On February 11th, 1939, pilot Ben Kelsey completed a coast-to-coast flight that set a new aviation record, completing the feat in just 7 hours and 48 minutes. The Luftwaffe (German pronunciation: [ˈlʊftvafə] ⓘ) was the aerial-warfare branch of the Wehrmacht before and during World War II. Despite being ordered to shoot down a damaged American bomber, Stigler made the bold decision to spare the lives of the crew. The huge tail fin of the Fortress posed a collision risk and many German pilots preferred to break away below. My uncle, William D. The North American P-51 Mustang was the immediate choice. military aircraft in the "Arsenal of Democracy," displaying collective efforts of American industry supporting World War II allies. Boeing B-29 Superfortress long-range strategic bombers releasing their payloads during the Burma campaign in 1945. 20, 1943, was a typically cold, overcast winter day in Britain as 2d Lt. Navy SBD-3s patrol off Midway Atoll, where on June 4, 1942, Dauntlesses changed the course of the Pacific naval war in four dramatic minutes. The All American (full name All American III) was a World War II Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress heavy bomber that was able to return safely to its base after having its rear fuselage nearly cut off by an in-flight collision with a German Bf 109 over enemy-held territory. S. k. -Long range escort fighter-Fighter Bomber-Torpedo carrier-Dive Bomber-Reconnaissance model-ASW patroller Owing to the classic adage that a “do it all” could be just mediocre. Republic XP-72. Luftwaffe pilots, having studied the B-17s, began to engage the bombers from head on rather than persevere with rear attacks against which the Fortresses had. Four Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats swept in from the sea, hunting enemy aircraft attempting to get out from under the U. Franz Stigler had been a decorated German fighter pilot who saved the lives of a U. 1. The first prototype bomber flew in mid-1935, and the B-17 entered small-scale production in 1937. An accomplished private pilot, he travelled to Britain to volunteer with the RAF, and joined No. He flew 28 missions over Italy and Germany before his. Marine Corps in 1936 and became a pilot. RAF bombers hit Augsburg with 594 aircraft in a night time raid. Did You Know: The B-17 and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers were to fly in tight formations, concentrating their defensive weapons against attacking enemy aircraft. It was far superior to the. Mustangs were the mounts of the 332nd Fighter Group, the first African American fighter unit, which flew escort missions in Italy during 1944. The bombers of the daylight missions were taking very heavy losses each day from Luftwaffe pilots until an escort fighter could stay with them deep into enemy territory and home again on every mission. He had to get a waiver to receive his diploma in absence. Ramming enemy aircraft was not unknown in World War II. After implementing bombing strategies that reduced many German cities to rubble, Maj. What happened next was a fundamental, non. Friday, February 25th, 1944. In this way, Stigler “escorted” Brown and his crew to the English Channel. The usual Bomber escorts have deserted the bomber for a. August 11, 2020. S. During the entire month of October, the Eighth lost a total of 214 heavy bombers, almost 10 percent of the total number dispatched. Armament experts, after analyzing combat camera footage, learned that pilots of average ability hit the bombers with only about two percent of the rounds they fired. In the ensuing combat, the 332nd shot down three of the eight jets destroyed that day. Variants. A fast and high-flying bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. Those who fought will be remembered, but there are legends who stand above the others. The Tuskegee Airmen once shot down three German jets in a single day. Other aircraft reportedly in the fray included the ungainly, fixed-landing gear Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber, the Fw-189 tactical reconnaissance aircraft and the experimental He- 100. By the end of Big Week, Allied air forces flew some 6,000 sorties, lost 357 bombers, 28 escort fighters and more than 2,000 airmen killed or captured. The P-51 Mustang. flying his first mission as an aircraft commander flying a B-17, “Ye Olde Pub” on a. Developed by Soviet aircraft designers Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich, the MiG-15 stunned American military leaders when it first appeared over Korea in 1950. The. It is the peak of World War II. So much so that the Me-262s had only been able to take off and land under the protection of a whole Gruppe of Fw-190s and concentrated flak. The second citation was awarded to the 99th Fighter Squadron (the unit had been renamed) for successful air strikes against Monte Cassino, Italy. The great U. Louis Edward "Lou" Curdes (2 November 1919 – 5 February 1995) was an American flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II who held the unusual distinctions of scoring an official and intentional air-to-air kill against another American aircraft as well as shooting down at least one aircraft from each of the major Axis powers. S. Doolittle was given a series of command roles in North Africa and Europe, eventually leading the powerful Eighth Air Force with its 42,000 combat aircraft. Haugen was born July 8, 1917, and raised in Duluth, Minnesota—one of four brothers, all of whom served in the U. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twin-boom design with a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. The Tuskegee Airmen are best known as the first African American pilots in United States military service. Robert F. Tuskegee Airmen gained the nickname Black Redtail Angels because the tails of their planes were painted red. To achieve performance, most heavy fighters were twin-engine, and many had multi-place crews;. Navy’s aerial umbrella. VI fighter-bomber used for testing rocket armament. Samuel served as copilot. Charles L. Curdes managed to shoot down two aircraft in a dogfight that lasted less than an hour. Heading inland, the fighter leader spotted two twin-engine. Operational History. Almost everyone would recognize the Spitfire, P-51 Mustang, Me109 or Lancaster. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military aviators in the U. The Me 109 was faster, much more agile, and could fly 5higher than the B-17. A 2012 George Lucas-produced film by the same name fictionalizes this unit’s success in shooting down German fighter. S. Marty Sidener became the youngest pilot in World War II. Based in Farmingdale, New York, Republic Aircraft was the successor to the company Russian-born aircraft designer. Dead at age 23 with official credit for 30. The average monthly loss rate for Eighth Air Force heavy bombers fell from 5. From October 1940 to October 1942, Hartmann trained on Messerschmitt Bf 109, or ME 109, aircraft. Armament: Armed with six 0. Five days before Christmas 1943, a helpless American bomber pilot locked eyes with a German fighter pilot over the frozen skies of Europe. One squadron had 11 of 13 aircraft shot down in minutes. It is taken from my dairy and from the official Eighth Air Force records of that mission. During World War II, Roscoe Brown flew 68 combat missions, downing a German jet outside Berlin during an escort mission in 1945. The Misconception that the outstanding World War II record of the Tuskegee Airmen alone convinced President Truman to desegregate the armed forces of the United States. S. The B-29 was the largest aircraft to have a significant operational role in World War II and remains the only aircraft in history to have ever used a nuclear weapon in combat. When Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler had American bomber Charlie Brown's defenseless plane in his sights in 1943, he not only let him go but then escorted him out of danger. A B-17 bomber is flying over German territory, Alone. Illustration on the event. Volunteer force. None of those on board survived. On September 1, 1939, the German military forces invaded Poland to begin World War II. S. In it, Franz Stigler, a German Luftwaffe fighter ace flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109, guided a severely. Luftwaffe pilots saw their opportunity. Bomber Command crews suffered 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44. A German fighter pilot in his Bf 109 fighter encountered them. The 332d FighterThe Luftwaffe had 103 pilots who shot down over 100 airplanes. Destroyer (Zerstörer), night-fighter (Nachtjäger), fighter-bomber (Jagdbomber or Jabo), the twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 is the most successful World War II German fighter bomber and one of the best German fighter planes of the era. Guess the pilots met years later in old age. The pilot of the ME109 was bloodthirsty. Germany had respected Dutch neutrality during WWI. Martin Company. These planes were the workhorses of the. In 1943, there were no fighter escort aircraft with the range necessary to accompany and protect the American B-24 and B-17 bombers from German interceptor aircraft all the way to and from their targets deep inside Germany. On March 24, 1945, the 332nd became one of the first Italy-based fighter units to escort B-17s all the way to Berlin and back. The P-51 remains the iconic fighter of World War II, and it is a popular plane among Veterans and enthusiasts alike. Trainer is a vital training tool used by B-2 Spirit stealth bomber pilots. The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Kindelberger of North American Aviation. There was a lot of censorship in World War II, both of the letters of American servicemen and of the dispatches of war correspondents like the legendary Ernie Pyle. ” This misconception originated even before the end of World War II, in the press. 50 caliber machine gun turrets,Jan. The Luftwaffe was officially created on 26 February 1935, with Göring as its commander-in-chief. World War II was a different story, entirely. Her flying career had started a decade, and a war. The aircraft was a result of the 1936 US Navy competition for a new carrier-based monoplane. The German pilot escorted the B-17 to the English Channel and then saluted the A. Apart from the plane in the foreground, all of the bombers pictured here belonged to Hesley's squadron, the 327th. “Flak Happy” — Nose Art of a B-17 Bomber, Courtesy of the Roger Freeman Collection, American Air Museum in Britain, FRE 4019 (Image source: U. This was the case both for the pilots who first saw it, before Allied pilots and flight crew were briefed about it, and those who saw it after learning about it in briefings. When