bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Group took off from Langley Field on 15 February 1938 as part of a goodwill flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. 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. There are very few films left in existence showing the Me 262 in action, especially shooting down allied bombers with P-51 escorts. B-17s were used in early battles of the Pacific with little success, notably the Battle of Coral Sea[120] and Battle of Midway. Who manufactured the Norden bombsight? - TimesMojo 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. 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. [122][124] Actual Japanese fighter losses for the day were seven destroyed and three damaged. Wiki User. The authors of a photo book about the planes and . The aircraft went through several alterations in each of its design stages and variants. Tragically, the plane stalled and spun into the ground soon after takeoff, bursting into flames. A New Orleans native, James Linn first became involved with the institution then known as The National D-Day Museum in 2001 as an eighth-grade volunteer on weekends and during the summer. Four are airworthy. Borth 1945, pp. [100], A second attempt on Schweinfurt on 14 October 1943 later came to be known as "Black Thursday". Later on footage shows German paratroopers and American P-51 mustangs. As the Americans flew further into Europe and Germany, the missions became deadlier. The British had been bombing from the air, but heavy losses forced them to switch to nighttime area bombing, greatly reducing its effectiveness. The problem was there was no easy way to hit Germany, as a cross-channel invasion of Europe was still years away. [41], Opposition to the air corps' ambitions for the acquisition of more B-17s faded, and in late 1937, 10 more aircraft designated B-17B were ordered to equip two bombardment groups, one on each U.S. [38] The aircraft was delivered to the army on 31 January 1939. "Smithsonian Panel Backs Transfer of Famed B-17 Bomber.". [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. 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. The plane was pulled out of front-line service and used as a transport plane and even drones. Almost all of the other bombers suffered some level of damage. The oldest of these is a D-series flown in combat in the Pacific on the first day of the United States' involvement in World War II. The most famous B-17, the Memphis Belle, toured the U. S. with her crew to reinforce national morale (and to sell war bonds). The small force of B-17s operated against the Japanese invasion force until they were withdrawn to Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. 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. Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. 2. Half of the group's B-17s were wiped out on 8 December 1941 when they were caught on the ground during refueling and rearming for a planned attack on Japanese airfields on Formosa. [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. During World War II approximately 40 B-17s were captured and refurbished by Germany after crash-landing or being forced down, with about a dozen put back into the air. "Anniversary talks: Battle of the Bismarck Sea, "B-17 Pilot Training Manual (Formation). Eighty years ago, the Red Army managed to stop, contain, and ultimately defeat the largest German army on the Eastern Front. 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. 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. 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. As the war intensified, Boeing used feedback from aircrews to improve each new variant with increased armament and armor. [97], The two different strategies of the American and British bomber commands were organized at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. ", "Why Use Colourful Camouflage in World War 2? The RAF's No. "Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress: Queen of the Skies". 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. These aircraft were primarily used for agent drop missions over the People's Republic of China, flying from Taiwan, with Taiwanese crews. ", "German wonder weapons: degraded production and effectiveness. the B-17 Flying Fortress were equipped with lots of machine guns for self-defense against single-seat fighter aircraft. The B-17 was reported as shot down by observers, but it survived and brought its crew home without injury. Brereton planned B-17 raids on Japanese airfields in Formosa, in accordance with Rainbow 5 war plan directives, but this was overruled by General Douglas MacArthur. She was featured in a USAAF documentary, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. Some SB-17s had their defensive guns removed, while others retained their guns to allow use close to combat areas. [168], Thirty-two B-17Gs[169] were used by the Navy under the designation PB-1W, the suffix -W indicating an airborne early warning role. Ramsey, Winston G. "The V-Weapons". [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. All were Allison powered. [160] At first, these aircraft operated under their original USAAF designations, but on 31 July 1945 they were assigned the naval aircraft designation PB-1, a designation which had originally been used in 1925 for the Boeing Model 50 experimental flying boat.