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B17

When a Japanese Kawanishi H6K “Mavis” flying boat was brought down by a USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress

by Till Daisd July 15, 2023

The Japanese, who referred to the B-17 Flying Fortress as a four-engine fighter, gave it a bad reputation in the Pacific

One of the most recognizable aircraft ever constructed is the Flying Fortress. 28th July 1935 saw the first flight of the B-17 prototype.

When the British Royal Air Force received four B-17s for high-altitude missions in 1941, the first B-17s entered battle. The bombers need more armor and armament as World War II progressed.

The B-17E, the first Flying Fortress variant to be produced in large quantities, was equipped with nine machine guns and a 4,000-pound bomb load. Compared to the prototypes, it weighed several tons more and was heavily armed. For better control and stability during high-altitude bombing, it was the first Boeing aircraft with a distinctive, huge tail. Each variant had more powerful weapons.

The Fortresses were also renowned for their remarkable resilience under heavy assault. According to Walt Miller, Former 0311/0302 at United States Marine Corps (1973-1993), on Quora, the Japanese in the Pacific called the aircraft “four-engine fighters” because of its deadly reputation.

The following intriguing story from Roger Freeman’s book B-17 Fortress at War supports the assertion.

“Confidence in the Fortress was always high amongst men of the squadrons operating in the southwest Pacific. It was considered a ‘rugged ship’, highly durable which aircrew felt they had a chance and was quite able to give any formation of Zeros a tough time. […] A Japanese assessment of the B-17 referred to it as ‘a fighting plane used for all purposes’ rather than a heavy bomber. This attribute was not without foundation, for apart from general bombing, patrol, reconnaissance, and even transport, there were several instances when the Fortress had been used as a gunship, low-level strafer, and even pursuit plane. …Fortresses also intercepted and destroyed a number of enemy patrol bombers. One such incident involved a Kawanishi H6K ‘Mavis’ which a lone Fortress on oceanic patrol encountered. Captain Walter Lucas took his aircraft in to attack coming up below the four-engined flying boat so that the top turret and waist guns could bring fire to bear. Then, pulling up abreast of the enemy, a twenty-minute running battle took place until the Mavis had an engine catch fire and was forced to land in the sea where it was enveloped in flames.”

Photo by Jack Fellows illustration via Weapons and Warfare

July 15, 2023 0 comment

History

Luftwaffe Fighter Pilots explain what it’s like attacking a B-17 Flying Fortress formation from behind

by Till Daisd July 6, 2023

written by Till Daisd

On the B-17E, the tail gunner may have been the most important gunner. He used two.50 caliber machine guns to defend the back quarter of the aircraft. The tail guns earned the healthy respect of enemy pilots

The B-17 Flying Fortress is among the most well-known aircraft ever produced. 28 July 1935 saw the first flight of the B-17 prototype. Even though there weren’t many B-17s in use on December 7, 1941, production swiftly picked up once the US entered World War Two. The aircraft saw action in every theater of war, but its most infamous mission was the strategic daytime bombing of German industrial targets.

Nine machine guns and a 4,000-pound bomb load were carried by the B-17E, the first Flying Fortress variant to be mass-produced. It had more armament and was many tons heavier than the prototypes.

The tail gunner of the B-17E was reportedly one of the most crucial gunners, according to B-17 Queen of the Skies. He used two.50 caliber machine guns to defend the back quarter of the aircraft. A terrible surprise awaited opposing fighters as they approached the E model B-17. The tail guns earned the healthy respect of enemy pilots.

‘A German pilot did once say that attacking a B-17 formation from behind was like trying to make love to a porcupine that is on fire,’ Walt Miller, Former 0311/0302 at United States Marine Corps (1973-1993), explains on Quora.

In JG-26 Top Guns of the Luftwaffe by Donald Caldwell, a Luftwaffe fighter pilot explains;

‘The size of the heavy bombers and their formations could not be adequately described to a green pilot; they had to be experienced first-hand… The bomber gunners opened fire as soon as a target was seen, in order to disrupt or ward off attacks. The Americans’ browning .50-inch machine guns had a higher muzzle velocity and a greater range than the Germans MG 17s whose tracers were used to site their MG 151 cannon. So, the fighter pilots’ cockpits were surrounded by red tracers, “Swarming like wasps” in Karl Borris’s words, long before they themselves could open fire effectively; and because of low closing speeds, this extremely uncomfortable situation could continue for several minutes…some pilots would invariably break away prematurely, and the rest would pass through the bomber formation at whatever angle and orientation promised the best chance of survival.’