Japanese pilots did the same thing less two years later, Americans condemned the practice. American airmen hoped that such aircraft could get through German defenses and hit their targets without fighter escort. The top hat markings represent bomber escort missions. CryptoArmament experts, after analyzing combat camera footage, learned that pilots of average ability hit the bombers with only about two percent of the rounds they fired. While the 200+ kill Luftwaffe experten flew on the Eastern Front, many of their Western Front comrades scored over 100 kills. In particular, the Flying Tigers, or the American Volunteer Group, used the P-40 in their campaign against Japan. By most accounts, World War II officially began on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Franz Stigler, a Luftwaffe fighter pilot just in from shooting down two B-17s, saw Ye Olde Pub limp by. aces of the Korean War knocked down fifteen MiGs. With deadlier guns, and more of them, American bomber doctrine believed that fighter escorts would not be necessary. The biggest carrier aircraft of the war, the original Grumman TBF-1 first flew in August 1941. 3%. On their way to Berlin, Germany, the Red Tails destroyed three German ME-262’s. Not only did it have the necessary range but also outclassed the German interceptors of the period. Allied plans to invade North Africa in November 1942 also delayed the American strategic bombing campaign. This allowed USAAF bombers to go into Germany and beyond without heavy losses. Lieutenant Den Sudo emerges from the cockpit of his Mitsubishi G6M1-L—a “wingtip escort” heavy fighter variant of the G4M1 “Betty” bomber converted to a transport—at Ie Shima on August 19, 1945. 5. July 2014. Afterwards,. 5 enemy planes destroyed in air combat and ground strafing, he was the second highest–scoring Eighth Air Force fighter pilot to be killed in action during World War II. American airmen hoped that such aircraft could get through German defenses and hit their targets without fighter escort. of aircraft. The B-26 saw extensive service during World War II. Dorr - January 18, 2022. Volume 27, Number 6. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic. a. The 332nd lost 25 bombers. U-160 was lost with all 57 hands. The story of this secret airline is one of World War II’s most amazing classified missions and sheds new light. K. Every Luftwaffe day fighter pilot I have interviewed from the late summer of 44 till war's end was impressed with the Allied fighters especially with the P-51 but the Germans all thought they had the better weaponry and ammo. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands to the north, France to the South, and Luxembourg to the southeast. ace of the MTO, with 21 victories. A subsonic flying wing with a crew of two, the plane was designed by Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) and produced from 1987 to 2000. 92mm bullet from a Bf 110’s rear gunner. 178 Americans were killed, wounded, or captured in the raid. Gray (at end, on far right) was a rarity: a pilot who completed a tour in B-24s before transitioning to fighters. Of 179 bomber escort missions. Gunther Rall – 275 kills. " The push to allow Black pilots in the. The 43 fighters were there to help B-17 bombers run a gauntlet of over 1,600 miles into the. Despite MGM’s reluctance. A. Designating the aircraft Fortress Mk I, the aircraft performed poorly during high-altitude raids in the. Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber Group at Kimbolton, England. 313, at RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, after being mistakenly landed there by its German pilot, Oberleutnant Armin Faber, the Gruppenadjutant of. Because they trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field before and during the war, they are sometimes called the Tuskegee Airmen. 1, 1943, Lt. He realized to his astonishment that the German fighter was flying escort on the B-17. On October 28, 1916, German pilot Oswald Boelcke. Lieutenant Richard A. The leading aces of WWI, Manfred von Richthofen and Rene Fonck, 80 and 75. The mission was for German pilots to use their Messerschmitt Bf 109s to ram American bombers to knock them out of the sky. Map used by Col Don Blakeslee, commander of the famous 4th Fighter Group, on an escort mission to Berlin. During their bomber escort missions, they destroyed 20 Nazi fighters and strafed a large enemy airfield in Germany, damaging various German aircraft and killing 15-20 armed personnel. To obtain twenty hits, the average pilot had to aim 1,000 20-mm rounds at the bomber. Number built. Dorr Collection photo. And thanks to constant upgrades, the Spitfire remained a top-performing frontline fighter through the end of the war. A B-17F of the 99th Bomb Group, with the nearly frameless clear-view bombardier’s nose. But the claims of the P-51’s importance often goes farther. He escorted the plane to safety over enemy lines. The Luftwaffe lost 262 fighters and 250 airmen killed or wounded, including 100 pilots. All metal airplanes could be mass-produced by the early 1930s due to advances in aircraft design and construction. The footage of the B-17s is from Wyler's '44 fim Memphis Belle. The only blemish to the feat was the resultant crash landing. S. Struggling to keep the air campaign over Europe alive in the face of disastrous bomber losses, the U. John Sotham.