[93][94] The operation, carried out in good visibility, was a success, with only minor damage to one aircraft, unrelated to enemy action, and half the bombs landing in the target area. [103], To rectify the Fw 190's shortcomings, the number of cannons fitted was doubled to four, with a corresponding increase in the amount of ammunition carried, creating the Sturmbock bomber destroyer version. 223 Squadron, as part of 100 Group, operated a number of Fortresses equipped with an electronic warfare system known as "Airborne Cigar" (ABC). Copy. [78] While the Short Stirling and Handley Page Halifax became its primary bombers by 1941, in early 1940, the RAF entered into an agreement with the U.S. Army Air Corps to acquire 20 B-17Cs, which were given the service name Fortress I. [20] The YB-17 incorporated a number of significant changes from the Model 299, including more powerful Wright R-1820-39 Cyclone engines. the Germans broke off to refuel having shot down 15 B-17s. Craven, Wesley Frank, James Lea Cate and Richard L. Watson, eds. 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. ", "Chapter 18: Rouen-Sotteville, No. Shores, Christopher, Brian Cull and Yasuho Izawa. 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. 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. [7] Of the roughly 1.5 million tons of bombs dropped on Nazi Germany and its occupied territories by U.S. aircraft, over 640 000 tons (42.6%) were dropped from B-17s.[8].
B-17 pilot flew unexpectedly into the middle of Japanese attack on How many b-17 bombers were shot down during World War 2? [166] Perhaps the most famous B-17, the Memphis Belle, has been restored with the B-17D The Swoose under way to her World War II wartime appearance by the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The B-17's armament consisted of five .30 caliber (7.62 mm) machine guns, with a payload up to 4,800 lb (2,200 kg) of bombs on two racks in the bomb bay behind the cockpit.
Horrific WWII Statistics The "D" model, later deemed an obsolescent design, was used in Japanese training and propaganda films. Bigger WWII bombers like e.g. 206 Squadron RAF sank U-627 on 27 October 1942, the first of 11 U-boat kills credited to RAF Fortress bombers during the war.[86]. ", "Why Use Colourful Camouflage in World War 2? The Allison V-1710 was allocated to fighter aircraft. ", "Langley B-17s paved way for independent Air Force", "World War II General Electric Turbosupercharges", "Flying Fortress (B-17G): A Survey of the Hard-hitting American Heavy Weight. Wiki User. [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. The aircraft went through several alterations in each of its design stages and variants. 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.
Captured B-17 Bombers in World War II - warhistoryonline Many had dozens of aerial victories; some had over 100. The ammunition load was over 11,000 rounds. Water spouts just offshore . The iconic bomber of the European theater, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, carried the fight to the Germans in the skies over Europe.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - The National WWII Museum How many Cobras were shot down in Vietnam? - 2023 The RAF entered World War II with no heavy bomber of its own in service; the biggest available were long-range medium bombers such as the Vickers Wellington, which could carry up to 4,500 pounds (2,000kg) of bombs. [39] Once service testing was complete, the Y1B-17s and Y1B-17A were redesignated B-17 and B-17A, respectively, to signify the change to operational status. [135] In order to more quickly form these formations, assembly ships, planes with distinctive paint schemes, were utilized to guide bombers into formation, saving assembly time. The current total of surviving B-17 bombers located in the United States stands at 40: Nine (9) B-17 planes are airworthy, such as "Texas Raiders", "Sentimental Journey" and "Aluminum Overcast". It was code-named "Tachikawa 105" after the mystery aircraft's wingspan was measured (104-ft.) but never identified. Though many were shot down, many more severely damaged aircraft were able to return their crews safely to base. The Ball turret itself has inspired works like Steven Spielberg's The Mission. Though the crash of the prototype 299 in 1935 had almost wiped out Boeing, now it was seen as a boon. Before the advent of long-range fighter escorts, B-17s had only their .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns to rely on for defense during the bombing runs over Europe. Of those servicepeople, 2,382 were killed while serving aboard UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the ubiquitous "Huey." Also on board were Wright Field test observer John Cutting, and mechanic Mark Koegler.
How many German fighters did the B17 and B24 shoot down during - Quora There were 12,731 B-17s built between 1936 and 1945. Ramsey, Winston G. "The V-Weapons". These aircraft were painted dark blue, the standard Navy paint scheme which had been adopted in late 1944. Posted on . As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. These aircraft had landed with mechanical trouble during the shuttle bombing raids over Germany or had been damaged by a Luftwaffe raid in Poltava. The campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. Yenne, Bill, "B-17 at War": p. 16; Zenith Press; 2006: B-17 Erection and Maintenance Manual 01-20EE-2. Log in. 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. [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. These aircraft were primarily used for agent drop missions over the People's Republic of China, flying from Taiwan, with Taiwanese crews. They could also pose as ground controllers themselves with the intention of steering nightfighters away from the bomber streams. However, B-17s were operating at heights too great for most A6M Zero fighters to reach. 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. [131] These aircraft were nicknamed Dumbos, and remained in service for many years after the end of World War II.[132]. Mayday!
