100 aircraft is not a big raid . There were some missions where the U.S. and British put up 1000 aircraft . That's hard to imagine .
Masters of The Air
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100 aircraft is not a big raid . There were some missions where the U.S. and British put up 1000 aircraft . That's hard to imagine .
31FordA
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“Masters of the Air” focuses on the 100th Bomb Group, considered the hard luck outfit of the 8th Air Force. The 100th weren’t the first operational group in the 8th, that honor goes to the 97th Bomb Group which flew the first 8th Air Force daylight raid in August 1942. The 100th flew their first combat mission in June 1943. There is a really good book by the 100th’s Group Navigator, Harry Crosby, titled “A Wing and a Prayer”. Crosby is one of the aviators portrayed in “Masters of the Air”.
One of my flight instructors was an 8th Air Force B-17 pilot who completed 25 missions, then went on to fly 35 missions as a B-29 pilot with the 20th Air Force from Tinian. He was the calmest pilot I’ve ever met, nothing disturbed him. When I mentioned to him that nothing seemed to alarm him he told me nothing I could do with a Cessna could match what he experienced from ‘42 to ‘45.
One of my flight instructors was an 8th Air Force B-17 pilot who completed 25 missions, then went on to fly 35 missions as a B-29 pilot with the 20th Air Force from Tinian. He was the calmest pilot I’ve ever met, nothing disturbed him. When I mentioned to him that nothing seemed to alarm him he told me nothing I could do with a Cessna could match what he experienced from ‘42 to ‘45.
There is an 8th Air Force museum in South Carolina. I forget exactly where, I'm sure someone can tell us. I've never visited it but noticed a sign on the side of I-95 as I passed through. It's on my list of "things to do" if I ever get down that way again.
Ok. I looked it up. It's the "Mighty 8th Museum" and it's located in Pooler, Ga., not South Carolina. Now that I think of it, I believe you can see it from I-95.
National Mighty Eighth Museum
Ok. I looked it up. It's the "Mighty 8th Museum" and it's located in Pooler, Ga., not South Carolina. Now that I think of it, I believe you can see it from I-95.
National Mighty Eighth Museum
twodog max
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On a Wing and a Prayer by Harry Crosby is a good book about the 100th Bomb Group. He was eventually the group navigator.
I have read many books about WWII aviation and one soon discover that first person accounts are very interesting but are rightfully one persons observations and maybe not completely accurate descriptions of the big picture. I do find the first person accounts the most interesting. You can somewhat relive the experiences of these young men.
One very notable thing about these men was their youth. Men of 25 years of age referred to as Pappy often. Most were probably 17-21 years old.
Just imagine being barely out of high school flying in an aluminum cylinder at 25,000 feet it is 50 below zero and skilled fighter pilots and flak gunners are doing their best to kill you not to mention all the hazards of flying in 1943 over Europe. Amazing the grit these men had.
I have read many books about WWII aviation and one soon discover that first person accounts are very interesting but are rightfully one persons observations and maybe not completely accurate descriptions of the big picture. I do find the first person accounts the most interesting. You can somewhat relive the experiences of these young men.
One very notable thing about these men was their youth. Men of 25 years of age referred to as Pappy often. Most were probably 17-21 years old.
Just imagine being barely out of high school flying in an aluminum cylinder at 25,000 feet it is 50 below zero and skilled fighter pilots and flak gunners are doing their best to kill you not to mention all the hazards of flying in 1943 over Europe. Amazing the grit these men had.
Along the same lines, I discovered these young women on U-tube not too long ago and have certainly enjoyed them. Winners of "Britan's Got Talent" at some point.
