The 8th Air Force had fired 99 million rounds of ammunition during these flights and it is thought that 20,000 German planes were destroyed. Naturally, he scrambled to give chase. 8th airforce B17 claims were hilariously inflated and not even vaguely in relation to actual recorded Luftwaffe losses. The P-51 Mustang had 281 kills during WW2. Several other B-17s remain airworthy to this day. The Bomber Boys: Heroes Who Flew the B-17s in World War II [Ayres, Travis L.] on Amazon.com. 4 reviews. During the war, pilots could only hit with 2% accuracy so a pilot had to fire almost a thousand rounds before a bomber could be brought down! The B-17 (pictured in footage from The Cold Blue) dropped more bombs than any other US aircraft in World War II. My B-17 crew was shot down on a One Allied bombing mission in March 16, 1944 targeting the southern German cities of Augsburg, Ulm and Friedrichshafen involved 740 planes. Steve Snyder. The bomber on the sea bed: B-17 'Flying Fortress' lies at the bottom of the Adriatic Sea after it was shot down 30 miles off coast of Croatia during WWII Almost all of the other bombers suffered some level of damage. Their chance of survival was less than 50 percent. 16) Three of the B-29s, which were repairable, were flown to the Tupelov design bureau in Moscow. 15) During WWII, four B-29s made emergency landings in the Soviet Union after making bombing runs over Japan. Pow! 5) The YB-40, a modified B-17F, was developed as a super-armed gunship to protect other bombers in the days before escort fighters. Lt. Franz Stigler, a Luftwaffe fighter pilot just in from shooting down two B-17s, saw Ye Olde Pub limp by. Operational History. Now just imagine 60 B-52 bombers shot down in one day. 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.Of the 12,731 aircraft built, approximately 4,735 were lost during the War. Seventy five years ago, 291 B-17F Flying Fortress high-altitude heavy bombers, each with a crew of 10, attacked the ball bearing plants around Schweinfurt, Bavaria. May 15, 2004) was a colonel and a Command Pilot in the United States Air Force from Asheville, North Carolina. Those that had flown in combat missions and survived the War were subsequently sent to boneyards, such as those at Walnut Ridge and Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II How many Lancaster bombers were shot down? More than 50,000 Airmen lost their lives in the four years of WWII and the majority of those losses were on bomber missions over Nazi Germany in B-17s and B-24s. The B-17G involved in Wednesday's crash had been involved in one previous incident in 1987, when it ran off a runway in Pennsylvania. The My father-in-law claimed that he flew more than seventy-five missions, mostly over Northern Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Germany. Its gross weight was 4,000 lbs. It is the harrowing story of the first B-17 bombers in England in World War II and the terrible losses they took before long-range fighters were available to escort them on combat missions over Europe. Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth. But the story is more than that. Battle of Guadalcanal, (August 1942February 1943), series of World War II land and sea clashes between Allied and Japanese forces on and around Guadalcanal, one of the southern Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific. Low on ammunition and under heavy artillery fire, some 6,500 G.I.s were forced to capitulate in one of largest mass surrenders of U.S. troops during World War II. Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II. View results. Their chance of survival was less than 50 percent. As World War II intensified, the bombers needed additional armament and armor. Answer (1 of 15): The twenty-five mission mark was more honored in the breach than the observance, as the saying goes. There are very few films left in existence showing the Me 262 in action, especially shooting down allied bombers with P-51 escorts. Pow! Memories of Aeroplanes. Many B-17s survive today in museums, and there are some that still fly. The first B-17s saw combat in 1941, when the British Royal Air Force took delivery of several B-17s for high-altitude missions. For many, the B-17 is the iconic bomber of the war, and the Flying Fortress" remains a symbol of American might. B-17 Flying Fortress. The remaining combat veterans and early production models were stored and later scrapped in the vast scrap drives of the late 1940s. The average age of the crew of a B-17 was less than 25, with four officers and six enlisted Airmen manning the aircraft. By the end of the mission, the Eighth Air Force had lost 30 bombers and 300 men. Lacking a true heavy bomber at the start of World War II, the RAF purchased 20 B-17Cs. The B-17E, the first mass-produced model of the Flying Fortress, carried nine machine guns and a 4,000-pound bomb load. 30 July 2003. 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. CNN Nine-O-Nine, the vintage plane that crashed Wednesday while carrying aviation enthusiasts in Connecticut, was among 13,000 B-17 bombers produced in the buildup to The FW-90 was next with 267. In reality you had 3 or 4 gunners in 300 B17s all firing at the same German fighter which explodes and each gunner tries to claim it. He did not specify how many people were killed. 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. The best movie ever made about the Air Force may be Twelve OClock High, released in 1949. Out of the 1.5 million tons of bombs dropped on Germany, the B17 dropped 500,000 tons. A B-17 shot down by Me-262. The 300 men shot down were obvious casualties, but when the battered bombers returned to their home bases, they carried another 301 wounded in their fuselages. Wegmann and Schnorrer each claimed two B-17s, and Seeler claimed one. The 100th Bomb Group lost 17 of 19 deployed. Now I'm the last man standing. It looks at Bob Morgan's life before and after the "Belle," which makes for some interesting reading. 