Whistle Stop Rail Trail, The NASM B-26B-25-MA nicknamed "Flak-Bait" (AAF serial number 41-31773) survived 206 operational missions over Europe, more than any other American aircraft during World War II (A de Havilland Mosquito B. Mk. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. According to decades of World War II aviation history, the crew of the Memphis Belle became the first B-17F Flying Fortress crew to complete 25 missions following a strike against Kiel, Germany. Of every 100 airmen who joined Bomber Command, 45 were killed, 6 were seriously wounded, 8 became Prisoners of War, and only 41 escaped unscathed (at least physically). The raid prompted the Japanese to retain four army fighter groups in Japan during 1942 and . Exercises To Dunk A Basketball, I have amended the B-24s loss on the Wikipedia article List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (194044) to reflect this. A high-wing monoplane with a twin tail and tricycle landing gear, it was powered by two 1,700-horsepower Wright radial engines, had a wingspan of 67 feet 7 inches (20.6 metres), was 53 feet 6 inches (16 . No Built - 18,188. The wreck, a B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber, crashed in Lake Bolsena on Jan. 15, 1944. 2 How many crew members did the b17 have? Billy Burke Evangelist Wife, See object record. The most famous aerial gunner was probably Clark Gable - MGM's biggest earner when WWII began. While the article on Memphis Belle had included the qualifier first B-17 United States Army Air Force heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions with her crew intact, which on a factual basis at least made the article correct insofar as it specified that it was the first to 25 missions with her crew intact, but the truth is, while were reasonably knowledgable about WWII lore here, the name Hot Stuff didnt spark any particular recollection in us or among the several other warbird enthusiasts we asked about it, though one fellow we spoke to did remember it as the plane General Andrews lost his life in, but generally there wasnt much recognition. The B-17 Delta Rebel II of the 91st BG, piloted by Capt.George Birdsong,Jr. Then, the bomb shackle is attached and the dolly moved under the bomb bay. ANY WAY I HAD FLIGHT EXPERIENCE ON THE B 26 TOWING TARGETS HERE IN THE GOOD OLD USA. PC even then. When bomber crews completed 25 missions, they got credit for a combat tour and went home, but in late 1943, the odds were against their doing so. Almost one in five Australian airmen to serve in Britain did not survive the war. Its a great thing for any crew/plane to have completed 25 missions, but I think the 8th flying to the heart of Germany had a tougher nut to crack than the 9th flying against targets mostly in Africa and Italy (although nobody had a tougher target then Ploesti). The first refueling stop before heading out over the Atlantic was scheduled for Prestwick, Scotland, but the crew decided to fly directly to their second refueling stop at Reykjavik, Iceland. Thank you. The most vulnerable body part that a flak can hit include the lower extremities (legs) followed by the upper extremities (arms) and the head. One reason it survived was the tail gunner had six confirmed kills and several more unconfirmed. So they parachuted out and spent three days walking back from behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Wood Tv 8 Weather Forecast, So you see, whether youre the pilot or tail gunner, surviving never meant being comfortable while at it. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". What a tragedy. Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that number was almost statistically impossible in Europe. Ellen: An amusing sidelight was that he was highly indignant that every third mission they got liberty and that at 50 missions , they were one short and did NOT get liberty, even though the war in Europe was over. Very cool story. I bookmarked it. After completing 25 missions, Hell's Angels remained in theater until 1944 and flew a total of 48 missions without any injured crewmen or abort. There was an similar earlier raid that included Regensburg that cost the same.. Before anything, consult the FEO! Your email address will not be published. How many B17 crews actually managed to complete 25 missions during WW2? Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. Interesting question. Copyright 2017 - Warbirds News. He was in the 389th bomb group, 567th squadron. Have you ever been punished with corporal punishme budisuryanto001, see what's new and featured for June. How many B-17s were in the Pacific in 1942? Poem About Jesus Death And Resurrection, The second bomber to have completed 25 missions is said to have been the Hell's Angels, but it wasn't widely promoted since its name wasn't aesthetically pleasing to the War Department. However, some missions were much more brutal and some squadrons had few survivors of whole tours. In fact, it is believed that Memphis Belle was the third to complete 25 successful missions. