Detailed tour through a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (as featured on Masters of the Air)
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- As featured in Masters of the Air. Join me in this walkaround tour of a B-17G Flying Fortress in Tucson, Arizona. This WW2 heavy bomber was probably the most important bomber of the war and it an incredible piece of military aviation engineering.
Museum: 390th Memorial Museum inside the PIMA Air and Space Museum in Tucson, AZ. Website: www.390th.org/
This aircraft: 390th.org/learn-about-390th/b...
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#aviation #avgeek #b17 #flyingfortress
0:00 intro
0:50 nose
1:30 communication and navigation equipment
1:48 bombay
2:16 landing gear
2:50 Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines and wing
4:54 ball turret
6:16 waist gunner
6:40 tail gunner
8:11 entering inside
8:50 tail gunner position from inside
10:07 two waist gunner positions
11:30 radio operator position
12:05 bombay cat walk
12:30 flight engineer position
13:17 captain's position
14:35 copilot's seat
15:30 navigator's position
16:25 bombardier's position - Věda a technologie
Thanks for watching everyone. Check out my tour through a Lancaster and B-29 to compare the different designs. And I've got a whole lot more videos coming soon... X-15,F-14, B36, B47, B58, VC-137C, first 747/727/737, YF12, F-22 and many others so make sure you have subscribed :)/
I have watched the Lanc video 4 times. Awesome! I have ordered the Border Model Lanc. 1400 parts. That’ll keep me busy for quite some time. Thanks Paul!
@@Harryjmacneil Cheers Harry and enjoy making the model!
Thanks Paul! ♥️
How did you get the ability to enter these bombers? I've been going to this museum for years since I was a kid.
B-24 when
My grandpa was a bombardier/navigator on one of these during the war. He flew 34 missions, with 2 being no balls(targets covered by clouds or something else). You had to fly 35 at that time to go home. First it was 25, then 30, then 35 by the time he was doing it. He got shot down over Misburg Germany on 26 November 1944. Flak. It hit one of their engines and caused a fire. They tried making it back home, but the pilot realized it wasn't going to make it. He gave the order to bail while he and the copilot held her steady. Everyone got out, but before the pilot and copilot could escape the entire aircraft went up in a ball of flame, killing the pilot and copilot. Their names were(are) pilot 2nd Lt Frank Boettcher, and copilot F/O Edward Walota. WIthout them holding it steady while everyone bailed, the aircraft probably would have started spiraling, pinning my grandpa to the bulkhead in his aircraft, preventing him from bailing out, and killing him in the process. They saved his life, and made mine possible. And they deserve to be known. My grandpa ended up landing in the middle of a German Command Post, wind caught his chute, dragged him into some barbed wire, where he instantly had a German Mauser in his face while a German screamed for his "pistola." He finished the war out from Stalag Luft 1 before being liberated by the Soviets. He died on his birthday in 2003. I got all this information from a combination of me being a kid who loved history and was always begging his grandpa for stories from THE war. And also through official after action reports and eye witness accounts. Even up to and including the original debrief my grandpa gave after finally making it back home. My grandpa was a bigger hero to me than any lame ass superhero, or ninja turtle, or anything like that. He helped save the world, literally. They all did.
It's pretty incredible isn't it. And they were kids. It makes me respectful of the soldiers but also angry at the politicians who's decisions are sending these guys to their deaths.
@@PaulStewartAviation Yea, absolutely tragic. I bet seeing a whole formation of these with their fighter escorts leaving England on their way to Germany was a hell of a site though. His bomb group was based out of Polebrook. One day I'm going to go there and see whatever's left of it.