German pilots were compelled to reconsider their strategies as a result of this advantageous position, which resulted in the adoption of the infamous “12 O’Clock” attack, in which they bore into formations head-on at a closing speed of more than 500 mph! In Donald Caldwell’s JG-26 Top Guns of the Luftwaffe, another fighter pilot of the Luftwaffe recounts;

‘All four of the bombers shot down by JG 26 came from the 306th Bomb Group. The Geschwader lost only one pilot in this battle, but it was a serious blow to the unit. Hptm. Fritz Geisshardt, Kommandeur of the third Gruppe, was hit by return fire on his unit’s first pass through the bombers. Bleeding profusely from a wound in the abdomen, Geisshardt dove away from the battle and made a smooth landing …his blood loss proved fatal; the medical personnel at the Ghent hospital could not save him and he died early the next morning.’

One of the keys to victory against USAAF bombers, according to the great German ace General Adolf Galland, was for the fighters to retain formation. The bombers’ weapons did not down many German fighters, but their streams of.50-inch tracers formed a very strong defensive barrier.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

July 6, 2023 0 comment

History

The Ki-43 pilot who rammed a B-17 likely underestimated the attack approach and hit the bomber

by Till Daisd July 3, 2023

written by Till Daisd

As the first pilot to purposefully ram a B-17 Flying Fortress, Sergeant Oda Tadao received praise in the Japanese media and received a posthumous promotion. It is unlikely that the incident was deliberate, though

A B-17F dubbed Fightin’ Swede took off from Port Moresby’s Seven-Mile ‘drome in the early morning of May 8, 1943, on its own armed reconnaissance mission of the northern New Guinea coast from Madang to Saidor. The goal of the mission was to track down Japanese merchant ships that were allegedly transporting supplies to the area. Nonetheless, the weather in New Guinea was behaving as expected since an unstable air mass was causing heavy clouds and squalls along the coastal littoral.

The bomber, piloted by Major Robert Keatts, failed to return. It was fifty miles north of Madang when it made its last radio transmission on the hour at 0900, stating that it had found and was circling a Japanese convoy. A few days later, Radio Tokyo reported that a Japanese fighter pilot had deliberately rammed a Flying Fortress over New Guinea on that particular day, bringing it down. Because of this, it was assumed at Port Moresby that the victim had been a Fightin’ Swede.

Japanese and US Army Air Force (USAAF) records on the subject correspond perfectly, as Michael John Claringbould explains in his book Pacific Adversaries Volume One. The Fortress was discovered by nine Ki-43 Hayabusa of the 11th Sentai, headed by Captain Takashi Ninomiyo, commander of No. 1 Chutai, not long after its final transmission. A shotai of three fighters led by Lieutenant Kobayashi Junji broke off from Takashi’s detachment after spotting the Fortress and launched the first attack. Takashi’s detachment was tasked to cover the approaching ships.

The 11th Sentai had suffered through nearly nonstop action in the theater of operations for around five months by this point in the war and had lost the majority of its original Mark I Hayabusa arsenal. Although six Mark IIs had already been added to its inventory as replacements, its worn-out pilot crew was scheduled to return to Japan on June 19, 1943, in five weeks. They would hand over their remaining Hayabusa to other Wewak-based units upon departure. This clarifies why the nine Hayabusa Takashi led were a mishmash of leftover Mark I and new Mark II Hayabusa recruited from various chutai.

Kobayashi’s trio conducted their initial assault on the Fortress from behind and slightly above, then they rotated around and made frontal assaults. An apparently unharmed Fightin’ Swede moved toward the cover of the cloud during these assaults. According to Japanese archives, Sergeant Oda Tadao deliberately collided with the Fortress during a head-on pass because he didn’t want to let the B-17 escape. After colliding, both the B-17 and the fighter immediately fell. Following this, Oda was praised in the Japanese media for reportedly intentionally ramming the Fortress. As a result of the extensive publicity, he was also promoted to Lieutenant posthumously in recognition of his apparent courage.

In a conflict, though, things might not always be as they seem. Since the beginning of the conflict, the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) vigorously prohibited suicide tactics. Oda probably simply miscalculated the strike direction and hit the bomber.

Many of the Japanese Navy fighter pilots who saw the Fortress for the first time in 1941 and 1942 had already remarked how difficult it was to judge closing speeds due to its size. A calculation error was likely given the frontal attack’s close speed of more than 350 mph, as evidenced by the countless earlier combat collisions in New Guinea.

If the Japanese narrative is accurate, Oda is said to have rammed the bomber around 0813 JST (0913 local), which indicates that Fightin’ Swede had been in the air for roughly thirteen minutes following its last location report at 0900. The aircraft may reach the New Guinea shore in thirteen minutes while attempting to return to Port Moresby, which is likely. Regardless of the presence of cloud cover, Fightin’ Swede was unlikely to travel farther out to sea in order to enter Japanese territory, making it more plausible that it was returning home. If so, the collision with Oda’s Hayabusa in midair could have happened over the coast or possibly just a little inland.

