11,846 helicopters According to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, a total of 11,846 helicopters were shot down or crashed during the war, resulting in nearly 5,000 American pilots and crew killed. [130], B-17s were still used in the Pacific later in the war, however, mainly in the combat search and rescue role. Two experimental versions of the B-17 were flown under different designations, the XB-38 Flying Fortress and the YB-40 Flying Fortress. Losses were relatively low - below the 5% threshold that was the. When bombers crashed in Switzerland. German Me 262s Gun Down B-17s | Military.com The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber used by the United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces during World War II. Of the 12,731 B-17s built, about 4,735 were lost during the war. Copilot was Lieutenant Donald Putt, while Boeing chief test pilot Leslie R. Tower was behind the pilots in an advisory role. Study now. The B-17 finally had a fighter which could escort them in and out of Germany, and began to overwhelm German defenses and industry. [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. [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 were used in early battles of the Pacific with little success, notably the Battle of Coral Sea[120] and Battle of Midway. how many b17s were shot down during ww2 - bagtical.com [67], By the time the definitive B-17G appeared, the number of guns had been increased from seven to 13, the designs of the gun stations were finalized, and other adjustments were completed. Tragically, the plane stalled and spun into the ground soon after takeoff, bursting into flames. And of those 276,000 planes, 68,000 were lost. [57] The B-17E was an extensive revision of the Model 299 design: The fuselage was extended by 10ft (3.0m); a much larger rear fuselage, vertical tailfin, rudder, and horizontal stabilizer were added; a gunner's position was added in the new tail;[note 4] the nose (especially the bombardier's framed, 10-panel nose glazing) remained relatively the same as the earlier B through D versions had; a Sperry electrically powered manned dorsal gun turret just behind the cockpit was added; a similarly powered (also built by Sperry) manned ventral ball turret just aft of the bomb bay replaced the relatively hard-to-use, Sperry model 645705-D[60] remotely operated ventral turret on the earliest examples of the E variant. Their first operation, against Wilhelmshaven on 8 July 1941 was unsuccessful. [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. Some SB-17s had their defensive guns removed, while others retained their guns to allow use close to combat areas. As of November 2022, four aircraft remain airworthy, none flown in combat. Some of the German pilots had been flying in combat since 1936. In fact, he wasn't a pilot at all . Later on footage shows German paratroopers and American P-51 mustangs. 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. B-17s flown by the Eighth saw some of the fiercest combat of the war. Copy. Japanese fighter pilots machine-gunned some of the B-17 crew members as they descended and attacked others in the water after they landed. In July 1940, an order for 512 B-17s was issued,[43] but at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, fewer than 200 were in service with the army. Posted on . [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. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.048, The B-17 was legendary for its toughness as this photo shows a bomber that survived its nose being crushed and returned to its base in England, 1944-45. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Rabaul on a Wing and a Prayer". 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. 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. These included B-17G 44-85531, registered as N809Z. Water spouts just offshore . This. [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. The Allison V-1710 was allocated to fighter aircraft. Did any American B-17 crewman ever shoot down a German fighter plane while flying over Germany during World War II? The campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. This was operated by German-speaking radio operators who were to identify and jam German ground controllers' broadcasts to their nightfighters. [76] The British heavy bombers, the Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax, dropped 608,612 long tons (681,645 short tons) and 224,207 long tons (251,112 short tons)[77] respectively. Linn joined The National WWII Museum staff in 2014 andservedas a Curator until 2020. For other uses, see, "Flying Fortress" redirects here. Donald, David. 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. 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. These modifications resulted in a 20% increase in aircraft weight. The first Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid occurred during >World War II (1939-1945). [144], After examining wrecked B-17s and B-24s, Luftwaffe officers discovered that on average it took about 20 hits with 20 mm shells fired from the rear to bring them down. [citation needed], Two additional groups arrived in Britain at the same time, bringing with them the first B-17Fs, which served as the primary AAF heavy bomber fighting the Germans until September 1943. [21] Doyle notes, "The loss of Hill and Tower, and the Model 299, was directly responsible for the creation of the modern written checklist used by pilots to this day. With a renewed focus and power, the Allies finally achieved the air supremacy needed over Normandyfor the D-Day landings in June 1944. 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. B-17 Is Shot Down (1943) - YouTube Three squadrons undertook Met profiles from airfields in Iceland, Scotland and England, gathering data for vital weather forecasting purposes. [citation needed], The B-17 was noted for its ability to absorb battle damage, still reach its target and bring its crew home safely. Meantime 60 B-17's were lost to all causes (including flak). 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. [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. Designed by Dr. Sanford Moss, engine exhaust gases turned the turbine's steel-alloy blades, forcing high-pressure ram air into the Wright Cyclone GR-1820-39 engine supercharger. [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. Air Corps doctrine dictated bombing runs from high altitude, but they soon found only 1% of their bombs hit targets. Hess, William N. and Jim Winchester. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. ", "Question How many bomber flight crews completed their 25 missions to go home?". 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. How many Cobras were shot down in Vietnam? - 2023 Operational History. 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. Horrific WWII Statistics [103] Early versions of the Fw 190, one of the best German interceptor fighters, were equipped with two 20mm (0.79in) MG FF cannons, which carried only 500 rounds when belt-fed (normally using 60-round drum magazines in earlier installations), and later with the better Mauser MG 151/20 cannons, which had a longer effective range than the MG FF weapon. 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. 1, 17 August 1942", "How Allied Air Attacks Evolved During World War II", "Combat Chronology of the U.S. Army Air Forces: April 1945.". Almost all of the other bombers suffered some level of damage. One B-17 broke up in the air, and its crew was forced to take to their parachutes. 