@@PaulStewartAviation And oh yea, one kind of correction. Not being rude, just sharing, as some of this stuff can get lost to time. When my grandpa was doing this they only had 1 waist gunner, and he also acted as something called a toggler. I'll explain why. The B-17 crew was probably the most expensive, and time consuming to train than any other unit in ww2. To help get men in planes, they found ways to reduce crew numbers. At the point my grandpa was in, he was trained as both a navigator, and a bombardier. Only on missions when his own aircraft was the lead aircraft for that particular group, would he be a bombardier. If they were any of the other like 3 or something aircraft in their small group, the job of releasing the bombs would go to the toggler. He was the waist gunner, and he would leave the waist and head up to the nose. Once the lead dropped their bombs, the other aircraft would do it at the same time. Remember, this is saturation, not precision. Freeing my grandpa to focus solely on navigation. This freed up 2 spots, which with a bunch of crews, starts to add up to saved manpower. Getting these dude's out there dropping bombs quicker. I think the casualty rate of a B-17 crewman, 8th AIr Force, doing the missions like my grandpa was doing over Germany, was 50%. They needed these guys(like you said, kids) bad. I've got the mugshot they took of my grandpa at hte prison camp when he got there. He looks so young, it's crazy.
@@BurtSampson thanks for the extra info. I’m always happy to be corrected and learn more. :)
Thank you for your time and sharing another piece of History Burt.
My Dad was the copilot on the Boeing B-17F "Peg O My Heart". Only flew one mission. Aug. 17, 1943. Lost an engine due to flack over Schweinfurt and another at the Swiss border from a Luftwaffe fighter. Belly landed in a potato field in Switzerland. All survived.
Was he interned by the Swiss for the remainder of the war?
@@richardlahan7068 He was kept by the Swiss for 18 months then was traded for a German detainee and spent the rest of the war in Waco, TX as a flight instructor. While in Switzerland they taught themselves to ski and tried to escape over the Alps but got turned around in the clouds and came down the wrong side, breaking both thumbs on the way down, didn't try again' The food was very poor being in a country totally surrounded by war torn Europe, lost some teeth due to poor nutrition.
@@theoldscout3478American POWs in Switzerland were ordered by the U.S. Government not to try and escape, so as to not anger the Swiss.
@@fantasia55 Dad must not have gotten the memo, or just ignored it. It wasn'nt easy living in a neutral country completely surrounded by war torn Europe, food was scarce and he lost some teeth because of poor diet.
The Schweinfurt raids were a mess. Lots of bombers were shot down and many crews killed or captured.
The casualty rates were so high, that the United States put a 25-mission limit on crews. If a crew flew 25 combat missions and survived, they were rotated back to the states. Most crews didn't survive that long.
My grandfather was a B-17 pilot and flew 29 bombing missions in Germany over Berlin, Pilzen, Wittlich, Bitburg, Cologne, Coblenz, Mannheim, Nuremberg and others. After the war ended he helped fly starving British POWs back home. Each mission he took a framed picture of my Grandmother up with him, and wrote the location and date on the frame surrounding her picture. It's one of our family's most precious heirlooms. He even kept a piece of flak that came through the fuselage, nearly missing his right leg - he said it was still hot when he picked it up off the floor and put it in his pocket. I'll never forget his stories and heroism. United States Army Air Corp. 1st Lieutenant Dale Smith was assigned to the 91st Bomb Group, 322nd Squadron, 3rd Air Force.
I miss you, Papa ❤RIP 1921-2019
Off Into the Wild Blue Yonder!
My father was a bombardier on a B-17 in World War II. He recently passed two months shy of his hundredth birthday. He flew 35 successful missions.
He really beat all the odds, during and after the war. A friend was a B-17 bombardier, he lived to about 94. His wife is still with us and nearing 100.
Your father was a brave man, and a true hero.
im 66 yrs old, my father flew B-24s in WWII , i asked him once what was the scariest thing on missions , flak? fighters? , i was surprised by his answer and have not heard it anywhere. He said it was the noise over the target area. He said the flak fragments after exploding rained down like a metal hailstorm , empty cartridge casings fell from fighters and other airplanes all hitting the plane and propellors, he said when all fifty caliber machine guns were going the plane was shaking and vibrating and the noise was deafening. He said that made it terrifying. Just sharing with yall.