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Memphis Belle was the first B-17 to complete 25 missions and return to the United States. After several landing attempts, the B-24 crashed into the side of 1,600-foot-tall Mount Fagradalsfjall, near Grindavik, Iceland. Kneeling, ducking, trying to shoot down the bad guyscouldnt feel that comfortable! We would love to see some images from that log book if you feel comfortable scanning and sending them along! The crewmen of the B-29 bomber Enola Gay was separated from other military groups and were trained (for the deployment of atomic bombs) in secret. According to David Greene, navigator, this photo was taken at Biggs Army Air Base, El Paso , TX., on March 29th, 1944 while in the process of forming the combat crew. `MEMPHIS BELLE never quite rings true. Grant Rondeau only told us that he wasnt aboard the final flight. How many missions would it take to complete a WWII bomber mission? What does the B stand for in B-17 and B-24 and the P in P-38 stand for? Which colour is the best colour in iPhone? After some time of ineffective high altitude bombing, some of the B-17 bombers adopted skip bombing, a technique usually practiced by medium bombers rather than heavy bombers. Kneeling, ducking, trying to shoot down the bad guyscouldnt feel that comfortable! For many years the author has held a . To promote selling the War Bonds, rallies were held throughout the country with famous celebrities, usually Hollywood film stars, sports personalities, and war heroes such as John Basilone and Audie Murphy. Interestingly, this raid was the Belles 24th combat mission as the original crew occasionally flew missions on other planes and other crews took the Belle on missions as well. The average age of the crew of a B-17 was less than 25, with four officers and six enlisted Airmen manning the aircraft. Of the 120,000 who served, 55,573 were killed including over 10,000 Canadians. What had to be done, had to be done quickly, swiftly, and efficiently. 12 December 1942 This mission is composed of two elements. I hope my information is correct. Just to add some fog to the issue, the my fathers certificate of mission completions had only 30 places to list missions. God bless all of our heroes in WW2. In the article comments, we were contacted by Air Force veteran Jim Lux who stated The first heavy bomber in the 8th Air Force to complete 25 mission in World War II was the B-24 Liberator Hot Stuff. Now an academic from EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona, Florida has revealedthat it was the B-24 named Hot Stuff that was the first bomber to make 25 missions and return home, not the Memphis Belle. Required fields are marked *. Except for a tiny number of people on the extreme right this has been a complete non-issue for Germans for several decades. The 25-mission milestone becomes harder to pin down when considering changing crew members due to rotation, death, injury, illness, leave and equipment failures leading to spare planes pressed into service, errant wartime record-keeping, etc. See object record. Waldock says that because Hot Stuff crashed and never made it home it never became as well-known as Memphis Belle. Although crew members were required to fly a minimum of 25 combat missions before returning to the United States, some were called back to duty for another 25. More than 50,000 Airmen lost their lives in the four years of WWII and the majority of those losses were on bomber missions over Nazi Germany in B-17s and B-24s. how many ww2 bomber crews completed 25 missions. Aero Trader performed. More than 50,000 Airmen lost their lives in the four years of WWII and the majority of those losses were on bomber missions over Nazi Germany in B-17s and B-24s. During World War II, workers in factories signed milestone aircraft, such as 1,000th aircraft built, before they were delivered. Tags: "Hell's Angels", Audie Murphy, B-17F, John Basilone, Liberty Bonds, Memphis Belle, Norman Rockwell, Pearl Harbor, U.S. Army Air Force, United States, USAAF, War Bonds, War Bonds Tour, World War I, World War II. Vintage Aviation News is a company founded by a group of passionate aviation enthusiasts who love the history and technology Aviation and Flying Museums preserve for the public. Also aboard were Andrews staff and four clergymen. The swastika marks a German aircraft destroyed, while the parachuter indicates Parker had to jump. Col. James H. Doolittle led 16 B-25 bombers from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Hornet in a spectacular surprise attack that caused little damage but boosted Allied morale. BTW, 9th AF mission credit was 300 combat hours meaning you had to complete the raid. 4 How accurate is the movie Memphis Belle? Which b17 bomber completed the most combat missions? In 1945 the number of B-17s and B-24s withing the group on VE Day (assuming no more losses after April 25) would be 72. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. After flying 48 combat missions, it returned to the US for a war bond tour, but not until 1944. ten The crew of Hot Stuff didnt land at their scheduled stop on their way to Iceland, which if they had of stopped they would have found out about the incoming bad weather conditions, and may have waited until it passed and was safe to fly. Have taught English in Germany. The reason for this misinformation seems to have been to obscure the fact that the Supreme Commander was absent the theater. In early May 1943 as the crew prepared for their flight to the States for their War Bonds publicity tour, they got a call from the office of Lt. General Frank M. Andrews, Commander of the European Theater of Operations, asking if he could hitch a ride back to the States. Besides Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed (via subsidiary Vega) also contributed to that total. This in mind, the US Army Air Force decided that 25 missions while serving in a heavy bomber of the 8th Army Air Force would constitute a completed tour of duty because of the physical and mental strain on the crew. While the 25 Mission edict was a tall order when it was made, it was a number crews could believe in, and provided some hope of a light at the end of the tunnel, particularly necessary with the grim statistics bomber crews faced early-on, before long-range fighter escorts significantly improved mission survivability when they arrived later on in the course of the conflict. Was A German Invasion Of Great Britain Actually Possible? Attacking German cities In 1942 in an attempt to break German morale the RAF began attacking German towns and cities in earnest. How accurate was the movie Memphis Belle? A total of 315 men flew in operations in the Lancaster and 101 were later killed when .