Posted on 05/19/2019 1:32:38 PM PDT by Rummyfan
The B-17 “Flying Fortress” is one of the most iconic aircraft of World War II. Built by Boeing, the four-engine bomber was the United States’ primary weapon of destruction in the air campaign to annihilate cities and bring Nazi Germany to its knees. Its combat performance was decidedly uneven, yet no one questions its primacy in the war.
The B-17E, the first mass-produced model, carried nine machine guns and a 4,000-pound bomb load. Its distinctive and enormous tail improved control and stability during high-altitude bombing. Crews loved its smoothness—“It flew like an overgrown Piper Cub,” said one pilot—and its ability to absorb enemy fire and keep flying.
“Without the B-17 we may have lost the war,” said General Carl Spaatz, commander of U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe.
Despite hundreds of hours of newsreel footage and its appearance in innumerable documentaries and big budget Hollywood films, however, no one has ever managed to capture what it was like to actually fly a mission in a B-17—dropping bombs on German cities while being attacked by Luftwaffe fighters and anti-aircraft fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
Old Planes are So Kool!
Ford TriMotors Rock.
Is there a “Miss Behave”?
Cause aiming to, is A Okay.
B-25s were in Doolittle’s raids I thought.
I confuse the sarcasm tag with the just kidding tag sometimes.
Although perhaps zeneta just unwittingly gave the post office a hint on how to deliver his mail.
“Okay - load up the B-17, and when you’re over Z’s house....”
BTW - I’ve never figured out how things get posted across threads. Do you have two views of FR up so you can switch between threads easily?
Some German General figured out fairly soon that they would lose the war. Said something like “We shoot one of their planes down, and they send 7 more to replace it!”
Of course lots of young men were also shot down. RIP.
I’ve done it before a few times and it leaves me scratching my head. I think I am just jumping back and forth between them...I think...
The B17 “Doc” is now flying weekly over Wichita. I see it regularly. Today as I watched as I came out of church a guy walking out said the forward nose position goes for about $1800 for an hour ride.
err...B-29.
If you don’t know what you’re talking about, please be quiet... you’re speading disinformation.
An uncle of mine was the bombadier on some type of plane over Germany. He completed all of the maximum missions and lived a good life afterwords.
Growing up we spent all of the holiday with him and his family. It wasn’t until his memorial service that I learned what role he had in the war! (I’m wondering if I even knew that he had even served? But I’m guessing I must have know that.)
My dad talked about his time on a minesweeper in the Pacific. Although he never saw any enemy - so that’s probably why he didn’t mind telling some of the stories!
Right back atcha, troll.
Thats pretty much true.
Sure is an indication that he seen a lot. Survivors guilt in many cases.
Right, if you'd already read the topic, troll, you'd have seen that pointed out and acknowledged by me. Try chopping up your Prozacs and snorting them from now on..
Right, Doc is a B-29. Here’s Doc & Fifi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncUdqT8AxY0
I saw somewhere that the B-29 was the most complex and expensive weapons system in the entire war. The cockpit alone had thousands of components.
The Navy’s strategy in the Pacific War was based around the needs of the B-29 before the first one had even been built.
War planners wanted an airbase from which B-29s could bomb Japan’s Home Islands. So once Japan’s expansion drive had been halted at Coral Sea and Midway the series of battles was aimed at grabbing the Marianas and beginning the bombing campaign that would reduce Japan.
For those interested, the book “B-17’s Over Berlin” is a spell-binding compilation of verbatim first-hand stories of what it was like to crew these aircraft. One of the few books I started reading and could not put down.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.