I had the privilege of flying on a B-17G (Sentimental Journey) almost 11 years ago in the nose. I sat in the navigator's seat and then in the bombardier's seat. It was an expensive joyride that was on my bucket list since I was a kid. It was a beautiful July day out. We had no flak or shells or anything else hitting the plane. But the engine noise alone was unbelievably deafening. The pilot gave me ear plugs to wear. At first, I went without putting them in. After about 5 minutes, I couldn't get them in my ears fast enough. 😅
Yes i saw a vid of a crewwman firing from the side and it was sooooooo loud coming threw my speakers so I could imagine
Thanks for doing this video. My father was a top turret gunner on the “Glittering Gal” and flew 50 mission out of Foggia Italy. Several years before dad passed I was able to fly in a B-17 with him as he took over the in flight tour of the plane to the delight of the other passengers. As we lifted off the ground I saw tears coming down my father’s face. He said “this plane plane brought me back more than once when it shouldn’t have”. I will always cherish that memory and count it as one of the best days of my life. I knew he had a purple heart from being wounded by flak; however it wasn’t until after he passed that we found more of his medals including the DFC and Silver Star. Sadly I was never able to talk to him about what he did to merit these medals. Later we found a journal he had kept which described the experience which lead to him being awarded these medals. Watching this today brought back memories of the ride I took with my dad and brought a smile to my face, thank you!
Thank you for sharing! This story blesses you with memories that MOST people don’t have.
My 3rd cousin was on the "DEAR MOM", B17. He was a ball turret gunner. The plane was attacked by enemy fire, and the crew of 10 were killed on July 17,1943. They are buried somewhere in the North Sea. They are recognized on the "wall of the missing" in the Netherlands. Thank you for your sacrifice, cousin, and crew!
My Grandfather was a ball turret gunner and flew many missions in the Mighty Eighth Air Force. I'd seen photos of the ball turret but never truly realized how small and exposed they were. The courage these men had is incredible. I can remember him telling me stories of how unbelievably cold it got at altitude. He said you could spit and it would freeze before it hit the floor. He met my Grandmother who was a Land Army girl stationed in the airfields in England. They married shortly after the war. I'm thankful for that generation of men and women that fought with such amazing bravery and grit.
I fully agree with your. Incredible bravery.
My uncle was also a belly gunner in a b17 and after the war he never flew in an airplane again. He had an RV that he used to travel the country in. He passed years ago and I haven't thought about him for some time thanks for the memory 🖖and great video too
My dad was a radioman gunner .
Interesting,did rear gun have much arc of fire?Turret did not like it rotated like on a Lanc.bomber?tw.uk
Thanks for a terrific tour. Very moved by comments below. My dad was a radio operator/gunner on a B-17, flying out of Kimbolton, UK, with the 379th Bomber Group. Crash landed twice. Following is from his flight log on his 30th mission, April 10, 1945: 'About 20 miles from Berlin-
some flak before & after target -
attacked by 4 ME-262s immediately
after target - ‘Kid’ possibly credited
with one destroyed & Jimmy with
one damaged.
'
These men were so brave. His log is full of hair-raising action. But he never talked about it -- except when his crew friends had their occasional reunions. So grateful for them.
You're very welcome! I'm back to PIMA in August to film the B-24 and also filming the B-47 and B-36 elsewhere :)
My dad was a ball turret gunner in a B-17, with the 15th Army Air Corps, 2529th, out of Foggia, Italy. He flew 51 combat missions, flew of a grass strip, lived in a tent, and due to the excellent navigator, flew in the lead plane. Even though he was in the 15th, his picture was on the History channel documentary “Suicide Missions, the Ball Turret Gunner” which was about the 8th AAC. Pictured near the end, he is kneeling beside his turret, with a cover he made to cover his sight window so the mud would not freeze, and cover his sight window. Some other crew members John Hidelbaugh, “Red “Pettit,
My grandfather was a pilot of one of these during the war. He passed away before I was born, but my dad has told my stories about him!
