Eighty years ago, the Red Army managed to stop, contain, and ultimately defeat the largest German army on the Eastern Front. Serial number 44-85784 is the last airworthy B-17 in the United Kingdom and is based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. 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. All were Allison powered. Special airdrop B-17s supported Australian commandos operating near the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul, which had been the primary B-17 target in 1942 and early 1943. [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. [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. how many b17s were shot down during ww2. [136][137] Luftwaffe fighter pilots likened attacking a B-17 combat box formation to encountering a fliegendes Stachelschwein, "flying porcupine", with dozens of machine guns in a combat box aimed at them from almost every direction. 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. [91], The USAAF began building up its air forces in Europe using B-17Es soon after entering the war. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - The National WWII Museum Quote: "At the peak of production, Boeing was rolling out as many as 363 B-17s a month, averaging between 14 and 16 Forts a day, the most incredible production rate for large aircraft in aviation history." 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. 7375, 15859. Horrific WWII Statistics ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: One Turning and One Burning. As the war intensified, Boeing used feedback from aircrews to improve each new variant with increased armament and armor. A retirement ceremony was held several days later at Holloman AFB, after which 44-83684 was retired. Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. Meantime 60 B-17's were lost to all causes (including flak). 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. From then on, red and white neutrality bands were added to the wings of Swiss aircraft to stop accidental attacks by Allied aircraft. B-17 | Crew, Range, & Bomb Load | Britannica Four are airworthy. 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. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.040. As he maneuvered his unarmed B-17 bomber over the island of Oahu, U.S. Army Lt. Robert Thacker was puzzled. The B-17 was a sturdily built aircraft. Fewer than 10 are airworthy . The B-17F also carried light gray flash letters "RD" and "I" on either side of the fuselage's Swiss national insignia. 60 B-52s Shot Down In One Day? Today's U.S. Air Force Can - Forbes Frisbee, John L. "Valor: First of the Few". The SB-17 served through the Korean War, remaining in service with USAF until the mid-1950s. 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 Combined Bomber Offensive was effectively complete. Losses were relatively low - below the 5% threshold that was the. The Allison V-1710 was allocated to fighter aircraft. 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. 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. 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]. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating deep into enemy . Copilot was Lieutenant Donald Putt, while Boeing chief test pilot Leslie R. Tower was behind the pilots in an advisory role. Next worst were the P-39 at 245, the P-40 at 188, and the P-38 at 139. This. 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. [14] The most distinct mount was in the nose, which allowed the single machine gun to be fired toward nearly all frontal angles. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. how many b17s were shot down during ww2 - bagtical.com Hess, William N. and Jim Winchester. [122][124] Actual Japanese fighter losses for the day were seven destroyed and three damaged. 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. The pilots flying the ME-109s and FW-190s were professionalsthe best in the world. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, each producing 750 hp (600 kW) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m). [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. [133] Defensive armament increased from four 0.50in (12.7mm) machine guns and one 0.30in (7.62mm) nose machine gun in the B-17C, to thirteen 0.50in (12.7mm) machine guns in the B-17G. For the video game, see. [152] According to these allegations, the practice was initially successful, but Army Air Force combat aircrews quickly developed and established standard procedures to first warn off, and then fire upon any "stranger" trying to join a group's formation. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Colin Kelly (He was a Hero in Legend and in Fact). Did any American B-17 crewman ever shoot down a German fighter plane while flying over Germany during World War II? the Germans broke off to refuel having shot down 15 B-17s. How many B-17 Crews died? One of the two "E" Flying Fortresses was photographed late in the war by U. S. aerial recon. Top Image:Close-up of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in flight, 1944-45. The B-17s attracted a number of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, which were in turn attacked by the P-38 Lightning escorts. 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. Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II. M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: 'I Am the Captain of My Soul'". 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. Its main use was in Europe, where its shorter range and smaller bombload relative to other aircraft did not hamper it as much as in the Pacific Theater. [121] While there, the Fifth Air Force B-17s were tasked with disrupting the Japanese sea lanes. The first Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid occurred during >World War II (1939-1945). [110] The escort fighters reduced the loss rate to below 7%, with a total of 247 B-17s lost in 3,500 sorties while taking part in the Big Week raids. 