Early in March 1944, Australian soldiers moving towards Madang discovered the Type II Hayabusa’s wreckage at Bau Plantation. The ship’s tail was still intact, showing the 11th Sentai markings in clear view. The Allies Technical Air Intelligence Unit inspected the wreck on March 19, 1944, including any clear markings. Bau Plantation is situated squarely on the route that Fightin’ Swede would have taken to return to Seven-Mile that morning, presuming that it was close to the New Guinea coast when it was brought down. Moreover, Oda’s is the only 11th Sentai Hayabusa known to have been lost in a battle close to Madang. As a result, it is likely that the Hayabusa under examination belonged to Oda.

Whether because it fell into the ocean or it’s located in an inhospitable place, the wreckage of the Fightin’ Swede has never been located.

Pacific Adversaries Volume One is published by Casemate Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Jack Fellows illustration and Stumanusa own work via Wikipedia

The Story of the Ki-43 Hayabusa pilot that claimed the shooting down of four USAAF P-38 Lightnings in an air battle that never was

July 3, 2023 0 comment

History

The Hawaiian Air Depot scheme: the most peculiar B-17 Flying Fortress livery from WWII

by Till Daisd June 9, 2023

written by Till Daisd

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, it was decided that all B-17 Flying Fortress bombers stationed in Hawaii need better camouflage than the USAAC olive drab scheme

From December 1941 through the beginning of March 1942, both sides engaged in daily aerial combat in the South Pacific. A few understrength squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) put up a spirited fight as Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) flying boats and land-based bombers penetrated over huge distances.

The greatest impact, nevertheless, came from the aircraft carriers’ superior power.

Ships from the US Navy (USN), including a carrier task force, were traveling to the Fiji region in February 1942. According to Michael Claringbould and Peter Ingman in South Pacific Air War Volume 1, the USN was given 12 US Army Air Corps (USAAC) B-17E Flying Fortresses for the purpose of keeping an eye on them. These heavy bombers would be perfect for service in the Pacific because of their long range. Six aircraft from the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron (RS), one from the 38th RS, and five from the Bombardment Squadron were among the aircraft allotted, which were all stolen from Hawaii’s 7th Air Force (BS). The 14th RS, a composite squadron that had been redrawn, was assigned as its primary mission the defense of supply lines to Australia.

The Hawaiian Air Depot scheme, the most peculiar B-17 livery of the conflict, was worn by about half of these bombers. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, it was decided that all fortresses stationed in Hawaii required camouflage that was more effective than the USAAC olive drab scheme that was applied at the factory. As a result, all Fortresses then stationed at Hickam Field and others that traveled through the Hawaiian Air Depot (HAD) throughout December 1941 were quickly outfitted with an unofficial camouflage scheme. The design, which used the topside hues olive drab, dark sand, rust brown, light sand, and blue-grey, lacks official orders or technical requirements due to its ad hoc nature.

The simple availability of paint stocks at the depot at the time led to the selection of the colors. All HAD aircraft, unusually, also had the distinctive USAAC red and white striped rudder, without the prewar dark blue leading edge, and with “US ARMY” painted in bold, dark blue lettering on the undersides of the wings. A few weeks after arriving in Australia, the unusual rudder marking on all of 14’s RS Fortresses would be painted over in olive drab because it was felt that the marking made the aircraft stand out too much.

Major Richard “Dick” Carmichael, a 28-year-old University of Texas graduate and “ring knocker” (a Westpointer), headed the young, colorful squadron. Carmichael had a somber memory from his time as the 11’s BS deputy commander when he and his commanding officer had drowned while in a boating accident in Lake Yellowstone. Carmichael held onto the hull for hours before being rescued, barely making it to tell the tale. Afterward, he was given the position of leader.

The colorful Fortresses took off from Hickam Field and staged their way to Nadi airfield on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. A wide runway appreciated the characteristic colonial ambiance and the attractive, rising, green karst escarpment in the distance. The Fortresses would launch a series of prolonged searches and reconnaissance missions to a 700-mile range from this New Zealand-managed area. The B-17s completed 16 missions in five days in the middle of February.

South Pacific Air War Volume 1 is published by Casemate Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Casemate and War Thunder

The story of the Hawaiian Air Depot scheme, the most unusual B-17 Flying Fortress livery of World War II — The foremost B-17E Fortress sports the colourful Hawaiian Air Depot (HAD) scheme on a patrol from Nadi, Fiji, in mid February 1942.