Wow he'd have some stories
Same
In 2000 I flew in a B17 called Nine-O-Nine in Pennsylvania. It was a 20 minute ride of my life. What amazed me was how thin the metal was on the outside. It was as thick as a cereal box cardboard. Next was the noise. The noise was deafening. I couldn't imagine listening to that for hours. Once up in the air, we were allowed to move around. I got to see the nose gunner,, the waste gunners,, top gunner and radio and navigation.. I walked through the bombay walkway.. we could not access the pilot, tail, and ball turret areas.. The ring cost $400.00. Sadly this plane crash, I think in 2018 killing 5. I have so much more respect for those brave men.
Really? You were in the B-17 Bomber Nine-O-Nine? THE NINE-O-NINE that crashed due to a Engine Failure shortly after taking off from the Runway?
I have a Huge Obsession with WW2 Planes but I pay my Attention More on the USA/American Bombers, and maybe some American Fighters Like the P-51, but I have 75% of my Attention on the B-17 Flying Fortress, my favorite version of the B-17 is the B-17G because of the Chin Turret
@@jankarlohernandez9736 Yes, that is the one.
Cool
Sadly another B-17 crashed in Dallas today, a P63 flew directly into it's path cutting the plane in half, the crew never saw it coming. One day all that will be left are videos like this one.
These guys were only 19 and 21 years old. My heart is thumping as I think of these guys and the adrenaline that was pumping in their veins as they took off for Germany. I am so grateful for what they did. Thank you.
Ya now they don’t even know if they’re a male or female
@@pyker41okay
@@pyker41I'm not sure if you're moronic or just retarted.
Masters of the Air has made the B-17 interesting again! Man was it scary and vulnerable to be a pilot in WWII.
Great tour of this iconic plane. My uncle flew the F model. I made a tribute to him on CZcams “3 Days in May 1943”. He was not one of the lucky ones but he did save the CoPilot, Navigator, Bombardier and Flight Engineer by getting his plane close to the German coast then he took his full bomb load to the North Sea to avoid civilian casualties. Bombay doors were damaged so he could not jettison his bombs. His body was found 2 weeks later at Cuxhaven Germany only identification on him was a Bible. Bible kept his name off the wall of the missing. His body was sent home 1949 and he is buried in American soil
Currently watching Masters of the Air and this was very helpful to understand what's going on inside the planes. Thanks !
Glad it was helpful!
Do you feel like the show is a big letdown compared to the other two they made?
@@FJB2020 yes I’ve certainly lost interest in it.
@@PaulStewartAviation episodes 1-5 were not that good, 6 did peak my interest a little, but I do not have high hopes for this series to be a classic. I think Catch-22 did a better job.
My dad flew B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, and a night fighter I don't know the designation for. All my time growing up he would have bad nightmares. I left home at 18 & he was still having them. PBS show said that during the 1st 2 years of the war, the US lost 50% of its planes - every quarter. No wonder Dad had nightmares. BTW while Dad was flying, Mom was a Rosy Riveter working for North American Aviation in Ft. Worth TX. They met after the war. Dad would seldom talk about his experiences but he did tell me about 3 times the B-17 had so much damage they had to bail out once they were where they could, and 1 time when he had to belly land one because it was damaged so much they couldn't get the gear down.
The B17 did in fact come equipped with a autopilot. It was mainly used to transfer directional control of the aircraft to the bombardier during bomb runs, to increase target accuracy.
As you can imagine, using a autopilot while flying in tight formation with many other aircraft is a recipe for disaster, so, for the majority of the aircraft, the entire mission was hand-flown, with the exception of the lead planes which were the ones doing the bomb aiming.
Great video!
Thanks for the clarification
My great grandpa was a B-17 tail gunner in the war so its very interesting to see what kind of space he had to operate in while up there
Time mark 14:25:
Just a minor note, these ARE constant speed props. Meaning, you manually adjust the pitch to the desired rpm you want. They are the SAME thing as constant speed propellers used today in piston aircraft.
