A large radome for an S-band AN/APS-20 search radar was fitted underneath the fuselage and additional internal fuel tanks were added for longer range, with the provision for additional underwing fuel tanks. 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. [7] Attacks began in April 1943 on heavily fortified key industrial plants in Bremen and Recklinghausen. 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. 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. [15], Boeing was quick to see the value of the name and had it trademarked for use. [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. [143] This durability, together with the large operational numbers in the Eighth Air Force and the fame achieved by the Memphis Belle, made the B-17 a key bomber aircraft of the war. [225][226], "B-17" redirects here. 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. ", "Second-Generation Norden Bombsight Vault", "Aviation Photography: B-17 Flying Fortress. No products in the cart. [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. 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. [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. In July 1940, an order for 512 B-17s was issued,[43] but at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, fewer than 200 were in service with the army. [131] These aircraft were nicknamed Dumbos, and remained in service for many years after the end of World War II.[132]. [103] Additionally, 122 bombers were damaged and needed repairs before their next flights. [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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Courage and Conviction". in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. 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. Unlike the fighter pilots, individual bomber gunners did not receive official credit for any of their shootdowns. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Gauntlet of Fire". Trescott, Jacqueline. [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. [20] The YB-17 incorporated a number of significant changes from the Model 299, including more powerful Wright R-1820-39 Cyclone engines. How many B-17s were shot down during World War 2? - Answers Those who survived the initial onslaught and did not manage to flee, had to eke out a living on a battleground ravaged by incessant bombardment and street fighting. Nonetheless, this deed made him a celebrated war hero. ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: The Quiet Hero.". Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.082. 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. Only 33 bombers landed without damage. 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 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. 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. Categories Video World War II Related Topics World War II [91], The USAAF began building up its air forces in Europe using B-17Es soon after entering the war. The Americans believed the B-17, with the Norden bomb sight, could be that bomber. 2012-04-07 03:53:31. All were Allison powered. What was the life expectancy of a B-17 crewman flying over - Quora [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). [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. Linn joined The National WWII Museum staff in 2014 andservedas a Curator until 2020. [11] It combined features of the company's experimental XB-15 bomber and 247 transport. [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. Of 2,900 men in the crews, about 650 did not return, although some survived as prisoners of war. Gift of Austin Loree, 2011.160.029, Flying Fortresses dropping bombs and smoke markers over Goppingen, Germany in 1945. General Ira C. Eaker and the Eighth Air Force placed highest priority on attacks on the German aircraft industry, especially fighter assembly plants, engine factories, and ball-bearing manufacturers. The FEAF lost half its aircraft during the first strike,[117] and was all but destroyed over the next few days. The ammunition load was over 11,000 rounds. The Germans shot down 36 aircraft with the loss of 200 men, and coupled with a raid earlier in the day against Regensburg, a total of 60 B-17s were lost that day. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft. They were also used to provide search and rescue support for B-29 raids against Japan. 2. 0. How many B-17 Crews died? How many b-17s were shot down during World war II? Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10. Photo-recon analysts never made the connection to it being a captured B-17 until after the war. [98], Operation Pointblank opened with attacks on targets in Western Europe. As of November 2022, four aircraft remain airworthy, none flown in combat. 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. In 1946 (or 1947, according to Holm) the regiment was assigned to the Kazan factory (moving from Baranovichi) to aid in the Soviet effort to reproduce the more advanced Boeing B-29 as the Tupolev Tu-4. 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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Rabaul on a Wing and a Prayer". [142] Its toughness was compensation for its shorter range and lighter bomb load compared to the B-24 and British Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. [122][124] Actual Japanese fighter losses for the day were seven destroyed and three damaged. [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. 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. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.040. [note 1] Boeing also claimed in some of the early press releases that Model 299 was the first combat aircraft that could continue its mission if one of its four engines failed. B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II - ThoughtCo Their first operation, against Wilhelmshaven on 8 July 1941 was unsuccessful. 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. 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. [160][170], B-17s were used by the CIA front companies Civil Air Transport, Air America and Intermountain Aviation for special missions. All of these modifications made the YB-40 well over 10,000lb (4,500kg) heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. How effective was WWII bombers self defense anti-air armament? The two "E"s were used to develop B-17 air combat counter-tactics and also used as enemy aircraft in pilot and crew training films. Of the 291 B-17s in the attack force, 60 were lost, 17 were heavily damaged and most of the others incurred some damage, but were repairable. Many had dozens of aerial victories; some had over 100. The authors of a photo book about the planes and . In a 1943 Consolidated Aircraft poll of 2,500 men in cities where Consolidated advertisements had been run in newspapers, 73% had heard of the B-24 and 90% knew of the B-17. Shores, Christopher, Brian Cull and Yasuho Izawa. [118] This articleis part of an ongoing series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II made possible by Bank of America. During World War II, the B-17 equipped 32 overseas combat groups, inventory peaking in August 1944 at 4,574 USAAF aircraft worldwide. The first Eighth Air Force units arrived in High Wycombe, England, on 12 May 1942, to form the 97th Bomb Group. [116] A series of disputed discussions and decisions, followed by several confusing and false reports of air attacks, delayed the authorization of the sortie. Subjects > Humanities > History. . 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. In contrast, of the nearly 1,100 Cobras delivered to the Army, 300 were lost. The B-17 was reported as shot down by observers, but it survived and brought its crew home without injury. American bomber numbers continued to build in Europe and attacks (and losses) began to build up. The most famous B-17, the Memphis Belle, toured the U. S. with her crew to reinforce national morale (and to sell war bonds). Frisbee, John L. "Valor: The Right Touch". Answer (1 of 12): Yes but the kill ratio generally favored attacking fighters. [30] One suggestion adopted was the use of a preflight checklist to avoid accidents such as that which befell the Model 299. It was a very effective weapons system, dropping more bombs during the . 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. Posted on . 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. The Americans, on the other hand, were proponents of daylight, precision bombing using their state-of-the-art and top-secret Norden bomb-sight. Three squadrons undertook Met profiles from airfields in Iceland, Scotland and England, gathering data for vital weather forecasting purposes.

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