Make it as an option for your formation of bombers.
The YB-40's mission was to provide a heavily-gunned escort capable of accompanying the bombers all the way to the target and back. Overall the concept proved a failure because the YB-40 could not keep up with standard B-17Fs, particularly after they had dropped their bombs. Of the initial order of 13, one was damaged in a forced landing on the Isle of Lewis en route to England, and the remaining 12 were assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group (H) and designated the 327th Bomb Squadron.
Between May 29 and August 16, 1943, the YB-40 flew 14 of the 19 combat missions scheduled by the 8th Air Force, although on the mission of June 26 all the YB-40s scheduled were unable to form up with the bombing squadron, and returned to base. Altogether of the 59 aircraft dispatched, 48 sorties were credited. Five German fighter kills and 2 probables (likely kills) were claimed on the 13 missions flown, and one YB-40 was lost, shot down by flak on the June 22 mission to Hüls, Germany. Tactics were revised on the final five missions by placing a pair of YB-40s in the lead element of the strike to protect the mission commander.
One YB-40 of the second order, reflecting modifications requested during combat trials to lighten the aircraft, joined the 327th in October, 1943, but by then B-17G models were beginning to appear and the final YB-40 was not flown in combat. All the deployed YB-40s were returned to the United States and converted to training aircraft, as were 11 aircraft of the second order.
One of the most unusual stories involving the use of a YB-40 was to counter the efforts of an Italian pilot, Guido Rossi, who had begun to offensively fly a captured P-38 Lightning fighter that had been forced to land, low on fuel, over Sardinia in the spring of 1943. Rossi used the P-38 as a supposedly "friendly" aircraft to first draw in, then shoot down, crippled American aircraft. Lt. Harold Fisher, a USAAF bomber pilot who had been victimized by Rossi's still-American-marked P-38, was able to get the use of a YB-40 to try and turn the tables on the Italian pilot. On August 31, 1943, Rossi appeared in the sky in the general vicinity of the YB-40, and Fisher drew Rossi in with radio conversation. Eventually the Italian pilot became furious at one of Fisher's statements, and the attacking P-38 fell apart from the hail of bullets from the YB-40's guns. This event was documented in the pages of aviation author Martin Caidin's book "Flying Forts", about B-17 action in WW II Europe.[1],[2]
Despite the failure of the project as an operational aircraft, it led directly to modifications conspicuous on the final production variant of the B-17, the B-17G:
Chin turret
Offset waist gun positions
Improved tail gunner station.
General characteristics
Crew: 10
Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.7 m)
Wingspan: 103 ft 10 in (31.6 m)
Height: 19 ft 1 in (5.8 m)
Wing area: 1,527 ft² (141.9 m²)
Empty weight: 54,900 lb (24,900 kg)
Loaded weight: 72,134 lb (32,720 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 74,000 lb (34,000 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Wright R-1820-65 turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 292 mph (470 km/h)
Cruise speed: 196 mph (315 km/h)
Range: 2,260 mi (3,640 km)
Service ceiling 29,200 ft (8,900 m)
Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
Wing loading: 47.2 lb/ft² (231 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.066 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 14 (or more) × .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns. Typically used 14-16, with room for up to 30.
Location Rounds
Nose 2200
Front top turret 2500
Aft top turret 3300
Ball turret 300
Waist guns 1200
Tail guns 1200
Total 10,700
YB-41 is a B-24 Variant.