I had a chance to ride in one of these at an air show a few years ago. We got to move around during the flight including in the cockpit behind the pilots. What amazed me was how much work is involved in flying the plane even in level cruise. There are no computers to monitor, let alone control, the mechanical systems, so the pilots were constantly monitoring all the gauges and making fine adjustments to fuel mixture and throttle. They would also periodically take notes to keep track of fuel and oil consumption and other performance factors.
how incredible to have flown in one!!
I got to ride Sally B at a airshow too! Was an incredible experience, ill never forget how much it creaked during flight.. I don't know whether that was due to age or if that was genuinely how they flew at the time, but yeah "mechanical" is exactly how I'd describe it! :)
I rode in one years ago, too. The aspect of moving around from the waist-gunner position to the bombardier nose made it a better experience than riding in a B-29, which was more like being in a cargo hold in the rear.
Ever since that experience with the noise and bone rattling vibrations, I could not fathom how the flight crews could handle six hour flights.
And for those out there that sees movies/TV shows of bomber crews openly conversing with each other during flight? Not! The volume of the noise is just too intense!
@@bloqk168
I flew in the famous B-17G “Nine-O-Nine” in April 2019… it crashed killing a number of people in Oct 2019. We flew over San Francisco Bay Area at 4000 feet and the view from the bombarder (got video) was fantastic. Quite narrow and top hatch was open. Very noisy and lots of fuel/hauast smell and I terribly air sickness! Took me 45 minutes on the ground before I could drive home. Ride was smooth but noise and fumes just hit me hard. Walking the Bombay gantry (1 foot wide) with only 1 rope .. they said the Bombay doors open with 200 pounds in case a bomb broke loose… it would fall out…so if you slip, you are leaving the plane!
It was way cool… and Masters of the Air was a great show.
The armor on B-17s wasn't "bullet" proof like a lot of people believe. The armor might deflect a machine gun bullet, but definitely not a round from an airplane cannon, which the Germans carried on all of their interceptors. Both the plane armor and the flak vest were there to stop shrapnel. They did a so-so job. Guess it depended on how close the flak shell exploded to the plane. Having been on a B-17 in flight (Aluminum Overcast) I'm amazed at how brave the kids were that flew combat missions in them. The planes were made with metal that wasn't much thicker than a beer can of the same era.
The crews sat on their flak jackets. Flak blasts went upwards.
Flak blasts went 360 degrees
You can really see how thin the aluminium skin of the body is and how little protection it afforded the crew. Can you imagine a battle scenario with the roar of those engines, the firing of all those .50 cal guns and top that off with the incoming enemy fire, truly terrifying stuff.
My father enlisted in the Army Air Corps (1942), age 18, and served as a gunner and radio operator on B-17s. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force in England and flew 35 combat missions over Europe. Including one shown as "SECRET" on his papers. The records were lost during a fire at Fort Benjamin Harrison.
His brother was a Navy aviator flying in the Pacific area: his plane was shot down . The bad news was wired to the family, who were surprised three months later when he walked in the front door in his Navy uniform.
My father had left the service at the end of the war and worked as a TV/Radio engineer. He was called back to duty for the Korean conflict but didn’t have to deploy; and stayed with the new US Air Force. He retired after 26 years of active duty.
Regards
Sophisticated, basic, comfortable, cramped - - all at once. Thank you for the tour. 😊❤
I flew the F-16 in the US Air Force and now fly the Boeing 777 for a major air carrier...and these are the most fascinating videos I've ever seen. Thank you so much for making these!
Glad you enjoy them. More coming including the F-22 raptor tomorrow 😄
This is great. I remember when I had to use every gun and drop every bomb while our plane was damaged… back in 2003 or so in “Call of Duty 2: Big Red One” on GameCube lol brings back memories. I can’t believe how good of a job they were able to do and how accurate it was, in the early 2000’s. Such a fun game, I miss it.
