Required fields are marked *. 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. That the Memphis Belle and her crew had a more storybook quality to their military careers that better fit with the narrative that the government desired for home-front consumption is obvious. Bombing operations during the Second World War were one of the most hazardous undertakings Americans had to endure throughout the conflict. Martin Baltimore. 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. Hells Angels a B-17F Flying Fortress became the first 8th Air Force B-17 to complete 25 combat missions in June 1943. Your chances of completing all 25 missions, at least unscathed, were slim to none. These bombers were B-17s and B-24s, both of which had a ten man crew. One famous B-17, the Memphis Belle, had its story immortalized in the 1990 film of the same name. #11: Missions would often last for 8-10 hours. For those members of the RAAF serving in RAF Bomber Command, more than one in three were killed; amounting to 20 per cent of all Australians combat losses in the Second World War. On 23 Dec 1943, the Memphis Belle, having completed its combat assignment with the Eighth Air Force (8 AF), 91st Bombardment Group (91 BG) in Europe, and its subsequent stateside war bond drive, was assigned to MacDill Field, Florida. how many ww2 bomber crews completed 25 missions 4 Which b17 bomber completed the most combat missions? The most famous aerial gunner was probably Clark Gable - MGM's biggest earner when WWII began. Army Air Force planners decided that a tour of duty for bombers was to be 25 missions. Interestingly, this raid was the Belles 24th combat mission as the original crew occasionally flew missions on other planes and other crews took the Belle on missions as well. Brittany Williams Lite Brite Height, The B-29 Missions From 3 Feb 1945 to 14 Aug 1945, the 6th Bomb Group officially flew 75 missions. Only one out of the 15 man crew survived. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The successes of Bomber Command were purchased at terrible cost. VIII Bomber Command 25. 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 Night Witches: The Cat-Eyed All-Female Stealth Bombing Squad That Owned The Eastern Front, The WWII Plane That Could Ram The Enemy In A Dogfight, Japan Had A Kamikaze Fighter Jet And They Were Determined To Use It, F-15 Eagle Gets D-Day Thunderbolt Paint Job, Russian Su-27 Intercepts NATO Fighter Jet He Got Too Close, A Single Pilots Victory Over 4 MiG-15s Was Classified For Over 40 Years, Messerschmitt Bf-109 G6 Low & Loud DB605 SOUND, B-1B Lancer Pilot Cockpit Tour and Take Off, 103-year-old veteran on surviving World War IIs, World War II Veteran delivers a promise after 73, WWII Veteran Fires a Howitzer for the first time since 1944, 89-Year-Old WWII Veteran Scores A Touchdown, Rare WW2 Footage Junkers Ju 87 Stuka.

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