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. [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. 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. Their first operation, against Wilhelmshaven on 8 July 1941 was unsuccessful. [222], The Flying Fortress has also been featured in artistic works expressing the physical and psychological stress of the combat conditions and the high casualty rates that crews suffered. 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. Shores, Christopher, Brian Cull and Yasuho Izawa. That aircraft was the Boeing B-17, better known as the Flying Fortress. [165] The last operational mission flown by a USAF Fortress was conducted on 6 August 1959, when a DB-17P, serial 44-83684 , directed a QB-17G, out of Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, as a target for an AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missile fired from a McDonnell F-101 Voodoo. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Rabaul on a Wing and a Prayer". The U.S. produced an amazing 276,000 aircraft during World War II, with 16 new B-17s per day rolling out of the factories per day by April 1944. As each of these wounded airplanes returned, the legend of the B-17 grew. For the film, see, "B-17 Flying Fortress" redirects here. 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. ", Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 16:26, "intercept" and photograph the Italian ocean liner, List of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress variants, a gunner's position was added in the new tail, the campaign against German aircraft forces, raid on the German capital ship Gneisenau, National Museum of the United States Air Force, List of surviving Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Aircraft in fiction B-17 Flying Fortress, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces, Accidents and incidents involving the B-17 Flying Fortress, List of military aircraft of the United States, "Army's Biggest Bomber Has Rotating Nose. Yes, for instance, M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. Posted on . Though initially surviving the impact, Hill died within a few hours, and Tower on 19 November. 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. They were brave. Japanese fighter pilots machine-gunned some of the B-17 crew members as they descended and attacked others in the water after they landed. A 1943 survey by the USAAF found that over half the bombers shot down by the Germans had left the protection of the main formation. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Crisis in the Cockpit". [84], As use by Bomber Command had been curtailed, the RAF transferred its remaining FortressI aircraft to Coastal Command for use as a long-range maritime patrol aircraft. [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. [180], Many B-17 crew members received military honors and 17 received the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States:[197], Data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft[38], Hollywood featured the B-17 in its period films, such as director Howard Hawks' Air Force starring John Garfield and Twelve O'Clock High starring Gregory Peck. The B-17G was the final version of the Flying Fortress, incorporating all changes made to its predecessor, the B-17F,[57] and in total, 8,680 were built,[68] the last (by Lockheed) on 28 July 1945. [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. [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. [ Via] B17f-42-30336 landed in a field at Norholm Estate near Varde Denmark on 9.10.1943 after developing engine trouble, the crew baled out and the pilot landed the plane . The only prototype XB-38 to fly crashed on its ninth flight, and the type was abandoned. Hess, William N. and Jim Winchester. The pilots flying the ME-109s and FW-190s were professionalsthe best in the world. For many, the B-17 is the iconic bomber of the war, and the Flying Fortress"remains a symbol of American might. Best Answer. The bombardier essentially took over flight control of the aircraft during the bomb run, maintaining a level altitude during the final moments before release. [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. 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. [172] N809Z was used to perform a Skyhook pick up in the James Bond movie Thunderball in 1965. Four are airworthy. The first Eighth Air Force units arrived in High Wycombe, England, on 12 May 1942, to form the 97th Bomb Group. These included B-17G 44-85531, registered as N809Z. in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. How many B-17 were shot down over Germany? She was featured in a USAAF documentary, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. 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. [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. From then on, red and white neutrality bands were added to the wings of Swiss aircraft to stop accidental attacks by Allied aircraft. Create. Many historians have written about the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division, who fought with distinction during World War II. A number of B-17Gs, redesignated B-17Hs and later SB-17Gs, were used in the Pacific during the final year of the war to carry and drop lifeboats to stranded bomber crews who had been shot down or crashed at sea. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating deep into enemy . 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. These turbo-superchargers were incorporated into the B-17B. [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. [157], Following the end of World War II, the B-17 was quickly phased out of use as a bomber and the Army Air Forces retired most of its fleet. 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. Subjects > Humanities > History. But help soon arrived when the North American P-51 Mustang began to reach the beleaguered Eighth Air Force in large enough numbers to make a difference. [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. [citation needed], The B-17 was noted for its ability to absorb battle damage, still reach its target and bring its crew home safely. [74] In July 1942, the first USAAF B-17s were sent to England to join the Eighth Air Force. It was a four engine, heavy bomber which first flew on July 28, 1935. ", "Giant Bomber Flies Four Miles Per Minute. Given German Balkenkreuz national markings on their wings and fuselage sides, and "Hakenkreuz" swastika tail fin-flashes, the captured B-17s were used to determine the B-17's vulnerabilities and to train German interceptor pilots in attack tactics. No products in the cart. Many had dozens of aerial victories; some had over 100. In 1957 the surviving B-17s had been stripped of all weapons and painted black. [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. Smith and LeSchack parachuted from the B-17 and searched the station for several days. They could also pose as ground controllers themselves with the intention of steering nightfighters away from the bomber streams. These aircraft were painted dark blue, the standard Navy paint scheme which had been adopted in late 1944. Bigger WWII bombers like e.g. [149] Others, with the cover designations Dornier Do 200 and Do 288, were used as long-range transports by the Kampfgeschwader 200 special duties unit, carrying out agent drops and supplying secret airstrips in the Middle East and North Africa. Though the crash of the prototype 299 in 1935 had almost wiped out Boeing, now it was seen as a boon. Meantime 60 B-17's were lost to all causes (including flak). Later versions carried four or even six MG 151/20 cannon and twin 13mm machine guns. With a renewed focus and power, the Allies finally achieved the air supremacy needed over Normandyfor the D-Day landings in June 1944. The competition for the air corps contract was to be decided by a "fly-off" between Boeing's design, the Douglas DB-1, and the Martin Model 146 at Wilbur Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. [72], The first four drones were sent to Mimoyecques, the Siracourt V-1 bunker, Watten, and Wizernes on 4 August, causing little damage. In years following World War I, the United States was heavily influenced by Italian air-power theorist Giulio Douhet who called for heavy investment in a force of bombers to fly over the front-lines, destroy an enemys infrastructure, and break their will to fight. The SB-17 served through the Korean War, remaining in service with USAF until the mid-1950s. About 130 B-17s were converted to the air-sea rescue role, at first designated B-17H and later SB-17G. Of 2,900 men in the crews, about 650 did not return, although some survived as prisoners of war. These losses amounted to 25 percent of the attacking force. 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. The Name [178] During the war, the largest offensive bombing force, the Eighth Air Force, had an open preference for the B-17. All of these modifications made the YB-40 well over 10,000lb (4,500kg) heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. The Air Corps was looking for a bomber capable of reinforcing the air forces in Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska. [73] A squadron of B-17s from this force detached to the Middle East to join the First Provisional Bombardment Group, thus becoming the first American B-17 squadron to go to war against the Germans. The idea of a pilot's checklist spread to other crew members, other air corps aircraft types, and eventually throughout the aviation world. [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. As the raids of the American bombing campaign grew in numbers and frequency, German interception efforts grew in strength (such as during the attempted bombing of Kiel on 13 June 1943[96]), such that unescorted bombing missions came to be discouraged. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. The Americans believed the B-17, with the Norden bomb sight, could be that bomber. "Boeing's Battle Wagon: The B-17 Flying Fortress An Outline History". This. Air Corps doctrine dictated bombing runs from high altitude, but they soon found only 1% of their bombs hit targets. [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. [122][124] Actual Japanese fighter losses for the day were seven destroyed and three damaged. [18] His opinions were shared by the air corps procurement officers, and even before the competition had finished, they suggested buying 65 B-17s.
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