Thank you for the tour. My great-uncle was a waist gunner on one of these. His plane was shot up in April 1944, and all but the pilot were killed in action. Every chance that a B17 come close to where I live, I try to go see it. When I first saw the movie "Memphis Belle" it gave me a chance to see what he would have endured when on a mission. I realize the movie may not depict the actual hell that these crewmen went through, it did allow a glimpse of what could have been. I will be forever grateful to the men and women who fought for this country, especially those from WWII! Even though I never had the chance to meet my great-uncle, I am proud of what he did for this country! He and two of his crewmates are buried in Denmark.
Glad you enjoyed the video
Something about this B 17 many people don't know about is that this bomber after the war was used by the US Forest Service to fight wildland fires and saved it from being scarpyard. Then the US Air Force got it back and restored it. Pretty neat history.
Excellent video walk through - I know a LOT about the B-17, but I learned some more from this video - thank you!
More than anything else id love to see a teardown and inspection of a b17 turbocharger, and the fact it only spun up to 20k rpm tells me its absolutely MASSIVE.
Brave men that few in them. RIP to those that died in Dallas.
I love how Paul describes all of the other systems that they had to deal with obviously, oxygen and communication. Add to that tremendous engine noise and it's a wonder anybody could hear anything. I would say that Paul's description of these other issues going on which I have never thought about really brings that aircraft to life, as well as all the young men manning that aircraft.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
The inside Kinda reminds me of a submarine with 50cal sticking out all around it but with wings always been my favorite bomber during my younger years great video 👍👍
anyone else getting this recommended after the horrible accident in Dallas featuring a B17? Its kinda creepy how YT is seemingly featuring the video NOW. Either way great video and tour Paul. I love seeing the internals of these old beauty's.
One thing that is very noticeable is how very basic and utilitarian the B-17 bomber was. No creature comforts at all. This airplane only had what was needed to do the job of bombing enemy targets.
Absolutely! It make the B-29 feel like a 747 inside!
czcams.com/video/Q7J-92yX7qI/video.html
It seriously has very few avionics and controls for the crew to monitor. It makes the P-51 Mustang look like a space ship lol.
@@rubiconnn They were build very fast, about 12.500 in total. The later B-29 improved on a lot with a pressurized cabin and electronic fire controls.
Looks like this was shot at the Pima Air and Spece Museum in Tucson AZ. They have a MINT B29 as well. Both are very impressive exhibits.
Thanks for a nice and interesting video. After watching the documentary, I have even more respect for the crews of these planes.
I used to go to the Oshkosh Airshow, and being fascinated with B17s since I was a kid, had the opportunity to crawl through one just like this for ten bucks. It was an incredible experience I will never forget. It was also extremely eerie, being inside this airplane that so many young men died in. Also very small, much smaller than any photo or video can convey. Designed for functionality, not comfort. I can't imagine being trapped in one for 8 hours at a time over hostile territory, flak bursts constantly rattling against the metal, all while being terrified of Focke Wulf 20mm cannon shells ripping through the airplane with little warning. Dying inside one of these must have been horrible.
I did the rounds of that airplane 3 times, shelling out ten bucks each time, before the aircrew caught on and let me back in for free. I guess they could tell I was nearly in tears and just wanted to spend as much time as I could inside that airplane before I went home.
A fantastic video Paul.
Whenever I think of the B17 I’m reminded of the short poem, ‘The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner’ by Randall Jarrell:
‘From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in it’s belly till my wet fur froze,
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak, and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.’
Your videos are incredible and an important learning tool. Please keep them coming.
There is nothing glamorous about being at war inside this aircraft. It looks absolutely terrifying and it is very obvious that if you were hit and in a spin no one was getting out. The respect for those men that flew these B17's can never be high enough. If there was an advert for not going to war, the inside of this aircraft is it.
