Battle Stations: B17 Flying Fortress (War History Documentary)

couple of days ago, just passed the 80th anniversary of "Black Thursday" when 77 B-17's were shot down

The ball turret gunner must have had the worst job in aviation history.

Thanks Grandma Birdie Beasley and Grandpa Vade Beasley WW2 USA Army 🪖🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Sniper, from American Grandson John Robert Bruffett Junior USA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🍺🍺🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🍺🇺🇲🍺🇺🇲🍺🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🍺🇺🇲🍺🍺🇺🇲🍺🇺🇲

Precision Bombing "To destroy the German aircraft industry, for example, precision bombing was needed, and in this the Americans specialized. The United States Eighth Air Force had been trained to bomb by daylight using the most accurate bombsights which could be devised, and with these they might reasonably be expected to hit buildings, such as the Messerschmitt assembly plant at Augsburg or the Vereinigte Kugallagerfabrik at Schweinfurt. Bomber Command,m since it could operate in strength only at night, was not in a position to follow these tactics. The navigating device 'G'; was in operation and increasing in efficiency almost nightly, but 'H2S', 'O' and the other scientific devices by which a greatly increased degree of accuracy would, it was hoped, be achieved, had only just been introduced. The bombing on a heavier scale of industrial targets situated in cities was, therefore, Harris maintained, the only alternative if his Command was to make an adequate contribution to the common effort. This was recognized in the 'P'; Directive, in which it was stated that the primary objectives of Bomber Command were unchanged." page 4
Hyperwar Royal Air Force 1939-1945 Vol III

My great uncle, Ernest C Stuart 8th air corps 351st bombardment group with the 211th squadron. Ernest was a belly gunner in a b-17 during ww2., he was there from 43-45 got shot down twice during his time. once perry deep behind behind German lines and was the only survivor. He fought his way out to the French underground with only his 1911 pistol and extra ammo scavenged off his fallen crew mates. He made it out and a month later was right back in the belly turret fighting again. He made it home and lived a full life. Ernest always told my dad that his pony saved his life, the pony being a colt 1911

The British complained about the survivability or the Fortress 1 (which they used improperly), until they tried daylight attacks in their own 4-engined bombers. At any rate, Allied bomber forces were not used properly in the early war years. Once they gave priority to oil targets, the war was over.

B-17 gunners shot down more Luftwaffe planes than any other aircraft type. Yeah, 'google' it.....

It is hard to imagine what these young people had to live through. Such a sacrifice for the next generations.

My uncle joined at 17 in 1938 and was training pilots in groups of 1500 by age 21.

Second Schweinfurt October 14, 1943. My father was involved in that raid. Managed to make it home after 25 .missions. The plane Susy Sag Tit was shot down over Holland with a different crew as a loner. Engine is on display in Holland.

George Wilson top turret he hot his wings

On my whiteside..

Top turret my grandfather was

my great grand father Chief Master Sargent (Ret. USAF) was a tail gunner on one of these bad boys. i miss hearing him tell me stories about them...
"Pilot to bombardier - Pilot to bombardier... come in... over"
i miss you, granddad.

谢谢！

Brave men.

No armor, all bombs and guns and engines and sleek lines, what's not to love?

My papa was in that

bloons td 6 refence?!?!?!w

I had a customer who had been a B17 waist gunner and was grateful that it could absorb tremendous damage compared to the B24 and continue flying. Alvin passed away in his 90s sometime in the twenty teens.

Heavy Metal !!!

Thanks Grandpa Vade Beasley WW2 American army sniper, from John Robert Bruffett Junior 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸😎!

What is the use with up loading a repetead portion of the beginning? Only a fucking stupid does it.

Mattel Electronics presents:
BEEEE SEVENTEEEEEEN BOOOWMBER

Look up, Sabaton No bullets fly.

My great uncle, Arthur K. Stiles of Beccaria, PA was shot down and killed near Cognac, France December 5, 1943. He was the radio operator/aerial gunner on the B17 “Ole Bassar”. Look it up!

PS - If anybody can tell me what “Ole Bassar” means I’ve been searching for the answer for years with no success.

Why does this video play twice though?

My Grandfather was a ball turret gunner. He died when I was a little boy and I didnt get to know him so well beyond those years. I do recall all of the kids having a fondness toward him though. Thank God he made it home, or I wouldnt be here today. What a generation of fighters though... big salute to these guys and gals for sure.

My dad was a bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress. He joined the USAF at age 17 (he was told that he was too young but he could walk around the block and maybe get older). When he arrived there the amount of missions needed was 30 and he was told he had about an 11%chance of making that. His first mission was on 6/6/1944; D-Day and they bombed Germans near Normandy. He was shot down on 12/24/1944 at the Battle of the Bulge. He said that they ran with crews of 9 guys. 3 men stayed with the plane and 6 parachuted. 3 survived and 3 died trying to land. They only had one practice jump of only 30’! When he exited the plane he did not have a parachute. It was attached to him with a 15’ tether. He pulled it down and put it on falling from 30,000. He had no boots as his electric boots flew off during the fall; the wind ripped them off. He said that they had no chance of hitting the few planes that zipped by. The main danger was the flak that filled the air. He said that the accuracy of the bombing was marginal at best. They were bombing during the day at 30,000 feet and sometimes higher. He said that they rarely flew with the same guys. He knew a lot of guys who died. He hurt his left ankle when he landed on a frozen field in Belgium.

Man fck the punk ass nazi there’s no kind of person that deserves to be killed me

Boeng killed it with the b17

If the B-17 only had a range of 2,000 miles; how did they fly from the U.S. to England then?

YUP!

So you're not going to mention the fact that the Tuskegee pilots flew the dog shit out of those P-51s to make sure those B-17s came home?

💪✈

It shows the stupidity of high command,

Potent Symbol ? WHAT GARBAGE 6000 lousy pounds to Berlin 6000lbs

were do you get the footage

The b17 was the best bomber in Europe during the second world war but by wars end ten's of thousands of airmen would die...

The tail Gunner was the first to go

Sacrifice armor a bigger bomb load,the crew was at the mercy of the luftwaffe...

Ahh, the good old days...… before garbage TV took over....

Just incredible man. What galliant young men. A sharp salute to every single one of them