The group leader sometimes flew in one, sometimes the other. 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. Although Hanson and the rest of the crew survived unscathed to become early war heroes, they had several close calls. Aero Trader performed. Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. Why are saturated fats solid at room temperature and unsaturated fats liquid at room temperature? IN 1959..FROM THERE BACK TO LOUISIANA WHERE I CHECKED OUT AS ENGINEER IN THE KB-50 AIRCRAFTABOUT 2000 HOURS THERE, THEN TO HUNTER AFB GEORGIA TO FLY THE GREAT C-124. For the USAAF it was heavy bombers crews that successfully reached 25 combat mission in defiance of actuarial norms. I only know he was somewhat of a wild man with numerous shrapnel scars. My hero. Pilot. What is the song 'Norwegian Wood' really about? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The Belle is also known as the first (and one of only three) a/c that completed its tour without losing a single crewman. Fortunate me I discovered your site by chance, and Im stunned why this twist of fate It does not store any personal data. Interesting question. What movie plot hole bothers you the most? But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. How many B-17s were in the Pacific in 1942? World War II - Bombers; World War II - Pursuit . 31. 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). More than 8,000 men were killed in training accidents or other non-operational flying during the Second . He finished flight school at the age of 18 in 1944. Thank you. The 93rd BG dispatched aircraft on 9 of the first 34 raids by 8th BC. B-17 Sally B was used in the movie Memphis Belle to look like the Famous B-17 and was usedfor scenes requiring pyrotechnics such as smoke and sparks indicating machine gun hits Via. I, too flew the C-124, first from Travis, 1956-58, then Hickam 1958-9; and later (college break) Dover, 1963-5, and McChord, 1965-7. Can I increase my SIP amount in mutual funds Zerodha? His ob states he flew 125 combat mission over Europe in his P-47 bomber and received 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 24 Silver Stars. 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. The unit used B-17s, according to what I read. After the war the famous Andrews Air Force Base was named in his honor. Overcoming the odds, the B-17F Memphis Belle became the first U.S. Army Air Forces heavy bomber to return to the United States after completing 25 missions in Europe, and was selected by the Army Air Forces to be the symbol of the heavy bomber crews and support personnel who helped win the war against Nazi Germany. John Comer kept a journal of the 25 missions he flew in 1943 when the casualty rate on his base was close to 80%. He was also involved in one of the Ploesti fields mission. The B-17 dropped more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Now an academic from EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona, Florida has revealed that it was the B-24 named Hot Stuff that was the first bomber to make 25 missions and return home, not the Memphis Belle. how many ww2 bomber crews completed 25 missions 10. ouisana belle from England. Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that number was almost statistically impossible in Europe. 8 How many B-17s were in the Pacific in 1942? Robert Hanson, the last surviving crew member of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber of World War Two, has died of congestive heart failure. It was an airplane named Hells Angels. The old saw goes the first casualty of war is truth, and it is entirely likely that there were other planes and/or crews between Hot Stuff and Memphis Belle that completed the vaunted 25 missions that constituted a completed tour of duty, a bar that was moved at various times to 25, 30, and 35 missions, depending on the overall loss rates, the degree of mission difficulty, as well as the conditions that they were operating in. In 1943, having flown over France, Belgium, and Germany, the Memphis Belle crew became one of the first to reach that goal. The bomber crews were an elite group of warriors who were a microcosm of America white America, anyway. The man at the back of the trailer is attaching the tail fin, which is secured by a ring collar screwed onto the threads on the bomb itself. Suzy-Q nose artthe circled areas highlight combat damage repair. However, others stayed behind to complete 30 missions to avoid having to return from the states for a second tour of duty. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Dad flew 37 missions for RAF. A raid on 14 February is listed as the 34th 8th Bomber Command mission. He joked that after WWII, raising six kids was a piece of cake. Just to add some fog to the issue, the my fathers certificate of mission completions had only 30 places to list missions. She refused to pay for the oil change of the car I bought. What happened to the real crew of the Memphis Belle? The Memphis Belle is a World War II-era bomber that completed 24 combat missions on 15 May 1943. Big and slow, the B-17 delivered twice the payload of its predecessor. 