The D-Day Dolls. "Coming in on a wing and a prayer."
https://youtu.be/O8zP2fPTA_o?si=axI4E_hUXzXnBPSL
The D-Day Dolls. "Coming in on a wing and a prayer."
https://youtu.be/O8zP2fPTA_o?si=axI4E_hUXzXnBPSL
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8th Air Force Museum is in Savannah ,Georgia on I-95. Discount admission for Veterans and I’m going back again tomorrow or Sunday. Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby was supposedly the first B-17 to complete 30 missions but it was not . Met the crew at Dover AFB back in 80’s when got invited to display some of my collection. Met and talked to all of the crew and got their autographs in the Readers Digest about them.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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Starting in late 1944 the Nazis encourage civilians to lynch Allied aircrews who bailed out over Germany, denouncing them as "air pirates", "war criminals (!)". Goebbels warned against making that a formally announced policy but....
The belly gun turret had to have been the worst position, you were locked in for hours at a time, looked down, the earth 25,000 feet below you. heaven help you if the landing gear failed...
The belly gun turret had to have been the worst position, you were locked in for hours at a time, looked down, the earth 25,000 feet below you. heaven help you if the landing gear failed...
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The Ball Turret Gunner was not in the Turret while landing .
TheHobbyist
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It has been many years since I talked to my "Uncle" who was a tail gunner on a B-17, but a few memories I can recall somewhat and paraphrase:
-They were amazed by the amount of flak they could take and still fly back to England... Many instances where they would be looking at the English countryside out of large holes and hoping they would make it.
-For a while, when flying back to England the Germans surprised them because they would 'blend in' at the rear on the return flight...picking them off. IIRC, they had a procedure later on that they would be met with fighters upon return.
-They were amazed by the amount of flak they could take and still fly back to England... Many instances where they would be looking at the English countryside out of large holes and hoping they would make it.
-For a while, when flying back to England the Germans surprised them because they would 'blend in' at the rear on the return flight...picking them off. IIRC, they had a procedure later on that they would be met with fighters upon return.
Glynn863
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A now-deceased church member was a ball turret gunner on a B-17 in 1944-1945. Luckily, he wasn't ever shot down. Years ago he told me that the most scared he was, was when they would be attacked by ME-262s., because he couldn't get his turret to track fast enough for a good shot.
As is normal, the book is better than the series.
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Yes, the book is a good one. I was a little disappointed in the series, but it was worth watching.
I didn't know....
...until after he died that my next-door neighbor had been a tail gunner with Purple Hearts. I'm such that if I know that someone is a war vet, I'm more than happy to listen to their story. It never even came up in a conversation with him, so I suppose he was one of those that didn't care to be reminded at all about those years.
...until after he died that my next-door neighbor had been a tail gunner with Purple Hearts. I'm such that if I know that someone is a war vet, I'm more than happy to listen to their story. It never even came up in a conversation with him, so I suppose he was one of those that didn't care to be reminded at all about those years.
My father was a B-17 pilot and never really talked about it much. Taking hits from our own door gunners happened rarely. Our M-60 pintal mounts had stops on them as well to help prevent shooting your own ship. The forward stop allowed the gunners to put rounds right past your ear up in the cockpit. The vertical stop supposedly kept the gunner from hitting our own rotor blades but in a hard bank a fixated gunner could, and occasionally did put a couple holes in the blade. Pretty rare occurrence, because those guy were GOOD.
Dad in training prior to deployment. 2nd from right
Pic I took from the left seat. Note the feed ramp on the 60. C-rat can
The 187th AHC (Crusaders) landing in an LZ. Tight formation. What could go wrong?
Dad in training prior to deployment. 2nd from right
Pic I took from the left seat. Note the feed ramp on the 60. C-rat can
The 187th AHC (Crusaders) landing in an LZ. Tight formation. What could go wrong?
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I read a report that, statically, the ball gunner was one of the safer positions, injury wise. The bombardier had the highest injury rate due to the head-on attacks the Germans preferred.
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A chilling poem from that time.
The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
BY RANDALL JARRELL
From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.
Randall Jarrell, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" from The Complete Poems. Copyright © 1980 by Randall Jarrell. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Jarrell served in the Army Air Forces during the war.
The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
BY RANDALL JARRELL
From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.
Randall Jarrell, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" from The Complete Poems. Copyright © 1980 by Randall Jarrell. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Jarrell served in the Army Air Forces during the war.