June 9, 2023 0 comment

History

The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission, USAAF’s worst-ever air fight.

by Till Daisd May 14, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Despite the attack causing significant damage to both factories, 60 of the 376 bombers—or roughly 1 in 6—were shot down, and more than 600 Airmen perished, went missing, or were captured

The US accelerated the development of its heavy bomber forces in Europe in the summer of 1943, and more B-17s and B-24s were sent against Germany targets. Nonetheless, they ran the risk of being shot down by Luftwaffe fighters if they went past the range of their P-47 escort.

Deep inside of Germany, on August 17, the targets were the Messerschmitt fighter factory in Regensburg and the ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt.

Both raids were intended to take place concurrently, with the Regensburg force landing at airfields in North Africa, in order to weaken the German resistance. Regrettably, fog prevented the Schweinfurt force from taking off on schedule, but the Regensburg force did.

Remembering the Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission, USAAF's most disastrous air battle to date. — B-17 going down after severe flak damage.

Due to this, enemy fighters attacked the first force, touched down, rearmed, and refueled, and then fought the second group that had been delayed. For a large portion of the operation, the bombers were on their own against wave after wave of German fighters. Despite the attack causing significant damage to both factories, 60 of the 376 bombers—or roughly 1 in 6—were shot down, and more than 600 Airmen perished, went missing, or were captured. The worst air fight ever for the USAAF.

B-17 Formation — Boeing B-17F formation over Schweinfurt, Germany, on Aug. 17, 1943.

On September 6, Stuttgart was the intended objective; 45 of the 262 attacking aircraft perished. Even though P-47s had jettisonable belly fuel tanks, which slightly increased their range, they were still unable to provide escort protection well beyond Germany’s western border.

On October 14, 1943, the second Schweinfurt attack, commonly known as Black Thursday, only increased the devastation. Initial predictions were incorrect—unescorted heavy bombers could not defend themselves against hostile fighters on their own. Sadly, USAAF fighters at the time lacked the range to fly alongside bombers during deep enemy territory operations.

B-17s — B-17 Flying Fortress bombers flying through dense flak.

The North American P-51B Mustang was the actual answer to this problem. The long-range P-51B not only reduced bomber losses but also soon established air superiority over Europe, which helped pave the way for D-Day in numerous ways.

Just roughly 25% of the Eighth Air Force bomber crewmen completed their 25-mission tours in 1943, according to the National Museum of the United States Air Force; the remaining 75% were killed, badly wounded, or captured. Bomber crews bravely continued their strikes mission after mission despite knowing how unlikely it was that they would complete their deployments.

In order to achieve the air superiority necessary for the success of Operation Overlord, the American campaign goal for the 1943 daylight bombing sorties deep into Germany was to cripple the Luftwaffe fighter force. Due to the Germans’ success in achieving their own goal of destroying enough Eight Air Force bombers, the Americans were forced to halt their bombing campaign in the middle of October 1943, preventing the Eighth Air Force from completing this campaign objective.

Photo by U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army Air Force, and Rama via Wikipedia

May 14, 2023 0 comment

History

“Piggyback Flight,” an incident that caused two B-17s to become hooked together

by Till Daisd May 1, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Instead of an accidental combining of two planes in midair, the Germans believed the “Piggyback” was a brand-new eight-engine warplane that the Allies had developed!

Germans believed it to be a Superplane! Throughout World War II, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress flew over every combat zone, but its most important missions were over Europe. The B-17, together with the B-24 Liberator, served as the foundation of the USAAF’s strategic bombing force and contributed to the war’s victory by destroying Germany’s war industry.

By stifling domestic industry, war production, and the German people’s will to resist, USAAF heavy bomber daylight strikes sought to compel Nazi Germany to submit alongside RAF Bomber Command in its nighttime bombing campaign. Participating in the Combined Bomber Offensive was one of the riskiest missions of World War II due to the heavy fighting that resulted in a large number of casualties among US bomber crews. This claim was supported by the so-called “Piggyback Flight,” a highly unusual accident that occurred on January 1, 1945.

‘Pilot Glenn Rojohn survived what became one of the miracles of the war when his’ says Troy Dugo (whose father loaded ordinance on B-17s at RAF Deopham Green during World War II) on Quora. ‘My dad, who loaded ordinance on B-17s at RAF Deopham Green, became friends with Rojohn in their Pittsburgh social group in the 90s.’

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune, when all hell broke loose during the New Year’s Eve attack on a synthetic oil factory in Hamburg, Rojohn was flying a B-17 Flying Fortress. 12 of the 37 aircraft were shot down, resulting in the deaths of 100 crew members, when they were surrounded by intense anti-aircraft fire close to the target and repeatedly strafed by German fighters.

Dugo clarifies;

‘Rojohn’s B-17 collided mid-air with a bomber below it and became hooked together in what has become known as the “Piggyback flight.” A propeller and top guns of the lower B-17 were jammed into Rojohn’s B-17 and he and his co-pilot, William Leek, were unable to free their plane.

