B-17F-85-BO 42-30080 HIGH LIFE of the 351st BS/ 100th BG, Thorpe Abbotts, August 1943 HIGH LIFE is depicted as it appeared after it became the first B-17 to make a forced landing in Switzerland during the Regensburg mission on 17 August 1943. Haugen’s B-17 was leading B Flight, so it took the lead for the second time in three raids. Visible behind the B-17 at the upper right corner of the photo are numerous smoke trails from smoke generating devices on the ground near the Flugplatz military post, in an effort at camouflage. However, these gunships were used in operational service (though for only a short time) with the first mission flown in May of 1943. Pflug, flew as a B-17 co-pilot with the 369th Squadron, 390th Bomb Group, from Framlingham, England. USS Harmon (DE-678) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy. The 99th joined the 324th Fighter Group in El Haouria on June 29, 1943. USS Suwannee (CVE-27), was built as the civilian oiler Markay, in 1939, before being acquired by the US Navy, in 1941, and renamed Suwannee (AO-33), after the tradition of naming fleet oilers after rivers. Within a few days, Lt Charles B. s. The Eighth Air Force attack against the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt, Germany, on October 14, 1943, became known as "Black Thursday. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors,. A 20 mm shell exploded within the No 3 engine nacelle, cutting the throttle cable and. Map of B-17 crash sites on 17 August 1943 Flight route of the 306th BG List of lost B-17s on 17 August 1943. Flying out of American bases in England, as many as a thousand B-17 aircraft at a time were staged and deployed in daring daylight raids. They were armed by German artillery, purposed, first of all, on AA role. The patrolling submarine U-456 spotted the convoy as soon as it reached open water. Army Air Forces leadership. The American bombers conducted a strategic bombing raid on ball bearing factories to reduce production. The converted Mormacland was turned over to the Royal Navy as HMS Archer on November 17, 1941—the first of 39 American-built escort carriers provided under the Lend-Lease program—and it subsequently served in the Battle of the Atlantic. 18 19th Escort Group. At the last moment, the fighter turned to pull away. Comdr. bomber escort missions. Among the crews assigned to this long and distant mission was that of the B-17 " Lucky Thirteen" of 384 th Bomb Group. 72 P-38s, 38 P-47 Thunderbolts and 57 P-51s escort the B-17s to the target, a synthetic oil plant at Ruhland, Germany 123 B-17s bomb the primary target, 21 bomb the marshaling yard at Elsterwerda) and a lone B-17 bombs the marshaling yard at Riesa) owing to a bomb. Submarine Swordfish (SS-193) is damaged when mistakenly attacked by USAAF B-17, 150 miles north of New Ireland, 00°12'N, 152°00'E,. Single-Seat, Single-Engine Monoplane Fighter Prototype. But before you try to take off in a P-51 Mustang to escort B-17 bombers over Germany or dogfight over that stretch of Sinai sand nicknamed “Texas” by Israeli F-4 pilots, make sure your. 102. Shiga while she was preserved in Chiba City. March 2–5 – In the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, U. The Type C, like the Ukuru and Mikura classes, were dedicated to the anti-aircraft and anti-submarine roles. Only one prototype was built, and it made its first flight on May 19, 1943. 30 1/4" x 23 1/2". On 27 June 1942, Allied convoy PQ-17 sailed eastbound from Iceland, headed for the Soviet port of Arkhangelsk. This airplane, "Li'l Audrey/Snooks," of the 91st Bomb Group, collided with another B-17 over the English Channel on Aug 31 1943. This tactical role was more attuned to the needs of ground forces. . Brown’s B-17F lined up for takeoff. PT-109. All the Way to Berlin with Mustangs. This is going to be a long one…. The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. the Army authorized heavily armed bombers as "gunship" escorts, which resulted in both the B-17 derived YB-40 Flying Fortress gunship and its Liberator-derived XB-41 counterpart. Bowman -. Sellers (O-678337), in the left arm. Based on a true story. The plan was to build a basic escort ship of around 800 tons, with. Only one prototype was built, and it made its first flight on May 19, 1943. 2 Sep 1941. 1943. SC 122 was a slow eastbound convoy of 60 ships, routed from New York to Liverpool. 67. 1943: 17. Thousands of aviators would pay the price as unescorted B-17 formations faced losses of over 20 percent. In a very real sense the story of the second great raid of August 1943 was a story of the Boeing Model 299 heavy bomber first built in 1935 and later designated the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by the British need in World War II for anti-submarine. Operation Husky order of battle. The P-38 Lightning inspired young men, fought a global war and earned a reputation as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Department of DefenseHowever, bomber losses reached the unacceptable point in 1943 in the face of stiff German opposition, and the B-17s had to wait until the introduction of long-range fighter escort before they could continue their war against the Reich. The bomber crews faced heavy flak over the target and then had to fight their. If a crew flew 25 combat missions, they were rotated back to the states. These raids caused immense devastation and loss of life in Berlin. 