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. Originally, the B-17 was also chosen because of its heavy defensive armament, but this was later removed. The Coast Guard PB-1Gs served throughout the 1950s, the last example not being withdrawn from service until 14 October 1959. Wikipedia says: Defensive armament increased from four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and one 0.30 in (7.62 mm) nose machine gun in the B-17C, to thirteen 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the B-17G. 2012-03-07 01:27:07. 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. The B-17 Flying Fortress became symbolic of the United States of America's air power. Tora! [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. It was a very effective weapons system, dropping more bombs during the . 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. "Anniversary talks: Battle of the Bismarck Sea, "B-17 Pilot Training Manual (Formation). Designating the aircraft Fortress Mk I, the aircraft performed poorly during high-altitude raids in the summer of 1941. Of the surviving aircraft, 17 were so badly damaged that they were scrapped. Noted Japanese ace Sabur Sakai is credited with this kill, and in the process, came to respect the ability of the Fortress to absorb punishment.[119]. 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. Best Answer. Air Corps doctrine dictated bombing runs from high altitude, but they soon found only 1% of their bombs hit targets. They were also used to provide search and rescue support for B-29 raids against Japan. For many, the B-17 is the iconic bomber of the war, and the Flying Fortress"remains a symbol of American might. B-17 Is Shot Down (1943) - YouTube [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 AAF's worst accident rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51: a staggering 274 accidents per 100,000 flying hours. [57] The B-17's turbocharged Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 engines were upgraded to increasingly more powerful versions of the same powerplants throughout its production, and similarly, the number of machine gun emplacement locations was increased.[61]. The project came to a sudden end with the unexplained midair explosion over the Blyth estuary of a B-24, part of the United States Navy's contribution as "Project Anvil", en route for Heligoland piloted by Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., future U.S. president John F. Kennedy's elder brother. Later versions carried four or even six MG 151/20 cannon and twin 13mm machine guns. See answer . How many b17s were shot down? [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. [95] The raid helped allay British doubts about the capabilities of American heavy bombers in operations over Europe. ", "Why Use Colourful Camouflage in World War 2? Frisbee, John L. "Valor: The Right Touch". 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 Forty-five planes survive in complete form [1] [a], including 38 in the United States. 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. [7] The USAAF bombers attacked by day, with British operations chiefly against industrial cities by night. Initially, it could carry a payload of 2200 kg along with 5x .30-inch machine guns. 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. ", "Question How many bomber flight crews completed their 25 missions to go home?". 21 never had a major effect on the combat box formations of Fortresses. ", "Durable B-17s hard for pilots to forget: Love for plane outweighs bitter memories of war", "World War II War Production Why Were the B-17 and B-24 Produced in Parallel? Britain in WW2 . Its famous nickname came from the fact it carried 13 .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns for protection, and had a legendary toughness for carrying its crew home on one engine or even with the tail shot away. [123] The allied fighter pilots claimed 15 Zeros destroyed, while the B-17 crews claimed five more. American bomber numbers continued to build in Europe and attacks (and losses) began to build up. ", 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. Although initially deemed repairable, 40-2049 (11th BG / 38th RS) received more than 200 bullet holes and never flew again. 1, 17 August 1942", "How Allied Air Attacks Evolved During World War II", "Combat Chronology of the U.S. Army Air Forces: April 1945.". B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II - ThoughtCo B-17s were used in early battles of the Pacific with little success, notably the Battle of Coral Sea[120] and Battle of Midway. This articleis part of an ongoing series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II made possible by Bank of America. [92], The U.S. did not offer B-17s to the Soviet Union as part of its war materiel assistance program, but at least 73 aircraft were acquired by the Soviet Air Force. ", "Giant Bomber Flies Four Miles Per Minute. [172] N809Z was used to perform a Skyhook pick up in the James Bond movie Thunderball in 1965. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, each producing 750hp (600kW) at 7,000ft (2,100m). Almost all of the other bombers suffered some level of damage. And of those 276,000 planes, 68,000 were lost. The command pilot was Major Ployer Peter Hill, Wright Field Material Division Chief of the Flying Branch, his first flight in the Model 299. [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. [71], Late in World WarII, at least 25 B-17s were fitted with radio controls and television cameras, loaded with 20,000lb (9,100kg) of high explosives and dubbed BQ-7 "Aphrodite missiles" for Operation Aphrodite. [38] The aircraft was delivered to the army on 31 January 1939. How many B 52 bombers were shot down in Vietnam? - 2023 Donald, David. In 1964, the latter film was made into a television show of the same name and ran for three years on ABC TV. Though the crash of the prototype 299 in 1935 had almost wiped out Boeing, now it was seen as a boon. 