My Dad and I got involved with this B-17 the day it flew into DMAFB in Tucson.
It had nothing inside it except for the pilots seats.
It was a forest fire water bomber and was completely gutted inside.
I was 10 at the time it came in to town in 1980.
It was the ultimate father/son project since Dad was a B-17 too turret gunner.
They sure have the old girl looking good.
Thanks for doing this great video.
I just subscribed to your channel as well.
Yeah, she was a bit of a mess when they got her, but the corrosion control of the Coast Guard and Forestry Service did a lot of good in keeping the airframe in good shape. I was able to be a docent there at that museum for a while and got to crawl around inside and being the youngest person on staff when it came time for cleaning her up i got to climb around on her outside to shine her up.
Thank you to all the men that served. You maybe gone but not forgotten!!
Here here.
Just found your channel Paul. You are extremely fortunate to have been given permission to enter the aircraft. I say this as a docent there at the 390th Memorial Museum. In the 8 months I’ve been volunteering I’ve been inside exactly three times and they were each for a specific “task”. Very well done and look forward to enjoying your other videos.
My buddy was the manager of the museum in the 90's. he was also a WW2 B-17 lead pilot. Spent a lot of time in that ship. Good memories.
It was the tales of the B-17 crews that sparked my interest in World War 2 history as a child. They flew those missions using blood, sweat and tears. I thoroughly enjoyed this tour!
Absolutely David, it's mind blowing how horrible it would have been.
Google frenchy's folly :) my grandfather who is 103 almost 104 built and was named after the plane at ridgewell airforce base in England:) i only share because that's just what u want for my grandfather and his generation...to never be forgotten:)
My grandfather served with the 464th bg 779th Sq during ww2...he was a top turret gunner and a flight engineer on a b-24 stationed out of Italy from 1943 to 1945
WOW...another fantastic tour.
Love your work Paul.
Interesting point of the B17, and B24 is they both used a 2 stage supercharger system consisting of a TURBOcharger that feed the Mechanical SUPERcharger, that gave the B17 a service ceiling of 30,000 ft, the B24, 28,000 ft due to its smaller wing. as an example the Lancaster with its SINGLE stage mechanical SUPERcharger had a 20,000 ft service ceiling, and all three planes were at about the same gross weights. The P38 and the P47 used a similiar system.
That view from the pilots side window looking at the 2 engines really brought the whole thing together for me. Can you just imagine flying through flak and seeing one of those engines is on fire and there's crew members in the back wounded? And you haven't even made it to the target yet.
My father was a B17 Bombardier from April - August 1944 and survived 35 missions. 390th Bomber Group Framlingham England. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and an Oak Cluster. He was wounded a couple of times by flack but survived the war. They were all mostly 21-25 year old kids being asked to go up day after day not knowing if they would make back from a mission. Truly the greatest generation.
I’ll Be Around is at the Pima Air and Space Museum in AZ. The volunteers who work the building are just the sweetest and most excited vets. They are desperate to share the story of the the brave men who fought and died, please make the trip out to see it before all of the stories are gone
My great uncle was a tail gunner on a B17. On a road trip in the 70s with my dad in his 1975 Mercedes sedan he couldn’t understand why the drone of the car engine sounded so familiar. When my dad mentioned that Mercedes made the engine for the Messerschmitt, he said “Oh my God, that’s it!” True story.
oh wow, lots of veterans came home with PTSD.
My brother and I got to tour the B 17 that crashed in Dallas about a year earlier when it was at an airport in the Houston area. Incredible how primative it was.
I have missed several opportunities to get to see a B-17 G. To me it looks very iconic. Thanks for the tour
I was reenlisted in front of that B-17 at the PIMA Air and Space Museum when I was stationed at DMAFB. Also know as the Bone Yard because of the Aircraft Storage facility there. I was working the A-10's there and this was my last enlistment. A retired General that flew B-17's during WWII, he was a lieutenant back then. He did my last enlistment (Active Duty) for me. His Flight Jacket was in there with his B-17's name "The Rotten Egg" on the back. I got a really nice tour of that B-17, the facility and got to hear some good stories of his missions. I transferred over to the AZANG 162 FW in the last year of that enlistment. Worked F-16's with them.