2LT Richard McNamara. Memphis Belle is a well-known World War Two bomber, which was made famous by the Hollywood movie of the same name back in 1990. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. THEN TO JAPAN WHERE WE SUPPLIED ALL THE FAR EAST WITH CARGO GOING AS FAR EAST AS BANGKOK THAILAND, IN COUNTRY NAM, PHILLLIPINES, KOREA AND OTHER POINTS THERE IN. Enola Gay, Regular Crew (Crew B-9) Crew B-9 flew five combat missions, including the Hiroshima bombing mission. Good day! FROM TACHIKAWA TO ROBBINS GA. FOR FINAL PROCESSING OUT TO A GREAT RETIREMENT. 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. Since 1943 Word War II aviation history considered the "Memphis Belle" as the first heavy bomber to reach the 25-mission mark. B-17F Hells Angels Attacking German cities In 1942 in an attempt to break German morale the RAF began attacking German towns and cities in earnest. The Germans really dialed in shooting bombers out of the sky with their sophisticated FLAK systems and method. Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that numberwas almoststatistically impossible in Europe. How many B-17 bombers were shot down in ww2? Why the Stein crew posed in front of War Baby instead of Jerk's Natural is a bit of a mystery. B-24s served in every WWII theater of war, including the Mid-Atlantic Anti-submarine campaign. The average age of the crew of a B-17 was less than 25, with four officers and six enlisted Airmen manning the aircraft. The Germans really dialed in shooting bombers out of the sky with their sophisticated FLAK systems and method. Pilot. It was the B-17 going toe to toe without fighter escort with the GAF that is at the heart of the story of the 8th AF. A search link to find all missions flown by each aircraft is available at the top of this page. Of the 120,000 who served, 55,573 were killed including over 10,000 Canadians. Because the Memphis Belle hit that momentous milestone without a crewmans death made her the likely candidate to be first to return home for a War Bond tour. After each raid Comer gathered the crew together and pieced together the air battle from a 360-degree perspective. In 1945 Camp Springs Air Base in Prince Georges County, Maryland, was renamed Andrews Field in Gen. Andrews honor. Twenty-four hours later, he was rescued and the bodies recovered. Of the 3,885 crewmen aboard B-17 Flying Fortresses that went down, 2,114 (54.4 \%) did not survive; 866 of the 1,228 on B-24 Liberators (71.3\%) died; 190 of the 236 (80.0\%) fighter pilots who went down perished. So you see, whether youre the pilot or tail gunner, surviving never meant being comfortable while at it. Required fields are marked *. 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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. My brother and I were having a disagreement over how many missions bomber crews had to fly (was this figured by individual? See object record. Many considered the occupation to be a death sentence. I say it was their 24th. Unlike the 8th, the 9th didnt had a set limit of 25 missions. It was April 17, 1945, and World War II in Europe was . B-24 Liberator Bomber Aircraft. Nearly half of all the bombs dropped in World War II came from B-17 airplanes. What a tragedy. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. 12 December 1942 This mission is composed of two elements. 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. I told him he was telling lies. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. I was able to find a B-24 named Red Headed Woman Liberator #645 (44-41645) that was part of that exact group and the time frame is correct, but I cannot find anything definitive. Why? 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. Over 100,000 Allied airmen died during the war. completed a remarkable 201 combat missions, a feat that made it the highest mission scorer of any Allied medium or heavy bomber. The 314th BW needed replacement crews and the 8th AF crews were to absorb experience, which they could later pass on to their fellow crews. AFTER THAT I WAS SENT TO KB-29 AIR REFUELING SQ IN LOUISIANA. A radio operator, he was in the crew of one of two bombers that in which the group leader flew, with radar where the belly gunner would normally be. They were simply given instructions. It therefore fell to Memphis Belle as the face of bomber aircraft during the war. He was in the 389th bomb group, 567th squadron. Lieutenant General Andrews is remembered however, Joint Base Andrews in Maryland is named in his honor. I hope my information is correct. How many B-17 fly 25 missions are there? Those who flew the Memphis Belle did seem to have particularly good luck though as none of her crew died or was significantly injured on her missions, despite being routinely riddled with bullets and damaged by flak, reportedly going through 9 engines, both wings, two tails, and both main landing gear assemblies over the course of her seven month combat career. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is one of America's most prolific heavy bombers of WWII and the backbone of allied strategic bombing missions before the introduction of B-17 and B-29 WW2 bombers. ARZBtc.com > > > how many ww2 bomber crews completed 25 missions. As a 24 yr old Capt and pilot,he said when you dropped all your bombs,you headed back or did splash missions with the P-51s. How do software engineers solve problems? But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Answer (1 of 14): The twenty-five mission mark was more honored in the breach than the observance, as the saying goes. 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. How long does it take to form a habit of waking up early? That's almost 50 percent more than the 12,741 B-17s . Wreckage of a Wellington bomber shot down by flak over the Netherlands, lost in a raid on Bremen, 13-14 September 1942. My Dad flew 25 missions in a B-24 and B-29 with the 8th AF /466th bomb group. Very broadly, a typical fighter pilot might rack up 250 - 500 combat missions from 1941 to 1945; a bomber pilot, perhaps 50 - 100 if they survived (considering Bomber Command losses were averaging 5% at times, completing one tour, let alone more, was statistically unlikely). Whistle Stop Rail Trail, My dad was a waste gunner on a B 24 in ww2. It flew in both the ETO and North Africa. With a crew of 10, the bomber usually carried . The raid prompted the Japanese to retain four army fighter groups in Japan during 1942 and . There was no time to waste. B-17F Hell's Angels, tail number 41-24577 and crew. , Son of a US Military Historian, wargamer and professional strategist; US Army In How does a person bring a narcissist to their knees? Many ground crewmen felt the Libs belonged to them and were only "loaned" to the air crews. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Why did the U.S. absolve the Japanese of paying war reperations after WWII? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The second bomber to have completed 25 missions is said to have been the Hells Angels, but it wasnt widely promoted since its name wasnt aesthetically pleasing to the War Department. My uncle, by marriage, was a waist gunner with the 8th, I believe. What happened to the bomber crews in World War II? Both crews are GODS! She is one of the few surviving flyable B-17s, and is the largest aircraft housed at the Lone Star Flight Museum, located in Galveston, Texas. Eyewitnesses and early documents tell a different story: "Hot Stuff" was the first B-24 crew and the first heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions on February 7, 1943. 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. When Hollywood director William Wyler was doing a documentary for the U.S. government on the first Allied bomber crew to complete a 25-mission "tour" over Europe, he took some liberties. How many crew members did the b17 have? Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. William Waldock is a professor at ERAU and he says that Hot Stuff flew her final and 25 th mission in February of 1943, which was over three months earlier than the Memphis Belle completed her 25 missions. Which 3 Of These 7 Top WWII Fighter Planes Would You Put On Your Team? Hot Stuff later crashed in Iceland under the command of Captain Robert Shannon in May of the same year. Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown flying a B-17F Flying Fortress was crippled and badly injured but Luftwaffe fighter pilot Lt. Franz Stigler spared him. As far as I can work out, 3086 were lost but have no figure to work with to find a percentage. Imagine trying to move around? My cousin, a radioman and gunner, had 50 missions, flying the last day of the war, in a B-25. The four men by the waist window are using grappling hooks on two rods to lift the bomb onto the dolly, a three-wheeled cart. Hells Angels completed its 25th mission on May 13, 1943 and the Memphis Belle on May 19, 1943. There were nine crew members on a B-17 bomber. Therefore, a total of 75,446 airmen (60 percent of operational airmen) were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The Germans really dialed in shooting bombers out of the sky with their sophisticated FLAK systems and method. It therefore fell to Memphis Belle as the face of bomber aircraft during the war. Different sources give varying numbers of Australians killed while serving in Bomber . Big and slow, the B-17 delivered twice the payload of its predecessor. Irving Ostuw died this 11/29/14. My dad, Charles R. Toner, was a B-17 pilot who completed his 35 missions in 1944. So they parachuted out and spent three days walking back from behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. Just imagine how hard it is to complete tasks in uncomfortable clothing from the mask to the boots. 