‘Rojohn’s crew, part of the 8th Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group, was awakened in the middle of the night and told they were to fly across the English Channel and the North Sea to participate in a massive bombing raid. A fighter escort they were supposed to meet over the English Channel never materialized because of heavy fog, so they were flying the bombing mission against German targets without protection during the Battle of the Bulge.

‘They were sitting ducks for the German fighter planes.’

The reason for the lower plane’s collision with Rojohn’s B-17 at a height of roughly 19,000 feet, when it was filling in a gap in the ‘V’ formation created by previous planes being shot down, is unknown. The other plane’s pilots are thought to have been rendered incapable. Rojohn and his co-pilot shut off their plane’s engines and turned south toward Germany to try to land the aircraft while the lower plane’s engines continued to run and cut into Rojohn’s B-17.

Unaware that they had not reached land, some crew members regrettably bailed out over the water. The survivors were seized, and three crew members perished.

Dugo goes on;

‘Rojohn and his co-pilot landed the conjoined planes on German soil near Wilhemshaven. Rojohn’s plane slid free upon impact, and the lower plane exploded and burned. Rojohn would undergo two weeks of interrogation by the Germans. They thought Rojohn was piloting a new eight-engine warplane the Allies had developed rather than it being the accidental joining of two planes in mid-air! The Germans thought it was a Superplane!’

Finally, he says;

‘For their heroic actions, Rojohn and his co-pilot, William Leek, were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. At the petitioning of my dad and his fellow veterans, we were all there when Rojohn was inducted into the Hall of Valor at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Pittsburgh where the paint [featured in this post] hangs.’

Photo by Hall of Valor at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum.

May 1, 2023 0 comment

History

The Memphis Belle pilot remembers the B-17 Flying Fortress raid on the Bremen Focke-Wulf plant

by Till Daisd April 24, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘German fighters could be seen coming up from the ground and I have never seen so many at one time,’ Captain Robert K. Morgan, pilot of B-17 Flying Fortress Memphis Belle

A record 115 bombers were constructed for a raid on the Focke-Wulf plant in Bremen on April 17, 1943, after 8th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress crews in eastern England received a warning for another strike. The 91st and 306th comprised the first large-scale combat wing, and the 303rd and 305th Bomb Groups made up the second. This was the first time that two such wings had been dispatched. Each wing had three group boxes of 18–21 aircraft flying in formation for mutual firepower and defense.

In Martin W. Bowman’s book On the Highways of the Skies: The 8th Air Force in World War II, Captain Robert K. Morgan, the 91st Bomb Group pilot of the Memphis Belle, which would go on to become one of the most renowned B-17s of the war, if not the most famous, explains:

“The Germans had got pretty hot on the B-17s. They started coming in from the nose of the ships and we had only two .50 caliber guns, which wouldn’t go straight forward. We were working on the problem but hadn’t solved it and hadn’t put any more guns in. We found that by flying all four groups very close together we could get good fighter protection. This worked fine for a while. We would set one group at 22,000, one at 23.000, one at 24,000, and one at 25,000, always about a 1000ft difference, on the same line with each other or behind each other. If the enemy attacked the middle Group the firepower of all the other Groups would be concentrated on the fighters. Trouble was, the Germans thought about things too. They worked out the best method of attacking our planes. They picked on the low front Group while all the back three Groups couldn’t help out. We solved that by moving the second group up in front, the first Group behind them. In other words, the lead Group was higher than the second was.

B-17F Memphis Belle — B-17 Memphis Belle

“The Bremen raid was about the most effective and successful raid we made from the standpoint of planning, efficiency, damage done, and losses. We were briefed as well or better than for any other. The Germans had 178 flak guns to be turned on us. We went in from the southwest to the northeast on a heading so they could never get more than 72 guns on us. We found the plant and turned off to the right and made a complete turn and came out. That is the long and short way around but if we had come out the other way we would have had to run through the other 106 guns. We assembled over England below 5000ft and went out below 5000 until we got ready to turn and come in. We began to turn and climb and when we reached the German coast we had our altitude. We tried to make them think we were going to Wilhelmshaven and it seemed to work.”

