how many b17s were shot down during ww2

Yes, for instance, M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple "Ace" status. Many historians have written about the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division, who fought with distinction during World War II. Trescott, Jacqueline. 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. The B-17s attracted a number of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, which were in turn attacked by the P-38 Lightning escorts. [177][note 5], Many pilots who flew both the B-17 and the B-24 preferred the B-17 for its greater stability and ease in formation flying. [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. "[141] Martin Caidin reported one instance in which a B-17 suffered a midair collision with a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, losing an engine and suffering serious damage to both the starboard horizontal stabilizer and the vertical stabilizer, and being knocked out of formation by the impact. The "D" model, later deemed an obsolescent design, was used in Japanese training and propaganda films. [6] But it was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight strategic bombing campaign over Europe, complementing RAF Bomber Command's night-time area bombing of German industrial, military and civilian targets. [114], By 1941, the Far East Air Force (FEAF) based at Clark Field in the Philippines had 35 B-17s, with the War Department eventually planning to raise that to 165. The SB-17 served through the Korean War, remaining in service with USAF until the mid-1950s. [42] Improved with larger flaps and rudder and a well-framed, 10-panel plexiglas nose, the B-17Bs were delivered in five small batches between July 1939 and March 1940. The most famous B-17, the Memphis Belle, toured the U. S. with her crew to reinforce national morale (and to sell war bonds). Eighty years ago, the Red Army managed to stop, contain, and ultimately defeat the largest German army on the Eastern Front. Over 5,000 B-17 bombers were lost in combat missions in world war II. In fact, he wasn't a pilot at all . ", "Question How many bomber flight crews completed their 25 missions to go home?". On 3 March 1943, 13 B-17s flying at 7,000ft (2,000m) bombed the convoy, forcing the convoy to disperse and reducing the concentration of their anti-aircraft defenses. And of those 276,000 planes, 68,000 were lost. The 4x Hornet Radial Engines could produce 750 HP at 2100 meters. The B-17 saw early action in the Pacific War, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields. In theory, in the words of British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin,the bomber will always get through. The Americans believed the B-17, with the Norden bomb sight, could be that bomber. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. Subjects > Humanities > History. [85] These were augmented starting in July 1942 by 45 Fortress Mk IIA (B-17E) followed by 19 Fortress Mk II (B-17F) and three Fortress Mk III (B-17G). As sufficient Consolidated Liberators finally became available, Coastal Command withdrew the Fortress from the Azores, transferring the type to the meteorological reconnaissance role. ", "Giant Bomber Flies Four Miles Per Minute. The first two ex-USAAF B-17s, a B-17F (later modified to B-17G standard) and a B-17G were obtained by the Navy for various development programs. 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). Categories Video World War II Related Topics World War II It also developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. [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. 2012-04-07 03:53:31. These included B-17G 44-85531, registered as N809Z. Mayday! [103] The Luftwaffe also fitted heavy-caliber Bordkanone-series 37, 50 and even 75mm (2.95in) cannon as anti-bomber weapons on twin-engine aircraft such as the special Ju 88P fighters, as well as one model of the Me 410 Hornisse but these measures did not have much effect on the American strategic bomber offensive. Most of the escorts turned back or missed the rendezvous, and as a result, 60 B-17s were destroyed. A Fortress IIA from No. 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. It should have been a peaceful Sunday morning in Hawaii. Top Image:Close-up of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in flight, 1944-45. Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. 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. The problem was there was no easy way to hit Germany, as a cross-channel invasion of Europe was still years away. This type replaced the vulnerable twin-engine Zerstrer heavy fighters which could not survive interception by P-51 Mustangs flying well ahead of the combat boxes in an air supremacy role starting very early in 1944 to clear any Luftwaffe defensive fighters from the skies. 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. [122][124] Actual Japanese fighter losses for the day were seven destroyed and three damaged. [142] Its toughness was compensation for its shorter range and lighter bomb load compared to the B-24 and British Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. ", "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? Post accident interviews with Tower and Putt determined the control surface gust lock had not been released. Two experimental versions of the B-17 were flown under different designations, the XB-38 Flying Fortress and the YB-40 Flying Fortress. Major General Frank Maxwell Andrews of the GHQ Air Force believed that the capabilities of large four-engined aircraft exceeded those of shorter-ranged, twin-engined aircraft, and that the B-17 was better suited to new, emerging USAAC doctrine. [97], The two different strategies of the American and British bomber commands were organized at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. These aircraft were primarily used for agent drop missions over the People's Republic of China, flying from Taiwan, with Taiwanese crews. [131] These aircraft were nicknamed Dumbos, and remained in service for many years after the end of World War II.[132]. The prototype B-17 Bomber was built at the company's own expense and was a fusion of the features of Boeing XB-15 and Boeing 247 Transport Aircraft. Only 33 bombers landed without damage. 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. [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. [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. In the infamous "Black Thursday" raid of 14 October 1943, B-17 gunners claimed 288 German fighter aircraft kills whereas in actuality about 40 were shot down. Wiki User. Although the prototype was company-owned and never received a military serial (the B-17 designation itself did not appear officially until January 1936, nearly three months after the prototype crashed),[29] the term "XB-17" was retroactively applied to the NX13372's airframe and has entered the lexicon to describe the first Flying Fortress. 2. Of the 291 attacking Fortresses, 60 were shot down over Germany, five crashed on approach to Britain, . The experience showed both the RAF and USAAF that the B-17C was not ready for combat, and that improved defenses, larger bomb loads and more accurate bombing methods were required. 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. London: Arakaki and Kuborn 1991, pp. [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. [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. Air Corps doctrine dictated bombing runs from high altitude, but they soon found only 1% of their bombs hit targets. [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. As the war intensified, Boeing used feedback from aircrews to improve each new variant with increased armament and armor. 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. 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. As the production line developed, Boeing engineers continued to improve upon the basic design. One of the two "E" Flying Fortresses was photographed late in the war by U. S. aerial recon. [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. Lacking a true heavy bomber at the start of World War II, the RAF purchased 20 B-17Cs. [7] Attacks began in April 1943 on heavily fortified key industrial plants in Bremen and Recklinghausen. [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. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.082. 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. 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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Battle Over Bougainville". "Books of The Times; How Both Sides' Artists Saw World War II" (review). [62][63], The YB-40 was a heavily armed modification of the standard B-17 used before the North American P-51 Mustang, an effective long-range fighter, became available to act as escort. The four-engine plane typically carried a crew of 10, several of whom. [33] The mission was successful and widely publicized. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.034, B-17 Flying Fortress bomber dropping bombs on targets in Europe, 1944-45. [36] Experiments on this aircraft led to the use of a quartet of General Electric turbo-superchargers, which later became standard on the B-17 line. B-17s flown by the Eighth saw some of the fiercest combat of the war. 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. 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. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. 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. [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. [91], The USAAF began building up its air forces in Europe using B-17Es soon after entering the war. On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10.

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