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. My father was in a B-24 stationed in Italy and flying up over the Balkans and Germany. Why won't my daughter let me see my granddaughter? how many ww2 bomber crews completed 25 missions. Closing in of Reykjavik, they ran into snow squalls, low clouds, and rain. Wrinkled end sheet in this copy. Their 26th mission was to fly back to the United States for a heroes welcome, Bond Tours, etc.. 578th crew chief T/Sgt Lowell D. Hale paints bombs showing missions completed on #42-7624, Flying 8 Ball. The U.S. produced an amazing 276,000 aircraft . 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. Upon impact, the aircraft disintegrated except for the tail gunners turret, which remained relatively intact. B-25, also called Mitchell, U.S. medium bomber used during World War II. I have the Bombardier Bob Abbs flight log book.straight from his widows hand to mine twenty years agountouchedunmolestedand he recorded it in ink in his own hand. Army Air Force planners decided that a tour of duty for bombers was to be 25 missions. Nine-O-Nine was a Boeing B-17G-30-BO Flying Fortress heavy bomber, of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, that completed 140 combat missions during World War II, believed to be the Eighth Air Force record for most missions, without loss to the crews that flew her. The most famous aerial gunner was probably Clark Gable - MGM's biggest earner when WWII began. General Andrews, considered to be the father of the modern USAF, was replaced by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower. The B-17 Delta Rebel II of the 91st BG, piloted by Capt.George Birdsong,Jr. After 25 missions, the crew and the Belle went on a . Instructing had its dangers, too, as it involved flying with inexperienced recruits in old aircraft. The Hot Stuff and her crew were soon forgotten. VIII Bomber Command 25. , studied Self-Teaching & Curiosity at Lake Howell High (2016). In fact, the mythic Memphis Belle effect was such that there wasnt a death among those who had served on her for nearly 40 years after her last combat flight, in defiance of actuarial norms, and Americans, for better or worse are conditioned to respond to a happy ending, especially when it goes against all probability. It flew about half of its approximately 30 combat missions over Europe, with the remainder being strikes in Africa and patrol missions over the Mediterranean. However, others stayed behind to complete 30 missions to avoid having to return from the states for a second tour of duty. B-17E Suzy-Q The Suzy-Q, a 19th BG B-17E, was the first USAAF heavy bomber to complete 25 missions and return to the US. , former Teacher by Profession, Teacher by Soul. Copyright 2003-2021. I asked my 16 year old son what music he was liste Did the British ever fight Japanese soldiers durin What does Professor Oak do with the third Pokemon? The Air Force changed the 'pursuit' designation to 'fighter' after WW2 which is one reason you may have noticed P-51s being referred to as F-51s in . Helpful info. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the bonds became known at War Bonds. Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. During World War II, workers in factories signed milestone aircraft, such as 1,000th aircraft built, before they were delivered. The Eighth Air Force lost more men in the war than the U.S. Marine Corps. Beautiful Swiss German Words, She and her crew were promptly sent home to the United States to join the War Bond selling tours. The Memphis Belle was supposedto be the first B-17 bomber to fly 25 bombing missions and return back to base safely each time. MG Carl "Tooey" Spatz assumed command in May 1942 and established a headquarters at Bushy Park about 15 miles west of London on June 25, 1942. So whatever Hot Stuff was doing it wasnt going on raids conducted by 8th BC. Exercises To Dunk A Basketball, Memphis Belles crew completed 25 missions May 17, 1943 (without any loss of life). 329th and 330th squadrons were under Ted Timberlake. 07 June 1944 Crews - 9 Crewmen One of the two Waist Gunners removed from crews. Doolittle Raid, (April 18, 1942), during World War II, U.S. Army Air Forces bombing raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities. George Eisel survived the crash. So much so that the odds of a B-17 crewman surviving the 25 missions required to complete a tour were only one in four.. Until the 1944 introduction of the P-51 . Americans, for better or worse are conditioned to respond to a happy ending, especially when it goes against all probability. For many years the author has held a . chin turret > dia. In fact, its main practical use is for protecting your neck against the wool material of theuniform which will likely cause blisters. