What was the first b17 to complete 25 missions?

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. After flying 48 combat missions, it returned to the US for a war bond tour, but not until 1944.

How many crew members did the b17 have?

ten
Crew Configuration The B-17 could hold a crew of ten. The pilot, co-pilot, bombardier and navigator, as commissioned officers, were seated at the front of the plane, with the navigator positioned at a desk below the cockpit.

How many B 17 Crews died?

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.

How many missions did ww2 bombers fly?

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. However, others stayed behind to complete 30 missions to avoid having to return from the states for a second tour of duty.

How accurate is the movie Memphis Belle?

`MEMPHIS BELLE” never quite rings true. Based on a true story, the film concerns the famous B-17 bomber Memphis Belle, which delivered 25 successful missions before the plane and its sterling crew retired from the skies. Big and slow, the B-17 delivered twice the payload of its predecessor.

Are any of the crew of the Memphis Belle still alive?

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. He was 85. Hanson and his wife, Irene, had moved from Arizona to Albuquerque recently to be close to their daughter.

How many b17 can still fly today?

Many surviving examples are painted to represent actual planes that flew in combat. Today, 46 planes survive in complete form, 10 of which are airworthy, and 39 of which reside in the United States.

How many B-17 are still flying?

The current total of surviving B-17 bombers located in the United States stands at 40: Nine (9) B-17 planes are airworthy, such as “Texas Raiders”, “Sentimental Journey” and “Aluminum Overcast”.

What was the first B-17 bomber to make 25 missions and return?

The Memphis Belle was supposed to be the first B-17 bomber to fly 25 bombing missions and return back to base safely each time. Now an academic from Embry–Riddle 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 missions would it take to complete a WWII bomber mission?

Bomber crews needed to complete 25 missions before they were allowed to go home but that number was almost statistically impossible in Europe. Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. The Germans really dialed in shooting bombers out of the sky with their sophisticated FLAK systems and method.

How many B-17s were in the Pacific in 1942?

Five bomber groups of the US 5th Air Force operated B-17 bombers in the Pacific Theater, with a peak of 168 bombers in Sep 1942. 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.

What happened to the bomber crews in World War II?

Martin Caidin wrote the definitive book on the plight of the bomber crews in “Black Thursday”, which chronicled in great detail the 2nd Schweinfurt bombing raid of October 14, 1943, where 60 bombers and their crews were lost. There was an similar earlier raid that included Regensburg that cost the same..