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.Of the 12,731 aircraft built, approximately 4,735 were lost during the War. Pow! This week marks the 76th anniversary of the Japanese sneak-attack on Pearl Harbor. The B-17 Flying Fortress rolled off the drawing board and onto the runway in a mere 12 months, just in time to become the fearsome workhorse of the US Air Force during World War II. The US asked the Soviets to return the aircraft, but they refused. Every time a 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. To many guns to many men so the bomb load was only around 5000 lbs the Lancaster carried 18,000 lbs from 1943 onwards most B17s were shot down by flak gunners are no good against flak. A merica joined Britain's strategic air campaign designed to destroy Nazi Germany's industrial capacity soon after her entrance into World War Two. USAF. heavier than a fully armed B-17, increasing its time to climb to 20,000 feet from 25 minutes to 48 minutes. About 2,400 American service members died, hundreds of Developed by Boeing, a total of 12,731 aircraft had been produced by Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed from 1936 until 1945. "That's over 500 guys that went down. German Me 262s Gun Down B-17s | Military.com Login 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. Most B17s were shot down way before their 25th mission. In reality you had 3 or 4 gunners in 300 B17s all firing at the same German fighter which explodes and each gunner tries to claim it. More than 50,000 Airmen lost their lives in the four years of WWII and the majority of those losses were on bomber missions over Nazi Germany in B-17s and B-24s. Designating the aircraft Fortress Mk I, the aircraft performed poorly during high-altitude raids in the summer of 1941. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating A vast majority (over 8,000) of these aircraft were lost in either combat operations or training accidents. Launching Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" and Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" from bases in England's eastern countryside, the Americans bombed their targets during the day while the British attacked at night. Percentage wise, we lost more men," he said, recalling one mission where 52 bombers were shot out of the sky. 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. As a 10 year boy living in a small country village in Hertfordshire, some 20 miles North West of London, our world was expanded somewhat by Then, Thacker said, this: Pow! Boeing Plant 2 built a total of 6,981 B-17s in various models, and another 5,745 were built under a nationwide collaborative effort by Douglas and Lockheed (Vega). The 300 men shot down were obvious casualties, but when the battered bombers returned to their home bases, they carried another 301 wounded in their fuselages. The results were impressive. World War 2. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II How many Lancaster bombers were shot down? The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. A World War II-era B-17 bomber crashed in a fireball as it tried to land Wednesday at New Englands second-busiest airport, seriously injuring at least six people aboard, officials said. Study Guides . 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. Along with the naval Battle of Midway (June 36, 1942), the fighting on Guadalcanal marked a turning point in favour of the Allies in the Pacific War. They were re-painted and used by the Luftwaffe for training exercises. My B-17 crew survived Nazi-occupied France in World War II. The first Merlin-equipped Mustang, the P-51B, flew in November 1942. Those that had flown in combat missions and survived the War were subsequently sent to boneyards, such as those at Walnut Ridge and Only a few B-17s survive today, featured at museums and air shows; most were scrapped at the end of the war. About 1,100 young women flew military aircraft stateside during World War II as part of a program called Women Airforce Service Pilots WASP for short. Answer (1 of 3): VERY unlikely. Of the surviving aircraft, 17 were so badly 3249 shot down of 7377 built at a cost of 45,000 pounds each 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. How many b-17 bombers were shot down during World War 2? Answer (1 of 3): VERY unlikely. The 381st lost seven of 18 deployed. Since 1985, we have been dedicated to original reporting and expert analysis on national security--just three blocks from the White House. Captured Almost 40 B-17s were captured by the Luftwaffe. The average age of the crew of a B-17 was less than 25, with four officers and six enlisted Airmen manning the aircraft. This true story of the European bomber war is told by the combatants themselves and by the sometimes bemused English villagers who came to love their Yanks. Though most B-17s were scrapped after the war, we are fortunate to have one on exhibit at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Del. At 30,000 feet, the improved Mustang reached 440 MPH, almost 100 MPH faster than the Allison-equipped Mustang at that altitude. As Allied armies fought their way deep into occupied Europe, it was the P-51 Mustang which wrested control of the skies from the Luftwaffe. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating B-17, also called Flying Fortress, U.S. heavy bomber used during World War II. 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. There were 12,731 B-17s built between 1936 and 1945. 6) The B-17G had 13 .50-caliber machine guns. According to documented reports, Wegmann claimed his kills had occurred at approximately 11:20 am. Pow! Now I'm the last man standing. There are stats on this page for German aircraft: North American P-51 Mustang --- The plane that went all the way. Jan. 1, 2011. A vast majority (over 8,000) of these aircraft were lost in either combat operations or training accidents. Many B-17s survive today in museums, and there are some that still fly. 3249 shot down of 7377 built at a cost of 45,000 pounds each For many, the B-17 is the iconic bomber of the war, and the Flying Fortress" remains a symbol of American might. The P 12. 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. For the survivors, there wasnt much time for contemplation of those lost. 8th airforce B17 claims were hilariously inflated and not even vaguely in relation to actual recorded Luftwaffe losses. Or even 16 aircraft, which would be 28 percent of the Air Forces current fleet of 58 B-52Hs. The B-17, one of more than 10,000 built, was once dubbed the "Flying Fortress," prized for its ruggedness and versatility. Of the surviving aircraft, 17 were so badly damaged that they were scrapped. B-17, also called Flying Fortress, U.S. heavy bomber used during World War II.