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In 1957 the surviving B-17s had been stripped of all weapons and painted black. [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. [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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: 'Valor at its Highest'". On 1 June, Seigrist and Price returned and picked up Smith and LeSchack using a Fulton Skyhook system installed on the B-17. The pilots flying the ME-109s and FW-190s were professionalsthe best in the world. 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. Also on board were Wright Field test observer John Cutting, and mechanic Mark Koegler. Answer (1 of 12): Yes but the kill ratio generally favored attacking fighters. The B-17s attracted a number of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, which were in turn attacked by the P-38 Lightning escorts. [138][139][140] Wally Hoffman, a B-17 pilot with the Eighth Air Force during World WarII, said, "The plane can be cut and slashed almost to pieces by enemy fire and bring its crew home. British authorities were anxious that no similar accidents should again occur, and the Aphrodite project was scrapped in early 1945. ", "Second-Generation Norden Bombsight Vault", "Aviation Photography: B-17 Flying Fortress. [105] German fighters needed to respond, and the North American P-51 Mustang and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters (equipped with improved drop tanks to extend their range) accompanying the American heavies all the way to and from the targets engaged them. Regardless, the USAAC had been impressed by the prototype's performance, and on 17 January 1936, through a legal loophole,[27][28] the Air Corps ordered 13 YB-17s (designated Y1B-17 after November 1936 to denote its special F-1 funding) for service testing. [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. [175] Six bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Group took off from Langley Field on 15 February 1938 as part of a goodwill flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gift of Austin Loree, 2011.160.029, Flying Fortresses dropping bombs and smoke markers over Goppingen, Germany in 1945. The aircraft went through several alterations in each of its design stages and variants. [127] On the morning of 4 March 1943, a B-17 sank the destroyer Asashio with a 500lb (230kg) bomb while she was picking up survivors from Arashio. The 19th Bombardment Group had deployed to Clark Field in the Philippines a few weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as the first of a planned heavy bomber buildup in the Pacific. As of November 2022, four aircraft remain airworthy, none flown in combat. Top Image:Close-up of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in flight, 1944-45. Bigger WWII bombers like e.g. 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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Rabaul on a Wing and a Prayer". The Americans believed the B-17, with the Norden bomb sight, could be that bomber. 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. To enhance performance at slower speeds, the B-17B was altered to include larger rudders and flaps. in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. The B-17 finally had a fighter which could escort them in and out of Germany, and began to overwhelm German defenses and industry. [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. 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. Kelly was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. [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. B-17, also called Flying Fortress, U.S. heavy bomber used during World War II. World War 2 . 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 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]. [121] While there, the Fifth Air Force B-17s were tasked with disrupting the Japanese sea lanes. "Smithsonian Panel Backs Transfer of Famed B-17 Bomber.". [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. The B-17 saw early action in the Pacific War, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields. 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. [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. A sobering statistic: Out of 1,419 Loaches built, 842 were destroyed in Vietnam, most shot down and many others succumbing to crashes resulting from low-level flying. 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. [158][159] Strategic Air Command (SAC), established in 1946, used reconnaissance B-17s (at first called F-9 [F for Fotorecon], later RB-17) until 1949. [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. Britain in WW2 . [69] Many B-17Gs were converted for other missions such as cargo hauling, engine testing, and reconnaissance. [11] It combined features of the company's experimental XB-15 bomber and 247 transport. Although the conversion was not complete until mid-1943, B-17 combat operations in the Pacific theater came to an end after a little over a year. B-17s were used in early battles of the Pacific with little success, notably the Battle of Coral Sea[120] and Battle of Midway. The B-17 Flying Fortress became symbolic of the United States of America's air power. ", 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. ", "Why Use Colourful Camouflage in World War 2? All were Allison powered. [79][80] On 24 July three B-17s of 90 Squadron took part in a raid on the German capital ship Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen anchored in Brest from 30,000ft (9,100 m), with the objective of drawing German fighters away from 18 Handley Page Hampdens attacking at lower altitudes, and in time for 79 Vickers Wellingtons to attack later with the German fighters refuelling. [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. Life and Death Aboard a B-17, 1944. coast. Create. A Fortress IIA from No. 