WAS ALWAYS INTERESTED IN FLYING AND THE GREAT MACHINES.SO MUCH SO THAT I ENLISTED IN AIRFORCE AT 18 AND 1/2 YEARS OF AGE.FORTUNATELY WAS ABLE TO GO TO 3 TECH SCHOOLS PLUS FLIGHT ENGINEERING SCHOOL.JUST MISSED FLYING STATUS IN KOREA AS I WAS CLEARED FOR FLIGHT IN KOREA JUST AFTER I MADE THE LIST FOR ROTATION BACK TO US IN 3 MONTHSI BELEIVED IN LONGEVITY SO DEEPLY THAT I QUICKLY CHANGED OUR MINDS ABOUT FLYING STATUS IN THE WAR ZONE. In October 1943, 20-year-old SSgt. Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that number was almost statistically impossible in Europe. Why? 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. I was completely unaware that Hot Stuff had beaten Hells Angels and Memphis Belle to the 25 mission mark. Helpful info. 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. Hollywood feature Film Entitled the "Memphis Belle" How often did bomber crews fly in ww2? Who flew the most combat missions in ww2? The B-25 first flew on August 19, 1940, and the U.S. Army Air Corps accepted the first five B-25s in February of 1941. , former Teacher by Profession, Teacher by Soul. 1 How many missions did ww2 bomber crews fly? 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. Suzy-Q nose artthe circled areas highlight combat damage repair. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Since 1943 Word War II aviation history considered the "Memphis Belle" as the first heavy bomber to reach the 25-mission mark. What Was Found At The Top Of The Grand Canyon. I live by HAFB museum and visit every Memorial Day. After each raid Comer gathered the crew together and pieced together the air battle from a 360-degree perspective. My father-in-law claimed that he flew more than seventy-five missions, mostly over Northern Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Germany. Which 3 Of These 7 Top WWII Fighter Planes Would You Put On Your Team? William Waldock is a professor at ERAU and he says that Hot Stuff flew her final and 25th mission in February of 1943, which was over three months earlier than the Memphis Belle completed her 25 missions. There are so many great answers but hands down, the movie that got the worst shake, a movie that got panned by reviews, and even won a razzie. 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. I guess the RAF must have had it much easier than the 8th Airforce. Im trying to work out the losses to compare it with the losses of the Avro Lancaster which peaked around 44% of total. Interesting question. Hot Stuff later crashed in Iceland under the command of Captain Robert Shannon in May of the same year. What was the first bomber to complete 25 missions? Before anything, consult the FEO! 25 missions On May 17, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, one of a group of American bombers based in Britain, becomes the first B-17 crew to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the United States. After flying 48 combat missions, it returned to the US for a war bond tour, but not until 1944. ten 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. 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. He completed his initial training when he was 17, and was called up to active duty before he graduated from high school. Of the 120,000 who served, 55,573 were killed including over 10,000 Canadians. On May 13, 1943, the 303rd BG B-17F Hell's Angels became the first heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions over Europe, four days before the Memphis Belle's crew. He was lost on his 25th mission, the low-level raid on Ploesti, August 1, 1943. Please let us know. A 1944 documentary film was produced detailing its exploits, and in 1990, a Hollywood feature film entitled the Memphis Belle perpetuated its glory for decades. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. At the end of their tour, the crew of Hells Angels signed on for a second tour and continued to fly, going on to fly 48 missions, without ever turning back from their assigned target. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The plane flew into zero visibility and it has been reported that the bombers radio was broken. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. What was the first B-17 bomber to make 25 missions and return? Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. It completed four more missions to Vegesack, Wilhelmshaven (2) and Rotterdam before being retired from combat on March 31, 1943. One the return journey Lieutenant General Frank Andrews took over the flying and when the plane hit severe weather conditions. Typically, the bombers had to fly right through the multiple volleys of gunfire, but it was the "waist-gunners" who absorbed the majority of the shrapnel, as they were positioned near an open window in the rear of the plane. So you see, whether youre the pilot or tail gunner, surviving never meant being comfortable while at it. A total of 315 men flew in operations in the Lancaster and 101 were later killed when . So on July 5, 1945 the 8th AF landed on Guam . WAS TOO YOUNG FOR THE BIG ONE, HOWEVER I MADE IT TO KOREA AND VIET NAM BEFORE RETIRING IN 1969. Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that number was almost statistically impossible in Europe. 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. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. 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. It is our intention to play a role in safeguarding the heritage of these beautiful machines by providing increased awareness and education through the use of internet based digital media. The 91st Bombardment Group, 324th Bombardment Squadrons B-17F Flying Fortress Memphis Belles crew flew their 25th combat mission on May 17, 1943, against the naval yard at Lorient, France. 