how many b17s were shot down during ww2 how many b17s were shot down during ww2

Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Rabaul on a Wing and a Prayer". [160][170], B-17s were used by the CIA front companies Civil Air Transport, Air America and Intermountain Aviation for special missions. However, B-17s were operating at heights too great for most A6M Zero fighters to reach. [140] Despite an inferior performance and smaller bombload than the more numerous B-24 Liberators,[179] a survey of Eighth Air Force crews showed a much higher rate of satisfaction with the B-17. 0. Two experimental versions of the B-17 were flown under different designations, the XB-38 Flying Fortress and the YB-40 Flying Fortress. Lieutenant General James Doolittle, commander of the 8th, had ordered the second Schweinfurt mission to be cancelled as the weather deteriorated, but the lead units had already entered hostile air space and continued with the mission. Though the crash of the prototype 299 in 1935 had almost wiped out Boeing, now it was seen as a boon. One of these Taiwan-based B-17s was flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines in mid-September, assigned for covert missions into Tibet. Though many were shot down, many more severely damaged aircraft were able to return their crews safely to base. [102] 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. Unlike the fighter pilots, individual bomber gunners did not receive official credit for any of their shootdowns. [160][168] PB-1Ws continued in USN service until 1955, gradually being phased out in favor of the Lockheed WV-2 (known in the USAF as the EC-121, a designation adopted by the USN in 1962), a military version of the Lockheed 1049 Constellation commercial airliner. "Boeing's Battle Wagon: The B-17 Flying Fortress An Outline History". The Fortress came under fire from Japanese fighter aircraft, though the crew was unharmed with the exception of one member who suffered an abrasion on his hand. That aircraft was the Boeing B-17, better known as the Flying Fortress. This led to more widespread conversion of B-17s as drones and drone control aircraft, both for further use in atomic testing and as targets for testing surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. These losses amounted to 25 percent of the attacking force. Additional armament included an additional dorsal turret in the radio room, a remotely operated and fired Bendix-built "chin turret" directly below the bombardier's accommodation, and twin .50in (12.7mm) guns in each of the waist positions. The Americans, on the other hand, were proponents of daylight, precision bombing using their state-of-the-art and top-secret Norden bomb-sight. One of the most significant weapons of World War II would be ready, but only by a hair. Of the 291 attacking Fortresses, 60 were shot down over Germany, five crashed on approach to Britain, . 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. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.034, B-17 Flying Fortress bomber dropping bombs on targets in Europe, 1944-45. [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. [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]. 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. Of the 13 YB-17s ordered for service testing, 12 were used by the 2nd Bomb Group of Langley Field, Virginia, to develop heavy bombing techniques, and the 13th was used for flight testing at the Material Division at Wright Field, Ohio. The. 7071, 83, 92, 256, 26869. Other factors such as combat effectiveness and political issues also contributed to the B-17's success. [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. [72], The first four drones were sent to Mimoyecques, the Siracourt V-1 bunker, Watten, and Wizernes on 4 August, causing little damage. [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. 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 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. [citation needed], The B-17 was noted for its ability to absorb battle damage, still reach its target and bring its crew home safely. Of the 291 B-17s in the attack force, 60 were lost, 17 were heavily damaged and most of the others incurred some damage, but were repairable. [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. 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. How many helicopters were shot down in Vietnam? [33] The mission was successful and widely publicized. "Books of The Times; How Both Sides' Artists Saw World War II" (review). 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. [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. As the war intensified, Boeing used feedback from aircrews to improve each new variant with increased armament and armor. They also desired, but did not require, a range of 2,000mi (3,200km) and a speed of 250mph (400km/h). [122][124] Actual Japanese fighter losses for the day were seven destroyed and three damaged. As the production line developed, Boeing engineers continued to improve upon the basic design. The electrical systems were less vulnerable to damage than the B-24's hydraulics, and the B-17 was easier to fly than a B-24 when missing an engine. Fewer than 10 are airworthy . [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. Britain in WW2 . Losses were so heavy on the mission it became known as Black Thursday." 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". [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. Half of the group's B-17s were wiped out on 8 December 1941 when they were caught on the ground during refueling and rearming for a planned attack on Japanese airfields on Formosa. This was operated by German-speaking radio operators who were to identify and jam German ground controllers' broadcasts to their nightfighters. info@nationalww2museum.org [69] Many B-17Gs were converted for other missions such as cargo hauling, engine testing, and reconnaissance. When bombers crashed in Switzerland. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating deep into enemy . Of the 12,731 B-17s built, about 4,735 were lost during the war. 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. [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. Gr. 7375, 15859. 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. 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. 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. [178] During the war, the largest offensive bombing force, the Eighth Air Force, had an open preference for the B-17. In early 1942, the 7th Bombardment Group began arriving in Java with a mixed force of B-17s and LB-30/B-24s. 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. Create. This aircraft, now restored to its original B-17G configuration, was on display in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon until it was sold to the Collings Foundation in 2015. They also believed they had an aircraft which could fight its way in and out of the target area, unescorted, and return home safely. 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. [citation needed] After the defeat in Java, the 19th withdrew to Australia, where it continued in combat until it was sent home by General George C. Kenney when he arrived in Australia in mid-1942. in 1970, and in Memphis Belle with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane, and Harry Connick Jr. in 1990. [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. [140] Making it back to base on numerous occasions, despite extensive battle damage, the B-17's durability became legendary;[138][139] stories and photos of B-17s surviving battle damage were widely circulated during the war. Footage from Twelve O' Clock High was also used, along with three restored B-17s, in the 1962 film The War Lover. Although initially deemed repairable, 40-2049 (11th BG / 38th RS) received more than 200 bullet holes and never flew again. [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. There are very few films left in existence showing the Me 262 in action, especially shooting down allied bombers with P-51 escorts. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.082. "Anniversary talks: Battle of the Bismarck Sea, "B-17 Pilot Training Manual (Formation). The first Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid occurred during >World War II (1939-1945). Serial number 44-85784 is the last airworthy B-17 in the United Kingdom and is based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. [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. [130], B-17s were still used in the Pacific later in the war, however, mainly in the combat search and rescue role. Tora! Some of the German pilots had been flying in combat since 1936. Study now. [71][162][163], In 1946, surplus B-17s were chosen as drone aircraft for atmospheric sampling during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests, being able to fly close to or even through the mushroom clouds without endangering a crew. [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. Additionally, 122 bombers were damaged and needed repairs before their next flights. One of the two "E" Flying Fortresses was photographed late in the war by U. S. aerial recon. Their first operation, against Wilhelmshaven on 8 July 1941 was unsuccessful. 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. 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. 2012-03-07 01:27:07. 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. In contrast, of the nearly 1,100 Cobras delivered to the Army, 300 were lost. [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. Photo-recon analysts never made the connection to it being a captured B-17 until after the war. Crashed Model 299. [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. The operation did not work as expected, with 90 Squadron's Fortresses being unopposed. It was code-named "Tachikawa 105" after the mystery aircraft's wingspan was measured (104-ft.) but never identified. Date: American aircraft struck targets in Schweinfurt and Regensburg on August 17, 1943. . ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: A Tale of Two Texans.". [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. The FEAF lost half its aircraft during the first strike,[117] and was all but destroyed over the next few days. [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. [citation needed], In July 1945, 16 B-17s were transferred to the Coast Guard via the Navy; these aircraft were initially assigned U.S. Navy Bureau Numbers (BuNo), but were delivered to the Coast Guard designated as PB-1Gs beginning in July 1946. Three squadrons undertook Met profiles from airfields in Iceland, Scotland and England, gathering data for vital weather forecasting purposes. As of November 2022, four aircraft remain airworthy, none flown in combat. One B-17 broke up in the air, and its crew was forced to take to their parachutes. 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. [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. B-17 Flying Fortresses The B-17 Flying Fortress became a symbol of the power of the United States and its air force. On 28 May 1962, N809Z, piloted by Connie Seigrist and Douglas Price, flew Major James Smith, USAF and Lieutenant Leonard A. LeSchack, USNR to the abandoned Soviet arctic ice station NP 8, as Operation Coldfeet. The Soviets restored 23 to flying condition and concentrated them in the 890th bomber regiment of the 45th Bomber Aviation Division,[153] but they never saw combat. Leonard "Smitty" Smith Humiston, co-pilot on First Lieutenant Robert H. Richards' B-17C, AAF S/N 40-2049, reported that he thought the U.S. Navy was giving the flight a 21-gun salute to celebrate the arrival of the bombers, after which he realized that Pearl Harbor was under attack. On 1 June, Seigrist and Price returned and picked up Smith and LeSchack using a Fulton Skyhook system installed on the B-17. [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. ", "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. [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. The B-17 finally had a fighter which could escort them in and out of Germany, and began to overwhelm German defenses and industry. 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. [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. [121] While there, the Fifth Air Force B-17s were tasked with disrupting the Japanese sea lanes. 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. ", Frisbee, John L. "Valor: One Turning and One Burning. [34][35] The 13th Y1B-17 was delivered to the Material Division at Wright Field, Ohio, to be used for flight testing. It was a four engine, heavy bomber which first flew on July 28, 1935. [19][20], On 30 October 1935, a test flight determining the rate of climb and service ceiling was planned. At the Arcadia Conference, held in Washington, DC, from December 24, 1941 to January 14, 1942, the Western Allies agreed to a Germany First policy to govern global strategy, but the question where to engage Germany, and when, remained unsettled. [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. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Courage and Conviction". British authorities were anxious that no similar accidents should again occur, and the Aphrodite project was scrapped in early 1945. To enhance performance at slower speeds, the B-17B was altered to include larger rudders and flaps. "Smithsonian Panel Backs Transfer of Famed B-17 Bomber.". ", "Giant Bomber Flies Four Miles Per Minute. Many B-17s survive today in museums, and there are some that still fly. 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. 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. It was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. Originally, the B-17 was also chosen because of its heavy defensive armament, but this was later removed. The iconic bomber of the European theater, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, carried the fight to the Germans in the skies over Europe. [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. 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. In 1942, when Eighth Air Force heavy bombers based in Britain first went operational in Europe, they mostly flew what were termed "milk runs" over France, accompanied by fighter escorts. [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. [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]. [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. O'Bannon was the US Navy's most decorated destroyer during World War II, earning 17 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. [140], After the first Y1B-17s were delivered to the Army Air Corps 2nd Bombardment Group, they were used on flights to promote their long range and navigational capabilities. 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. There were 12,731 B-17s built between 1936 and 1945. the Germans broke off to refuel having shot down 15 B-17s. [100], A second attempt on Schweinfurt on 14 October 1943 later came to be known as "Black Thursday". 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. The Allison V-1710 was allocated to fighter aircraft. [92] It has been alleged that some B-17s kept their Allied markings and were used by the Luftwaffe in attempts to infiltrate B-17 bombing formations and report on their positions and altitudes. 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. [81][82][83], By September, the RAF had lost eight B-17Cs in combat and had experienced numerous mechanical problems, and Bomber Command abandoned daylight bombing raids using the Fortress I because of the aircraft's poor performance. Meantime 60 B-17's were lost to all causes (including flak). 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. 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. [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. Losses were relatively low - below the 5% threshold that was the. ", "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.