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). These aircraft were primarily used for agent drop missions over the People's Republic of China, flying from Taiwan, with Taiwanese crews. 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. An early model YB-17 also appeared in the 1938 film Test Pilot with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, and later with Clark Gable in Command Decision in 1948, in Tora! For the video game, see. [97], The two different strategies of the American and British bomber commands were organized at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. The bombardier essentially took over flight control of the aircraft during the bomb run, maintaining a level altitude during the final moments before release. Swiss aircraft attempted to intercept and force individual aircraft to land, interning their crews; one Swiss pilot was killed, shot down by a U.S. bomber crew in September 1944. B-17's Shot Down During Raid - YouTube This production rate was, however, surpassed by that of the, This is a commonly misreported error. B-17 Flying Fortresses The B-17 Flying Fortress became a symbol of the power of the United States and its air force. [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. "Smithsonian Panel Backs Transfer of Famed B-17 Bomber.". The first B-17 raid in Europe took place on August 17, 1942, when 12 planes attacked the railroad marshaling yards in Rouen, France. In contrast, of the nearly 1,100 Cobras delivered to the Army, 300 were lost. [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. [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. 60 B-52s Shot Down In One Day? Today's U.S. Air Force Can - Forbes 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. [167], During the last year of World War II and shortly thereafter, the United States Navy (USN) acquired 48 ex-USAAF B-17s for patrol and air-sea rescue work. the B-17 was a fourengine heavy bomber aircraft used by the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. These turbo-superchargers were incorporated into the B-17B. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: The Right Touch". On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10. Of 2,900 men in the crews, about 650 did not return, although some survived as prisoners of war. [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. Four B-17s were shot down in these operations.[171]. 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. [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. "Boeing Model 299 (B-17 Flying Fortress).". 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. [92] On 17 August 1942, 12 B-17Es of the 97th, with the lead aircraft piloted by Major Paul Tibbets and carrying Brigadier General Ira Eaker as an observer, were close escorted by four squadrons of RAF Spitfire IXs (and a further five squadrons of Spitfire Vs to cover the withdrawal) on the first USAAF heavy bomber raid over Europe, against the large railroad marshalling yards at Rouen-Sotteville in France, while a further six aircraft flew a diversionary raid along the French coast. Mayday! Designating the aircraft Fortress Mk I, the aircraft performed poorly during high-altitude raids in the summer of 1941. 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. For this reason, he wanted B-17 bombers and P-51 fighters for the Eighth. However, B-17s were operating at heights too great for most A6M Zero fighters to reach. Ten of the 12 Fortresses survived the attack. Frisbee, John L. "Valor: 'I Am the Captain of My Soul'". [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. The 8th Air Force then targeted the ball-bearing factories in Schweinfurt, hoping to cripple the war effort there. Clearly, something had to be done because the bomber was not getting through. During World War II, the B-17 equipped 32 overseas combat groups, inventory peaking in August 1944 at 4,574 USAAF aircraft worldwide. Shores, Christopher, Brian Cull and Yasuho Izawa. 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. ", "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'. List of surviving Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses - Wikipedia 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. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.022, B-17 Flying Fortresses in formation over Europe, 1944-45. 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. [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. [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. [ Via] B17f-42-30336 landed in a field at Norholm Estate near Varde Denmark on 9.10.1943 after developing engine trouble, the crew baled out and the pilot landed the plane . Frisbee, John L. "Valor: 'Valor at its Highest'". 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. [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. [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. Other factors such as combat effectiveness and political issues also contributed to the B-17's success. Britain in WW2 . O'Bannon was the US Navy's most decorated destroyer during World War II, earning 17 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. 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. [160] At first, these aircraft operated under their original USAAF designations, but on 31 July 1945 they were assigned the naval aircraft designation PB-1, a designation which had originally been used in 1925 for the Boeing Model 50 experimental flying boat. [20] While the air corps was still enthusiastic about the aircraft's potential, army officials were daunted by its cost;[24] Douglas quoted a unit price of $58,200 (equivalent to $916,000 in 2021) based on a production order of 220 aircraft, compared with $99,620 (equivalent to $1,568,000 in 2021 ) from Boeing. [citation needed] As a result, the B-17s' loss rate was up to 25% on some early missions. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - The National WWII Museum Crashed Model 299. See answer . Mayday! When bombers crashed in Switzerland - SWI swissinfo.ch The ammunition load was over 11,000 rounds. [152] According to these allegations, the practice was initially successful, but Army Air Force combat aircrews quickly developed and established standard procedures to first warn off, and then fire upon any "stranger" trying to join a group's formation. Additionally, 122 bombers were damaged and needed repairs before their next flights. The small force of B-17s operated against the Japanese invasion force until they were withdrawn to Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. Gift of Peggy Wallace, 2010.308.041, B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 398th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, in-flight above cloud level in Europe, 1944-45. 223 Squadron, as part of 100 Group, operated a number of Fortresses equipped with an electronic warfare system known as "Airborne Cigar" (ABC). The operation did not work as expected, with 90 Squadron's Fortresses being unopposed. It was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. The Unknown Aces of the Eighth - National Museum of the Mighty Eighth How many b17s were shot down? 0. The RAF entered World War II with no heavy bomber of its own in service; the biggest available were long-range medium bombers such as the Vickers Wellington, which could carry up to 4,500 pounds (2,000kg) of bombs. [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.