The First B-17....

[Slate]

..........to complete 25 combat missions for the 8th Air Force in England in WWII was?

1.   Black Jack
  
2.   Hell's Angels

3.   Liberty Belle

4.   Memphis Belle

   Who was 2nd by six days?

 some good nose art at this site: www.303rdbg.com

Video of dive on Black Jack that crashed off Papua New Guinea: belkowski.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/ww2-b-17-blackjack/

[Guppy35]

Hells Angels from the 303rd BG was first

Memphis Belle of the 91st was 2nd but got the press

[Soulyss]

Is this first airframe or first crew?  Doing some research awhile back I discovered the 303rd BG B-17 "Knockout Dropper" was the first airframe to complete 50 missions but had several different crews flying her along the way.

[gyrene81]

Ideally the same crew takes the same plane all the way through...that's what supposedly made it special. 1 or 2 crew losses weren't noted, unless the pilot and co-pilot were killed. There were a good number of flight crews that made the mark but they may have been reassigned from other aircraft for one reason or another.

[SEseph]

The Memphis Belle saw very little combat during her missions. She was famous more for her touring that anything.

Best name for a B-17F ever?

Quitcher b i t c h i n 324th BS  SN# 4124505 (I put spaces because, even with this historical name, the system changes the word bichin to squeaker every time)

Proof of B-17's legendary toughness (and that we need a revamped collision model):
414th Squadron, 97BG's "ALL AMERICAN"   She was slammed into by an enemy fighter, then limped home (over 90 minutes) to make a successful landing, considering. (She broke apart on landing as the stresses were slightly too much)

[curry1]

I wouldn't want to be the tail-gunner on that rig.

[texastc316]

ace pilots

[branch37]

ace pilots

 

[jay]

know the name of that plane?

[manurin]

I wouldn't want to be the tail-gunner on that rig.

Yeah, and those 2 waist gunners might have had a new hair cut! 

[thndregg]

Cool pics. Another good site to visit: www.91stbombgroup.com, a memorial site devoted to the 91st.

[Slate]

  Memphis Belle got the Press because after the 25 Missions it toured the States selling War Bonds. 

[colmbo]

The Memphis Belle saw very little combat during her missions. She was famous more for her touring that anything.

What!?  The Memphis Belle did her missions from Nov '42 until May of '43.  During that period of time the 91st BG lost 85% of it's aircraft.  There was no one and no aircraft in the 8th AF that "saw very little combat" during that time.

[Rich46yo]

The Memphis Belle saw very little combat during her missions. She was famous more for her touring that anything.

A lot gets lost when the fog of history, memory, and propaganda mix. But one thing is for sure and thats the Belle saw plenty of combat during her service. The bomber was credited with 7 fighter kills and a bunch more assists, along with being damaged multiple times. I forget the number of times.

All this during the worst part of the air war over Europe. And against the cream of the Luftwaffe, "as dangerous a bunch as ever took to the skies".

The MB saw plenty of combat.

[SEseph]

I found the book where I read that bit of information and then wanted to find out more. This is the best quote I could find that fit with a vast majority of what I read. (btw, thanks for the correction)

"The BELLE shot down eight enemy fighters, probably destroyed five others, and damaged at least a dozen more. She dropped more than 60 tons of bombs over Germany, France and Belgium. During her 25 missions she flew 148 hours, 50 minutes, and covered more than 20,000 combat miles. She is the only B-17 to have her own file in the Air Force Film Depository.
This gallant lady was bullet-ridden, flak damaged; on five separate occasions had engines shot out and once came back with her tail nearly shot off. There was not one major injury to the crew members."