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Bomber Command aircrews suffered a high casualty rate: of a total of 125,000 aircrew, 57,205 were killed (a 46 percent death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. I simply wish to offer you a huge thumbs up for your The problem was, the Memphis Belle was not the first heavy bomber to survive 25 combat missions. Hells Angels a B-17F Flying Fortress became the first 8th Air Force B-17 to complete 25 combat missions in June 1943. What happened to the bomber crews in World War II? Very cool story. During a Memphis Belle mission, the 91st Bomb Group unknowingly blew up an entire cellar of cognac. Can someone hack my PC through online games? how many ww2 bomber crews completed 25 missions. It completed four more missions to Vegesack, Wilhelmshaven (2) and Rotterdam before being retired from combat on March 31, 1943. My father-in-law claimed that he flew more than seventy-five missions, mostly over Northern Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Germany. Their chance of survival was less than 50 percent. More B17s were built than the Lancaster, but some, many, were used in the Pacific Theatre as well. Hot Stuff and her crew went on to fly five additional missions before she and her crew were recalled to the United States, where they were scheduled to go on a War Bonds Tour. post. Daily life The everyday lives of most aircrew, unlike other servicemen, were a unique mixture of danger and normality. Told you he was a wild man. A total of 315 men flew in operations in the Lancaster and 101 were later killed when . What will happen to my Steam games when I die? 1-5 of 281. 7 How many missions would it take to complete a WWII bomber mission? There is no definitive answer to this question as it is impossible to know for certain. Wood Tv 8 Weather Forecast, By the summer of 1940 when it appeared the United States would be drawn into World War II, bonds again were being sold as a way to remove money from circulation as well as reduce inflation. A bomber crew of the 392nd Bomb Group with their B-24 Liberator. Now just imagine 60 B-52 bombers shot down in one day. In the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, 15 co-pilots from the 16 B-25B Mitchell medium bomberswere in flight school for less than a year. Belle crew was not intact through out the 25 missions. did not took place in advance! 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. Although the U.S. Army Air Force sent its individual war heroes to War Bond rallies, it preferred sending 10-man heavy bombers crews. The most authoritative source would seem to be the combat mission reports of the 322nd Bombardment Group (BG), Flak-Bait 's parent organization during its 21 months of combat operations. . Ive always heard that anyone saying they flew more than 25 missions was a liar. The demonstration aircraft was completed on May 8, 1945 at the end of hostilities in the European theater of World War II. Four members of the original crew died in combat as the plane was hit by cannon and machine-gun fire. Since 1943 Word War II aviation history considered the Memphis Belle as the first heavy bomber to reach the 25-mission mark. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. I ate 4 eggs and 4 bananas for dinner. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. 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. How do people travel around the world with no job? After flying 48 combat missions, it returned to the US for a war bond tour, but not until 1944. Probably because the P47 was a fighter, not a bomber. For nearly four months, he flew out of Foggia, Italy, on 50 missions that usually took between 5 and 8 hours each. He said he didn't know of very many pilots who q. Andrews, an experienced, instrument-rated pilot, bumped the normal co-pilot off the plane and flew in his place. Aircraft commander. As the son of one of the Hot Stuff crewmen bumped from the ill fated final flight, I was unaware of the fate of Gen Andrews, his entourage, and remaining crew. However, after WWII and the lessons of the early years filtered in, the need for well trained aerial gunners became apparent, so the first specialized aerial gunnery school was opened in Las Vegas in mid 1941. The average age of the crew of a B-17 was less than 25, with four officers and six enlisted Airmen manning the aircraft. After several landing attempts, the B-24 crashed into the side of 1,600-foot-tall Mount Fagradalsfjall, near Grindavik, Iceland. Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. 41-31173, the twin-engine medium bomber then took its place . The swastika marks a German aircraft destroyed, while the parachuter indicates Parker had to jump. He said they would literally strip the plane, but I dont remember if that was before they left Italy or in Cuba. Yes, in 1943 the USAAF in Europe determined that heavy bomber crews would be rotated home after 25 missions over enemy territory after first trying a one-year tour or a tour consisting of a pre-determined number of flight hours. Who flew the most combat missions in ww2? Between its initial flight on Dec. 29, 1939, and September 1945, nearly 18,500 Liberators rolled off the production line at five plants. Just sayin. The consensus in this discussion is that WWII bomber crews were rotated home after 25 combat missions.