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. World War II - Bombers; World War II - Pursuit . He told me (and has since passed away, so I cant verify it, that 37 missions was the cap and he was on his second round. Yes, they did use the JUG in ground attack, but that does not make it a bomberby any stretch of the imagination. How many B17 crews actually managed to complete 25 missions during WW2? Have you ever been punished with corporal punishme budisuryanto001, see what's new and featured for June. How do software engineers solve problems? by Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) Kermit Weeks Douglas A-26B Invader (41-39401) made its first successful post-restoration flight on February 20th, 2023, making a thirty-minute hop from Chino Airport in Chino, California. Therefore, a total of 75,446 airmen (60 percent of operational airmen) were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. How accurate was the movie Memphis Belle? Therefore, a total of 75,446 airmen (60 percent of operational airmen) were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Is there Delhi quota in Lady Hardinge Medical College? But Mighty Eighth War Diary shows no raid on 2/7/43. His name was B.Z. #15: The flak vest developed in 1943 weighs 32 pounds! Today, 46 planes survive in complete form, 10 of which are airworthy, and 39 of which reside in the United States. Why did the U.S. absolve the Japanese of paying war reperations after WWII? Did the Battle of Britain cripple the Luftwaffe? Which colour is the best colour in iPhone? These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Photographs 3. 25 missions On May 17, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, one of a group of American bombers based in Britain, becomes the first B-17 crew to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the United States. 07 June 1944 Crews - 9 Crewmen One of the two Waist Gunners removed from crews. Short Bier is housed here. Four members of the original crew died in combat as the plane was hit by cannon and machine-gun fire. The 303rd Bombardment Group 358th Bombardment Squadron, B-17F Flying Fortress Hells Angels, after which the Group later named itself, completed its 25th mission on May 13, 1943. The U.S. produced an amazing 276,000 aircraft . Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that number was almost statistically impossible in Europe. , So proud to be Deaf, I have a Ph.D. in it. `MEMPHIS BELLE never quite rings true. What is the song 'Norwegian Wood' really about? 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. Belle crew was not intact through out the 25 missions. 5 How accurate was the movie Memphis Belle? 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. 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. That seems awfully high for a pilot, which is what they say he was. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. John Comer kept a journal of the 25 missions he flew in 1943 when the casualty rate on his base was close to 80%. The average age of the crew of a B-17 was less than 25, with four officers and six enlisted Airmen manning the aircraft. How many missions would it take to complete a WWII bomber mission? He flew 28 missions over Italy and Germany before his 20th birthday, and flew 48 missions by the time the war was over. 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. For the USAAF it was heavy bombers crews that successfully reached 25 combat mission in defiance of actuarial norms. Important factors in that decision were: The physical stress of high altitude flight in poorly heated, unpressurized aircraft . So why did the U.S. Army Air Force promote the Memphis Belle as the first heavy bomber to fly 25 combat missions? Twenty-four hours later, he was rescued and the bodies recovered. I miss old shakey, but I enjoyed flying Pan Ams B-727 even more (a career with PAA followed, 1967-91). See object record. 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). If Hokage Naruto took on every member of the Akatsuki at once (Minus Madara, if he even counts) would he be able to win? sorry what we call pussy, they call lunch.. 6 How many missions would it take to complete a WWII bomber mission? I say it was their 24th. Wreckage of a Wellington bomber shot down by flak over the Netherlands, lost in a raid on Bremen, 13-14 September 1942. 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. How many B17 crews actually managed to complete 25 missions during WW2? Besides Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed (via subsidiary Vega) also contributed to that total. Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. Many thanks for the message Monty That sounds like a fascinating artifact. Why do restaurants throw away food instead of giving it away? After his first B-17 mission over Germany, the young radio operator-gunner was convinced that he could not survive 25 missions . Doesnt matter who was first. How many B-17 fly 25 missions are there? The story of Hot Stuff, heading home at last after at least 30 missions completed, ends in tragedy. He had to get a waiver to receive his diploma in absence. 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. This was almost a suicide mission to say the least. Many considered the occupation to be a death sentence. Why the Stein crew posed in front of War Baby instead of Jerk's Natural is a bit of a mystery. did not took place in advance! , studied Self-Teaching & Curiosity at Lake Howell High (2016). The crews were men from the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries, and occupied Europe, especially Poland, France, Czechoslovakia and Norway, as well as other foreign volunteers. Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown flying a B-17F Flying Fortress was crippled and badly injured but Luftwaffe fighter pilot Lt. Franz Stigler spared him. Identified as B-26B-25 MA Bureau No. A search link to find all missions flown by each aircraft is available at the top of this page. The aircraft was one of the first B-17 United States Army Air Corps heavy bombers to complete 25 combat missions with her crew intact . I have amended the B-24s loss on the Wikipedia article List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (194044) to reflect this. In 1942, during the first three months of Americas combat flights over Europe the average bomber crew was expected to complete 8-12 missions before being shot down or disabled. It establishes hearing as the norm or standard to which we are compared, and then indicates that we are "defective" accord Japan was completely impoverished, on the verge of mass starvation, and reeling from nearly an entire generation of men wiped out. ten The Germans really dialed in shooting bombers out of the sky with their sophisticated FLAK systems and method. 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. After several landing attempts, Hot Stuff crashed into the side of 1,600-foot-tall Mount Fagradalsfjall, near Grindavik, Iceland. He was 85. completed her 25th mission on May 1,1943. After returning to the States in June 1943, the bomber and many of its . My hero. On May 13, 1943, the 303rd BG B-17F Hells Angels became the first heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions over Europe, four days before the Memphis Belles crew. The B-17, dubbed the Flying Fortress as a result of her defensive fire power, saw action in every theater of operation during World War II. This website is about the 50 combat missions my father, Donald Wise, flew in 1944 in the B-17 bomber "PIG CHASER". The Germans really dialed in shooting bombers out of the sky with their sophisticated FLAK systems and method. Robert Hanson, the last surviving member of the storied Memphis Belle B-17 bomber crew, which was the first to fly 25 bombing missions in Europe during World War II, has died. Many surviving examples are painted to represent actual planes that flew in combat. Special interest is the year of 1943. Andrews and his entourage hitched a ride on Hot Stuff, and in doing so bumped five crew members from the flight. WWII POW Stalag Luft Camps in Germany Perhaps this only applies to the European theater of the war. The consensus in this discussion is that WWII bomber crews were rotated home after 25 combat missions. Memphis Belle is the nickname of a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress during the Second World War that inspired the making of two motion pictures: a 1944 documentary film, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, and a 1990 Hollywood feature film, Memphis Belle. 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. Its basically like doing regular day-to-day tasks with your hands you need both. It was sent to North Africa to support the 12th Air Force after its 10th mission in the ETO and returned to Hardwick, England in February 1943 after completing its 27th mission. Whistle Stop Rail Trail, The former Royal Australian Air Force fighter will take part in []. Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that number was almost statistically impossible in Europe. So whatever Hot Stuff was doing it wasnt going on raids conducted by 8th BC. I only know he was somewhat of a wild man with numerous shrapnel scars. My father Thomas Jack Showers served in the 330th of the 93rd from December 1943 to some time after July 25, 1944, when he completed his last combat mission. 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. I know he flew at least 32 missions because I have his hand written log where he documented each mission and what he did. Im trying to find out how many B17s were operational in the European Theatre of Operations. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. He was also involved in one of the Ploesti fields mission. 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. 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. However, some missions were much more brutal and some squadrons had few survivors of whole tours. My fathers Bomb Group on Guam, hosted three crews from the 8th Air Force, 346th Bomb Group. Ive always heard that anyone saying they flew more than 25 missions was a liar. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Just to add some fog to the issue, the my fathers certificate of mission completions had only 30 places to list missions. A dear friend of mine was the navigator/turret gunner of the lead plane on the 2nd successful Pelosti mission and I saw the commendation for that and for the 50 missions that B24 crew made.. Double credit missions were more about long/latitude vs how hazardous the target was. How many missions would it take to complete a WWII bomber mission? The 328th. The B-17 Hells Angels (41-24577) of the 303rd Bomb Group completed 25 combat missions on 13 May 1943, becoming the first to complete the feat, one week before the Memphis Belle. Also aboard were Andrews staff and four clergymen. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. What bad movie deserves a remake and why? It became the first 8th Air Force B-17 to complete 25 combat missions and at the end of their tour, the crew of Hells Angels signed on for a second and continued to fly, going on to fly 48 missions, without ever turning back from their assigned target no less, before the aircraft was returned to the states on January 20, 1944 for its own publicity tour. Cinematic masterpieces "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), "Roman Holiday" (1953) and "Ben-Hur" (1959 . Big and slow, the B-17 delivered twice the payload of its predecessor. Instructing had its dangers, too, as it involved flying with inexperienced recruits in old aircraft. In the end the significance of specific mission counts are completely arbitrary. What had to be done, had to be done quickly, swiftly, and efficiently. Source: www.b17alliance.com How many B-17 survived 25 missions? I hope my information is correct. What happened to the real crew of the Memphis Belle? 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 have some 7500 hours at the controls, never for an instant not valuing the knowledge and expertise in that sideways sitting position, behind me.