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. Kelly was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. [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. [20] While the air corps was still enthusiastic about the aircraft's potential, army officials were daunted by its cost;[24] Douglas quoted a unit price of $58,200 (equivalent to $916,000 in 2021) based on a production order of 220 aircraft, compared with $99,620 (equivalent to $1,568,000 in 2021 ) from Boeing. [74] In July 1942, the first USAAF B-17s were sent to England to join the Eighth Air Force. In contrast, of the nearly 1,100 Cobras delivered to the Army, 300 were lost. Most of the escorts turned back or missed the rendezvous, and as a result, 60 B-17s were destroyed. 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. The Name Tragically, the plane stalled and spun into the ground soon after takeoff, bursting into flames. How many B-17 were shot down over Germany? 12962; History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons: Volume 2: The History of VP, VPB, VP(HL) and VP(AM) Squadrons, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boeing_B-17_Flying_Fortress&oldid=1141348576. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Crisis in the Cockpit". [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. Posted on . Army Air Forces. 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. [103] However, due to the slow 715mph velocity and characteristic ballistic drop of the fired rocket (despite the usual mounting of the launcher at about 15 upward orientation), and the small number of fighters fitted with the weapons, the Wfr. [37] Scheduled to fly in 1937, it encountered problems with the turbochargers, and its first flight was delayed until 29 April 1938. The "D" model, later deemed an obsolescent design, was used in Japanese training and propaganda films. 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. 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. 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. [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. 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. [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. [103] Early versions of the Fw 190, one of the best German interceptor fighters, were equipped with two 20mm (0.79in) MG FF cannons, which carried only 500 rounds when belt-fed (normally using 60-round drum magazines in earlier installations), and later with the better Mauser MG 151/20 cannons, which had a longer effective range than the MG FF weapon. 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. Many had dozens of aerial victories; some had over 100. The bombers were assumed either lost by various means or scrapped late in the war for their vital war materials. [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. These aircraft had landed with mechanical trouble during the shuttle bombing raids over Germany or had been damaged by a Luftwaffe raid in Poltava. ", "Chapter 18: Rouen-Sotteville, No. How many B-17s were shot down during World War 2? The operation did not work as expected, with 90 Squadron's Fortresses being unopposed. How many B-17s were shot down during World War 2? - Answers Study now. Lacking a true heavy bomber at the start of World War II, the RAF purchased 20 B-17Cs. Flight crews ferried the bombers back across the Atlantic to the United States where the majority were sold for scrap and melted down, although significant numbers remained in use in second-line roles such as VIP transports, air-sea rescue and photo-reconnaissance. It also developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. [28], A total of 155 B-17s of all variants were delivered between 11 January 1937 and 30 November 1941, but production quickly accelerated, with the B-17 once holding the record for the highest production rate for any large aircraft. Also, the Y1B-17A's new service ceiling was more than 2 miles (3.2km) higher at 38,000 feet (12,000m), compared to the Y1B-17's 27,800 feet (8,500m). 7071, 83, 92, 256, 26869. The aircraft went through several alterations in each of its design stages and variants. As sufficient Consolidated Liberators finally became available, Coastal Command withdrew the Fortress from the Azores, transferring the type to the meteorological reconnaissance role. Water spouts just offshore . No products in the cart. In January 1938, group commander Colonel Robert Olds flew a Y1B-17 from the U.S. east coast to the west coast, setting a transcontinental record of 13 hours 27 minutes. 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. The B-17 finally had a fighter which could escort them in and out of Germany, and began to overwhelm German defenses and industry. 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. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. [50] The B-17C changed from three bulged, oval-shaped gun blisters to two flush, oval-shaped gun window openings, and on the lower fuselage, a single "bathtub" gun gondola housing,[51] which resembled the similarly configured and located Bodenlafette/"Bola" ventral defensive emplacement on the German Heinkel He 111P-series medium bomber. [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. Wiki User. They also desired, but did not require, a range of 2,000mi (3,200km) and a speed of 250mph (400km/h). Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. How many helicopters were shot down in Vietnam? Depends on when they flew. How many German fighters did the B17 and B24 shoot down during - Quora [44][note 3] The aircraft went on to serve in every World WarII combat zone, and by the time production ended in May 1945, 12,731 aircraft had been built by Boeing, Douglas, and Vega (a subsidiary of Lockheed).[45][46][47][48]. Post accident interviews with Tower and Putt determined the control surface gust lock had not been released. [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. [64][65][66] The final production blocks of the B-17F from Douglas' plants did, however, adopt the YB-40's "chin turret", giving them a much-improved forward defense capability. She was featured in a USAAF documentary, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. Dozens more are in storage or on static display. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Courage and Conviction". Subjects > Humanities > History. Date: American aircraft struck targets in Schweinfurt and Regensburg on August 17, 1943. . ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: A Point of Honor.