A German reconnaissance plane spotted the group of aircraft soon after they had left the English coast, and the Americans’ approach was radioed to fighter controllers along the enemy coastline. Although the Luftwaffe fighters were pointed in their direction just as the B-17s passed the Friesian Islands, the German defenses had no idea where the bombers were going. Once more, Captain Robert K. Morgan:

“The weather was pretty overcast below. It looked as though Wilhelmshaven was open and Bremen would be overcast, so I thought we might go back after Wilhelmshaven instead. But a few seconds later I found the target by flak. I looked over to the left and there was one black cloud sitting there and it was flak. I figured that must be Bremen. Sure enough, we could see Bremen when I turned. We went in from the southwest to the northeast. German fighters could be seen coming up from the ground and I have never seen so many at one time. I had to forget about the fighters because we started the run. We were the high Group. We made the run. The flak was pretty bad, bursting all around us. The boys in the low Group really caught hell from it. The Germans had set up the barrage and it worked well. When we turned off the target the fighters began to hit us. They had 109s, 110s, 190s and Ju 88s. But we found out that if you keep your Groups weaving, when the attacks come, you can nose down and turn into the attack and they won’t hit you.”

Waist gunner S/Sgt Casimer A. Nastal, who joined the Memphis Belle crew at the age of 19 and had previously worked mending washing machines, continues:

“At the target, the flak started. It was bursting outside the waist windows. I could have reached out and grabbed it. I kept thinking: ‘Let’s get the hell out of here.’ The fighters came in hunches of 20 or 30. I saw two or three fighters hit by their own flak. It was so thick you could hardly see the ground. The Focke Wulfs were even bursting through our formation.”

Finally, Captain Robert K. Morgan says;

“We lost 16 bombers, all in the low Group. That was the greatest loss we had sustained to date. But the bombing was successful. There were three factories and two were completely destroyed and a third about 60% destroyed.”

Six months prior, German armaments minister Albert Speer had already issued directives for dispersed fighter production. General Hansell, who was in charge of First Wing Headquarters, was certain as to what caused the large number of casualties during the Bremen raid. In his Operation Report, he noted on April 23, 1943: “Most of our losses were the result of poor formation flying, which resulted in aircraft becoming separated and easy prey to the fighters.”

Notably, in the 1990 movie Memphis Belle starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, and Harry Connick Jr., Memphis Belle, along with the rest of the squadron, is tasked with attacking a Focke-Wulf 190 manufacturing plant in Bremen to complete 25 missions, a requirement for the crew to finish their tour of duty.

On the Highways of the Skies, The 8th Air Force in World War II is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

April 24, 2023 0 comment

Headless B 17 Flying Fortress 1170x561 1

History

The headless B-17 remained in formation despite being struck by an 88mm shell

by Till Daisd March 18, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The headless bomber was able to stay in loose formation with the Group for some minutes thanks to the inherent stability of the B-17 Flying Fortress airframe

One of the most well-known aircraft ever made is the Flying Fortress. On July 28, 1935, a B-17 prototype made its first flight. The B-17 was a low-wing monoplane that combined the aerodynamic features of the transport Model 247 and the giant bomber XB-15, which was still in the design phase. The B-17 was the first military aircraft from Boeing to have a flight deck rather than an open cockpit. It was equipped with bombs and five.30-caliber machine guns that were mounted in clear “blisters.”

When the British Royal Air Force received four B-17s for high-altitude missions in 1941, the first B-17s saw combat. The bombers needed more armor and armament as World War II progressed.

The B-17E, the first Flying Fortress variant to be produced in large quantities, was equipped with nine machine guns and a 4,000-pound bomb load. Compared to the prototypes, it weighed several tons more and was heavily armed. For better control and stability during a high-altitude bombing, it was the first Boeing aircraft with a distinctive, big tail. Each variant was heavily armed.

Japanese pilots gave the aircraft the lethal moniker of “four-engine fighters” in the Pacific. Nonetheless, the strategic daytime bombing of German industrial targets is what made the B-17 most famous.

The headless B-17: this Flying Fortress was hit by an 88mm shell but remained in formation giving the chance to those who survived to bail out safely

Unquestionably, the B-17 is also renowned for having been one of the most stable platforms in the air, as stated by Brent William Perkins in his book Memphis Belle: Life of a B-17 Flying Fortress. This truth is illustrated by the pictures in this post. This 463rd Bomb Group aircraft was directly struck beneath the pilot’s feet by what is thought to have been an 88mm shell, which entered the aircraft and subsequently exploded, as seen from the right waist of an accompanying B-17. The outcomes are clearly evident. All four engines on the fatally injured B-17 are still running as it starts a level descent. Everyone in front of the top turret was instantaneously killed.

The headless bomber was able to stay in loose formation with the Group for several minutes thanks to the airframe’s inherent stability. Those who survived the explosion from the radio room back were able to safely bail out because of the smooth flight attitude.

The crews developed a resolute and fatalistic mindset as a result of witnessing pals perish day after day. Making 25 missions was considerably more than just a success for them. Everyone highly awaited flying that last raid, but many worried they wouldn’t make it. The Mighty Eighth Air Force’s airmen faced overwhelming difficulties during this period. After their fifteenth mission, they were all aware that they were living on borrowed time. Superstitions were rampant; many bombers were decorated with rabbit’s feet, horseshoes, girlfriend’s ribbons, and other objects. Many simply referred to that run as their mission number 12A and even refused to fly a thirteenth mission.