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. [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]. ", "German wonder weapons: degraded production and effectiveness. [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. Date: American aircraft struck targets in Schweinfurt and Regensburg on August 17, 1943. . ", "Army Bomber Flies 2,300 Miles In 9 Hours, or 252 Miles an Hour; New All-Metal Monoplane Sets a World Record on Non-Stop Flight From Seattle to Dayton, Ohio. Linn joined The National WWII Museum staff in 2014 andservedas a Curator until 2020. The German fighters found that when attacking from the front, where fewer defensive guns were mounted (and where the pilot was exposed and not protected by armor as he was from the rear), it took only four or five hits to bring a bomber down. Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle wrote about his preference for equipping the Eighth with B-17s, citing the logistical advantage in keeping field forces down to a minimum number of aircraft types with their individual servicing and spares. [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. Operational History. ", "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'. 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. Subjects > Humanities > History. Work on using B-17s to carry airborne lifeboats had begun in 1943, but they entered service in the European theater only in February 1945. The aircraft was turned over to the Swiss Air Force, who then flew the bomber until the end of the war, using other interned but non-airworthy B-17s for spare parts. [70] Initially designated SB-17G, a number of B-17Gs were also converted for search-and-rescue duties, later to be redesignated B-17H. Dozens more are in storage or on static display. The bombardier essentially took over flight control of the aircraft during the bomb run, maintaining a level altitude during the final moments before release. 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. The. [18] His opinions were shared by the air corps procurement officers, and even before the competition had finished, they suggested buying 65 B-17s. [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. 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. [28][31][note 2] In one of their first missions, three B-17s, directed by lead navigator Lieutenant Curtis LeMay, were sent by General Andrews to "intercept" and photograph the Italian ocean liner Rex 610 miles (980km) off the Atlantic coast. 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. 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. 60 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. Trescott, Jacqueline. How many B-17s were shot down during the Second World War? 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. [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. The oldest of these is a D-series flown in combat in the Pacific on the first day of the United States' involvement in World War II. All of these modifications made the YB-40 well over 10,000lb (4,500kg) heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. [7] Attacks began in April 1943 on heavily fortified key industrial plants in Bremen and Recklinghausen. 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 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. Four B-17s were shot down in these operations.[171]. It carried Swiss national white cross insignia in red squares on both sides of its rudder, fuselage sides, and on the topside and underside wings. The FEAF lost half its aircraft during the first strike,[117] and was all but destroyed over the next few days. ", "B-17 Flying Fortress to join CF - the Collings Foundation", "414th Squadron Planes and Crews circa 1943", "Memphis Belle bomber newly restored and unveiled at US Air Force museum", "Going from lucky in love to lucky to be alive in 1943", "The Swoose comes home to roost at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force", "A Higher Call: autographed by JG 27 Bf-109 ace Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown of the B-17 "Ye Olde Pub", "Airpower Classics: B-17 Flying Fortress. The Coast Guard PB-1Gs served throughout the 1950s, the last example not being withdrawn from service until 14 October 1959. London: Arakaki and Kuborn 1991, pp. 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. During a bombing mission on July 5, 1943, Warner shot down 7 German fighters, for which he was given the Distinguished Service Cross. Though many were shot down, many more severely damaged aircraft were able to return their crews safely to base. Though the crash of the prototype 299 in 1935 had almost wiped out Boeing, now it was seen as a boon. [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. American bomber numbers continued to build in Europe and attacks (and losses) began to build up. There are very few films left in existence showing the Me 262 in action, especially shooting down allied bombers with P-51 escorts. For the film, see, "B-17 Flying Fortress" redirects here. [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.