7. Illustration of a B-17 Flying Fortress, a World War two American four-engine heavy bomber taking off and in full flight with star in the runway and sunburst in the done in retro style. The Fifteenth Air Force had four groups of B-17's and eleven of B-24's when it first marked its aircraft for unit identification. Based on a true story. Robert Payne from Holyoke, Massachusetts, arrived at Great Ashfield air base in the English countryside and joined the 548th Squadron of the 385th Bomb Group. Army thinking from years following the Great War, when Air Service leaders, led by the controversial Brig. His airplane was hit be flak, fell out of formation, and exploded. jpg 700 × 483; 88 KB. Though flying the same aircraft as the Eighth, the proportions differed. United States Army Air Forces. Instead of shooting it down, the German pilot escorted it home. . The Hiburi-class escort ship (日振型海防艦,, Hiburi-gata Kaibōkan) was a sub-class of the Mikura -class escort ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), serving. Kendrick R. 5. 449th Bombardment Group. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the Consolidated B-24 were the United States' two standard heavy bombers until the arrival of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in 1944. 309. This was the first B-17 to complete 25 combat missions in the Eighth Air Force, on 13 May 1943; after completing 48 missions, the aircraft returned to the United States on 20 January 1944, for a publicity tour. [1] The class was also referred to by internal Japanese documents as the "Modified B-class" coastal. Sargent) The flying boat attacked U-448 at 12. 448 Bombardment Group, 27 Jun 1949-21 Mar 1951. The following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. Despite the high losses and unspectacular bombing results, the raid on Schweinfurt did help the war cause by making the policy makers finally realize the urgent need for long-range fighters to escort the bombers deep into enemy territory. 120 × depth charges. The P-51 debuted in theater in December. On Feb. Digging Deeper. The lack of an adequate escort fighter led Eighth Air Force to seek to convert a number of B-17s and B-24s into heavily armed escorts. The B-17 was an indirect result of U. At first they flew escort missions over the Sicilian coast. 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) Complement. S. In this raid, two YB-40s were. 06/30/2013 By Robbin Laird. Search first posts only. 4. On 30 th December 1943, during a mission targeting the IG Farben chemical industries in Ludwigshafen, Rhineland, the 8 th Air Force lost two escort fighters P-47s "Thunderbolts", two B-24 "Liberators" and three B-17 "Flying Fortresses" which crashed in various places in the Oise departement. 8. The Ordeal of PQ-17. He soon befriended a stray dog outside a nearby pub, and the two became inseparable. Jagdgeschwader 301 (JG 301) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. Tholen. B-17 formation attacking Brunswick B-17's under attack by Fw 190, 29 Nov 1943, target: Bremen The cost: B-17 straggler under the guns of an Fw 190 The cost The cost: B-17 falling out of formation The cost: B-17 munition handling accident The defenders: Galland and Hermann at war game with 1st Fighter Wing, Nov-Dec 1943 The defenders: the Fw 190A USAAF B-17 "Miss Donna Mae II" is damaged by a mis-timed bomb release over Museum Island, Berlin in May 1944. Bomber-Rammer / Bomber-Interceptor. He escorted the plane to safety over enemy lines. ww2dbase "Even before one drop of. home menu_openMenu English. First used in the Pacific Theater of World War II in early 1942,. In a way, any admission that fighter escort was necessary would imply that enemy fighters posed a. B-17 in 1943 p. He was lost on April 24, 1944 on a mission near Friedrichshafen, Germany. With this critical situation developing, the Navy in March, 1943, established the Second Convoy Escort Fleet, locating its headquarters on Saipan. As Soon as the Escorts Turned Back, Wave After Wave of German Fighters Began Striking with a Fury. The XB-41 had fourteen . By January 3-22, 1945 some 17 escort carriers covered the approach of the Luzon Attack Force as part of Task Group 77. B-17s of the 390th Bombardment Group with "little friends" escort fighters during a mission to Emden, Germany. Many of the aircraft used on this first raid are seen here on a training exercise over England. B-17 Post-War Exposure. World