Memphis Belle (aircraft) - Wikipedia [87], The air corps renamed United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941 used the B-17 and other bombers to bomb from high altitudes with the aid of the then-secret Norden bombsight, known as the "Blue Ox",[88][89] which was an optical electromechanical gyrostabilized analog computer. ", "Second-Generation Norden Bombsight Vault", "Aviation Photography: B-17 Flying Fortress. Crashed Model 299. [7] The USAAF bombers attacked by day, with British operations chiefly against industrial cities by night. The YB-40s with their numerous heavy modifications had trouble keeping up with the lighter bombers once they had dropped their bombs, so the project was abandoned and finally phased out in July 1943. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.044, Group of B-17 bombers over Europe with vapor trail flowing behind them, 1944-45. Did any American B-17 crewman ever shoot down a German fighter plane while flying over Germany during World War II? Meantime 60 B-17's were lost to all causes (including flak). Wiki User. [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. 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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: The Right Touch". [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. As he maneuvered his unarmed B-17 bomber over the island of Oahu, U.S. Army Lt. Robert Thacker was puzzled. With a renewed focus and power, the Allies finally achieved the air supremacy needed over Normandyfor the D-Day landings in June 1944. ", "890th Bryanskiy Bomber Aviation Regiment", "The Surprising Story of Japan's B-17 Fleet", "Warbird Registry Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress", "US Coast Guard Aviation History: Boeing PB-1G 'Flying Fortress'. 504-528-1944, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Black Volunteer Infantry Platoons in World War II, Kasserine Pass: German Offensive, American Victory, Gallantry against Great Odds: LTC George Marshall and Operation RESERVIST, Prelude to Liberation: Genesis of American Amphibious Assault in the ETO, Black Thursday October 14, 1943: The Second Schweinfurt Bombing Raid, An Exercise in Depravity: The Establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad, Stalingrad: Experimentation, Adaptation, Implementation. 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.
The Eighth Air Force vs. The Luftwaffe - The National WWII Museum ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: A Point of Honor. The four-engine plane typically carried a crew of 10, several of whom. These turbo-superchargers were incorporated into the B-17B. coast. This was operated by German-speaking radio operators who were to identify and jam German ground controllers' broadcasts to their nightfighters. [123] The allied fighter pilots claimed 15 Zeros destroyed, while the B-17 crews claimed five more. [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. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, each producing 750hp (600kW) at 7,000ft (2,100m). [90] The device was able to determine, from variables put in by the bombardier, the point at which the aircraft's bombs should be released to hit the target. [40] The Y1B-17A had a maximum speed of 311 miles per hour (501km/h), at its best operational altitude, compared to 239 miles per hour (385km/h) for the Y1B-17. See answer .
B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II - ThoughtCo [223][224] Works such as The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell and Heavy Metal's section "B-17" depict the nature of these missions. Blast damage was caused over a radius of 5 miles (8.0km). [103] Additionally, 122 bombers were damaged and needed repairs before their next flights. M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. The B-17, for all its armor and firepower, was simply unable to continue to fly unescorted against swarms of German fighter aircraft and their sophisticated air defense system. [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]. Of 2,900 men in the crews, about 650 did not return, although some survived as prisoners of war. Eighty years ago, the Red Army managed to stop, contain, and ultimately defeat the largest German army on the Eastern Front. Ten of the 12 Fortresses survived the attack.
What was the life expectancy of a B-17 crewman flying over - Quora Of the surviving aircraft, 17 were so badly damaged that they were scrapped. [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. Of the 12,731 B-17s built, about 4,735 were lost during the war. [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. [129] Surviving aircraft were reassigned to the 54th Troop Carrier Wing's special airdrop section and were used to drop supplies to ground forces operating in close contact with the enemy. in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. The adoption of the 21 cm Nebelwerfer-derived Werfer-Granate 21 (Wfr. Even though it was the Japanese who attacked the Americans at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the official policy of the United States and its allies was to defeat Germany first. [103] Pilots of average ability hit the bombers with only about two percent of the rounds they fired, so to obtain 20 hits, the average pilot had to fire one thousand 20mm (0.79in) rounds at a bomber. 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. [citation needed] It was subsequently used in various films and in the 1960s television show 12 O'Clock High before being retired to the Planes of Fame aviation museum in Chino, California. It also developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. ", "German wonder weapons: degraded production and effectiveness.
how many b17s were shot down during ww2 - bagtical.com 7375, 15859. [176] In a well-publicized mission on 12 May of the same year, three Y1B-17s "intercepted" and took photographs of the Italian ocean liner SS Rex 610 miles (980km) off the Atlantic coast. The B-17 was a sturdily built aircraft. [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. The SB-17 served through the Korean War, remaining in service with USAF until the mid-1950s. On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10.
", "Question How many bomber flight crews completed their 25 missions to go home?". How many B-17s were shot down during World War 2? The B-17 Flying Fortress became symbolic of the United States of America's air power. Create. [72], The B-17 began operations in World WarII with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941, and in the Southwest Pacific with the U.S. Army. [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].
Did the gunners aboard B-17 bombers in WWII manage to shoot down enemy [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. [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. A retirement ceremony was held several days later at Holloman AFB, after which 44-83684 was retired. 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. Forty-five planes survive in complete form, 38 in the United States.
Originally, the B-17 was also chosen because of its heavy defensive armament, but this was later removed. 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 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). 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. Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II. The first Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid occurred during >World War II (1939-1945). The first bomber to hit Japan after Pearl Harbor, the B-25 Mitchell was found in every theater of the war and was a rugged, multipurpose bomber beloved by her aircrew for its survivability and ease to fly. [67], By the time the definitive B-17G appeared, the number of guns had been increased from seven to 13, the designs of the gun stations were finalized, and other adjustments were completed. (U.S. Air Force photo) The Boeing B-17 was one of the primary heavy bombers built by the United States during World War II. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. [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. The first B-17 raid in Europe took place on August 17, 1942, when 12 planes attacked the railroad marshaling yards in Rouen, France. Lacking a true heavy bomber at the start of World War II, the RAF purchased 20 B-17Cs. Artists who served on the bomber units also created paintings and drawings depicting the combat conditions in World War II. Kelly was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.