Now imagine 1,300 of the bombers flying overhead along with thousands of fighters. The noise must have been overwhelming.
Each bomber dropping their bombs. The B-17 could carry 8,000lb internally and more externally so on a 1,000 bomber raid use the numbers below. No wonder entire cities were destroyed.
12) 500lb demolition bombs. (16) 300lb demolition bombs. (12) 500lb incendiary clusters. (16) 250lb British incendiary bombs.
Photos of aircraft being scrapped.
https://www.airplanes-online.com/b17-flying-fortress-scrapping-after-wwii.htm
What was the life expectancy of a B-17 crew?
Although such statistics were not circulated among Army Air Forces crews, the average life expectancy of an Eighth Air Force B-17 in late 1943 was 11 missions.
There Are Still Thousands of Tons of Unexploded Bombs in Germany, Left Over From World War II
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seventy-years-world-war-two-thousands-tons-unexploded-bombs-germany-180957680/
Hard to imagine that many of those birds all overhead at once, all armed to the teeth and all coming for a piece of your azz....just the sound alone must have been insane.
BTW, those are some impressive pics and stories in those links you provided. Thank you for providing them.
I had no idea that there was STILL that much unexploded ordinance in the ground over there.