Memphis Belle: Biography of a B-17 Flying Fortress is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Frank Donofrio via Schiffer Publishing

March 18, 2023 0 comment

History

The reason why the Boeing B-17 is the best bomber

by Till Daisd March 15, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Boeing had no idea that when they created the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, their creation would become the benchmark for high-altitude bombing

For the majority of warbird enthusiasts, a B-17 Flying Fortress is unrivaled. The Fort epitomizes what a heavy aircraft should look like, according to Brent William Perkins in his book Memphis Belle: Life of a B-17 Flying Fortress, with the traditional lines of the early military. The B-17 stands out from competing designs thanks to its broad wings, large sweeping tail, angled windshield, and distinctive nosepiece.

A B-17 appears to be a warrior only by sitting still, while yet displaying the elegant curves of a Hollywood star. With its large and deep wings, it finds its place in the air, bristling with heavy machine guns in all directions and sitting tail low as if ready to take off. The bomber was created under the Boeing idea known as the model 299 and was given the nickname “The Flying Fortress” by Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times. A flyable prototype has to be completed in less than a year as of April 1934.

Military strategists were looking to airpower to assure complete victory since the war was bound to break out. At the time, the US arsenal lacked a bomber that could handle the demands that aerial warfare would place on it. The US Army Air Corps (the USAF was not founded until 1947) had more demanding requirements for combat survival, range, and precision weapon delivery than the aircraft in the stocks at the time could accommodate. A call was made. Create a bomber that can sustain 7,000 feet with the designed usable load and one engine out for ten hours at 25,000 feet while climbing to 10,000 feet in five minutes.

A Mighty Fortress: why the Boeing B-17 is the best bomber ever built — Boeing Model 299

It was done by Boeing. On July 17, 1935, 299 rolled out of the factory after just spending $275,000. Little over a year after it first hit the drafting tables, the 299’s bomb bay could hold up to 4,800 pounds of armaments. They had no idea that the aircraft they had created would set the bar for high-altitude bombing well into the next century.

After only 14 hours and 5 minutes of test time and one month and three days since rollout, the 299 departed Seattle, Washington, for Wright-Patterson near Dayton, Ohio. It rolled out the runway in Ohio after nine hours and three minutes. 233 mph was the average ground speed. This flight outperformed the burgeoning Douglas B-18, which was actually just a DC-2 that had been strengthened. Also, it eclipsed the much-debated Martin B-10.

The Air Corps placed an order for thirteen YB-17s on January 17, 1937. A little more than eight years of production would pass before the plane’s completion in August 1945, when 12,731 Fortresses were produced. About 10,000 of these are thought to have really departed the country for assignments all across the world. Around 4,500 B-17s were lost in battle, mostly when flying out of the European Theatre of Operations and the unsinkable aircraft carrier known as the United Kingdom, despite the Fort’s amazing ability to endure severe battle damage. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress made history when the powerful Eighth Air Force unleashed the largest air armada ever from this island. During this time, the sky raged for a thousand days.

Is the B-I 7 the most advanced bomber ever created? The Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the B-17 have been at odds for many years. Was the B-24 a superior aircraft? For far too long, this question has absorbed far too many people. Compared to the B-17, the Liberator could fly higher, carried more cargo, and be faster. Even though they were paired off for fighting, their functions were rather distinct. The Flying Fortress and the Liberator were never intended to be rivals; rather, they were meant to complement one another. They were both effective bombing platforms, thus the rivalry was unavoidable.

The War Department conducted a thorough search across aircraft manufacturers for the new bomber designs that were sorely needed, and the two bombers were the end result. The -17 and the -24 were the best design proposals. They merely based their ideas on what was required at the time. Think about the numbers. Up to 18,188 of the enormous twin-tailed leviathans known as B-24s were produced. By the conclusion of the war, the B-24 had undergone so many changes that it was no longer able to outperform the B-17 in terms of distance or speed.

War Wartime Impact – the capacity to enter enemy airspace, withstand threats from the enemy, carry the right bomb load, properly deliver the cargo, and return home.

Defensive Characteristics – From single-barrel machine guns through electronic countermeasures, stealth, and even speed. What bomber defends itself better than any other?

Range – Could the bomber launch, ingress, loiter, deliver, and return?

Available Bomb Load – How many different kinds of weaponry and how much weight could it carry?

Accuracy – the outcome of the bomb delivery system and the stability and predictability of the aircraft.

Survivability – Evading or withstanding enemy ground fire and aerial attack. What bomber had the lowest loss-to-sortie ratio?