War II. 1943: 10. After training as a bombardier, he arrived in England in November 1943 and began his combat career on the last day of the. And, unfortunately, when a manufacturer told them a new bomber wouldn't need a fighter escort, they bought it. The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. One area in which the B-17 and all models of the B-24 were completely equal was in the power of their engines. The USS Sangamon (CVE-26) anchored off the the Solomons in 1943. Most extensively built variant was the B-17G (8,680), being built. the first "echelons" of American personnel began to arrive; and a US delegation flew to Moscow in an operational B-17, which was used to demonstrate American bombing. MACR 563. Air Force launch a second attack on the important ball-bearing production. It happened during World War II between a US B-17 pilot and a Luftwaffe ace. Minerich (O-795807), and wounding the copilot, 2nd Lt. Martin Company. On 20 December 1943, A formation of B-17 bombers of US Air. From 1943 to 1948, as part of Dumbo missions, 12 B-17G's were converted to B-17H's equipped with an airborne lifeboat and ASV radar for USAAF air-sea rescue duties. One area in which the B-17 and all models of the B-24 were completely equal was in the power of their engines. Both the Flying Fortress and the Liberator were equipped with engines that were flat-rated at 1,200 shaft horsepower each at takeoff—for a total of 4,800 hp on an airplane with all engines running. Full Title: The B-17 Flying Fortress "Memphis Belle" flying back to the United States on June 9, 1943 after successfully completing 25 missions against Axis occupied Europe. Prior to the introduction of the P-51 Mustang, a B-17 escort variant called the YB-40 was introduced. These fighters now had the range to escort the bombers all the way to their targets in Germany and back to home bases. 6. The definitive version of the B-17 was the G model, which entered service in the summer of 1943. Oroginally General Board has disapproved of building of similar ships, but next year situation has cardinally changed, and as a result some projects have. My uncle, William D. As Peterson's P-47’s approached their assigned stream of forty B-17’s, the formation came under attack by more than twenty German fighter aircraft. 000 Allied Warships and over 11. U-631 depth-charged by Sunflower on 17 October 1943. June 20–22. For serial. There, alongside the defenseless B-17, German ace Franz Stigler decided to break the cycle of violence, to spare the bomber and escort it out of Germany. Donate now. You can do so by clicking the link here Jeopardy November 06 2023On 27 September 1943, Knoke shot down a B-17, Elusive Elcy, of the 94th Bomb Group using Werfer-Granate 21 unguided rockets launched from modified mortar tubes. By fall 1943, German antiaircraft defenses—fighters, ground-based anti-aircraft artillery batteries and specially designed flak towers around key industrial centers—had become quite formidable. J. In December 1943 U. 2 weeks ago on Meetup4Fun. Given the nickname Junior by veteran pilots, Mr. flying his first mission as an aircraft commander flying a B-17, “Ye Olde Pub” on a. The gunners of the lead bomber joined the fray, raking the air with bullets. : r/WeirdWings. On August 17, 1943, several hundred B-17s participated in the double raid on Schweinfurt-Regensburg. It covers all their missions from August 1943 through February 1944. The Christmas Truce of WWI was an excellent example of such humanity, as were the heroic actions of German Luftwaffe fighter pilot Franz Stigler on December 20 th, 1943. Mission targets, opposition fighters and flak are all determined randomly, as is damage done to the B-17. In early 1943 Bomber Command began experimenting with H2S, a British-developed method using radar for terrain mapping that allowed the operators to identify targets by their topographical features. S. In this. The following night, 1,000 were killed and 100,000 made. Germany, in which over sixty B-17s and six hundred men never returned home. 84. October 01, 2020. Convoys crossing the North Atlantic lacked air support in the mid-ocean area, which was beyond the. The fighter could fly at a maximum speed of 234 miles per hour, had a range of 360 miles, and a service ceiling of 27,400 feet. The Tuskegee Airmen / t ʌ s ˈ k iː ɡ iː / were a group of African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. The escort. YB-40 20 B-17F (Vega Model V139-3), 1943, armed escort with upgraded armament. Over Germany for over two hours without. Peter Chen. On August 17, 1942, the 97th Bomb Group began the opening attack of the U. The Boeing XB-38 flying fortress - a single B-17E with Allison V-1710 V type engines rather than the standard Wright R-1820. USS Harmon was the first warship to be named after an. ” Roberts was a student at Cornell College in Iowa when he was called to active duty in 1943. 1945:.