The German Gotha bombers, the Heinkel 111, the B-17, B-24, Lancaster, Aichi D3A Val, the B-47 Stratojet, the B-52 Stratofortress, the FB-111, the B-58 Hustler, the B-1 Lancer, the B-2 Spirit, and more rank among the best aircraft ever created from the start of aerial bombing to the present day.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is widely considered to be the greatest bomber ever produced based on the aforementioned standards. The American military, it seems, shared those sentiments. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that the Baker 1-7 was officially retired from service.

Early in the War, there was a discussion over which plane was superior, and it is still going strong now. General James Doolittle made his careful comparisons, in which he partially claimed that performance was sacrificed to accommodate the armor and armament’s additional weight in order to enhance the B-24’s defensive capabilities. The Army Air Corp’s attempt to upgrade the Liberator included some highly odd measures, such as grafting the entire front of a B-17G to a B-24J.

Only three tests were flown by this aircraft, and the findings were utterly inappropriate. The hybrid bomber had poor longitudinal and directional stability and could only climb to an altitude of 18,000 feet. One observation in the study report noted that the installation added to the B-24J’s already excessive basic weight. But the Bombardier and Navigator reported that they favored the increased room in the forward compartment over the traditional B-24 arrangement.

Memphis Belle: Biography of a B-17 Flying Fortress is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire via Wikipedia, UK San Diego Air & Space Museum, and Senior Airman Curt Beach/U.S. Air Force

March 15, 2023 0 comment

History

The longest B-17 mission was flown by the Fulton-equipped B-17 when rescued Agent 007

by Till Daisd February 20, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The long-endurance flights of the B-17 were made possible by the placement of another additional fuel tank in the bomb bay

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) formed an uneasy alliance with the nationalist Chinese government in Taiwan after Mao’s communists seized power in mainland China in 1949.

The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) and the CIA joined forces to construct the Black Bat Squadron, also known as the 34th Squadron, in 1953. Its duty was to conduct covert aviation operations over the mainland, using B-17s, B-26s, and P-2s to drop agents’ propaganda and gather signals, images, and nuclear intelligence.

By May 1959, the 34th Squadron had just one remaining example of B-17. Former 34th Squadron crew member recalls in Chris Pocock and Clarence Fu’s book The Black Bats CIA Spy Flights over China from Taiwan 1951-1969;

“We were preparing to send our last B-17 back to the US. A Chinese crew stripped the airplane of all the ELINT equipment. But after this work, someone forgot to reconnect the airspeed line to the pilot tube. During takeoff on the subsequent test flight, the airspeed indicator failed to register. But instead of flying by instinct, the Chinese pilot pushed the throttles all the way forward — and fire-walled the engines. He flew round the circuit for an emergency landing. If he didn’t make it on the first pass, he told the tower that he would ditch at sea. Fortunately, a flight engineer from Lockheed was onboard and realized what the problem was. He pulled the throttles back so that a safe landing speed was achieved.”

The Fulton-equipped B-17 that saved 007 in the movie Thunderball had also flown the longest B-17 mission ever (it lasted more than 19 hours and was flown over China by a Taiwanese pilot)

This final B-17 did perform a few more missions over the mainland in late 1959 and early 1960, even though the P-2 Neptune (named P2V by the US Navy before September 1962) was unquestionably superior for Signals intelligence (SIGINT) operations. One of these may have been the longest flight a B-17 has ever made, anywhere in the world.

A crew led by Col. Li De Feng flew the old wartime bomber over the provinces of Guangdong, Hunan, and Guizhou on February 26, 1960. They then continued over the Yunnan plateau before making a roughly identical return trip. For this flight, which took off from Hsinchu at 1600 on February 26, 1960, additional fuel tanks were fitted. They didn’t come back until 11:10 the following morning, which was 19 hours and 10 minutes later!

Notably, a display in the old 34th Squadron museum claims that this flight lasted 20 hours and 40 minutes! Long-distance flights in the B-17 were made possible, in accordance with former Black Bat pilot Dai Shu Qing, by the installation of an auxiliary fuel tank in the bomb bay. On the P-2, a comparable tank was added.

But in November 1960, the B-17 left the 34th Squadron. In 1961, it was delivered to the Skunk Works, where the ATIR jammer was installed in preparation for yet another secret mission. Four new engines have to be installed. The B-17 was subsequently fitted with the Fulton Skyhook and flown in Operation Coldfeet when it dropped and then extracted two Americans who investigated an ice station that the Soviet Union had abandoned in the Arctic. The same B-17, as demonstrated in the video below, rose to fame when the Skyhook was employed to pick up James Bond and his love interest at the conclusion of the movie Thunderball.

The Black Bats CIA Spy Flights over China from Taiwan 1951-1969 is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Screenshot from video and unknown

February 20, 2023 0 comment

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