Such a beautiful plane. I had the poster of A bit o lace on my bedroom wall for years. My friends father was a co pilot who was shot down on his second mission and spent 2 years a POW. He was a great man, and my hero. Sadly passed several years ago now.
When I was 10 years old, I put together my first model airplane, a Monogram B-17G. Long gone, but I still have the color insert with ideas for a diorama that Monogram included in their kits. I'm now 55, and it's remained one of my favorite planes and I've read many things about it and watched many YT vids. Until I saw this vid, I never knew about that tailgunner's access hatch. You're never too old to learn new stuff, and there's no end of new stuff to learn.
Glad you found the video interesting
To be a truly good teacher, never say: "I'll get back to that later". If you've started it -- finish it. (Novice teaching mistake) Despite that. A very good video with reasonable explanations. Good work.
I had the pleasure of having an in person tour of one of these beautiful beasts👍👍
I love your trip reports but I really enjoy these museum tours too! What an incredible privilege for us to see a real-time tour crawling through a Flying Fortress.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Seeing these aircraft in real life and on line really gives a person to pause, what an accomplishment of design, build and most of all the operators of these aircraft.
Nice tour. I was surprised at how small the plane is too when I crawled through my first one. It's definitely different than in the movies. When I was at Pima there was a vet who flew the B-17 talking about it to the museum goers. After that was over I asked him some questions about it. He told me they used to switch flying between the pilot and copilot every 15 minutes or so because there was no hydraulic assist on the controls and the need to fly in fairly close formation. He also said they were most afraid of the flak than fighters. It wasn't necessarily being directly hit by a shell but the fact that the sky was full of shrapnel that would go through the skin of the aircraft as the plane flew into it. I guess that's why their armor is called a "flak jacket".
The B-17 isn't a small airplane. I have flown on them several times and there is a lot to explore and crawl through. The radioman had it best with his fairly large "office room". Now the B-29 is a large plane and larger than many commercial passenger planes.
I had a teacher in High School Aerospace Class Col Francis Wilson "Worlds greatest pilot" retired who flew B17s in Ww2 in Europe. He was my favorite teacher ever! I learned more from him than I did from anyone eve. (Except for my father).
He was shot down over Germany in winter.. He hid for 8 days and had to give up due to exhaustion and exposure to the harsh German winter.
He came back to Germany in 1972 to teach Aerspace. I loved Col. Wilson almost as much as I did my father.
My granfather was a radio operator on a B-17. Being able to see this video a nd seeing the plane and the area he would have been stationed is great. Thankfully my grandfather came home unlike so many young men
I had two uncles involved with B-17s, one as a mechanic, and one a navigator. Mechanic talked about his war experience, navigator not so much. It meant a lot to watch this video, and see the equipment that they worked on/used. I was a fighter jet mechanic, one and two engines. Mostly worked on F-102s and F-106s. Duece and Six.
I had the opportunity to do a charity ride in a B-17. An incredible experience. My takeoff seat was the radio operator but we were able to go forward and crawl into the front area during flight. Such a cool experience and amazing to think they'd fly 8-10 hour missions at high altitude on oxygen and heated jackets.
I enjoyed the how to of getting in and out of the gunners position and other vulnerable points that had yet to find modern engineering, thanks again , a great tour!
Glad you enjoyed it
I got to fly in one a little over a year ago. Such a fantastic aircraft.
The B-17 is just the most gorgeous bomber there is
I fell in love with the B17 as a kid when the movie Memphis Belle came out. Watched it a million times lol. Flying in one would be a life highlight I'd think!
Thank you for the great explanation!
I’m living in Antwerp/Belgium and very close to a crash site of a B-17 named ‘Pluto’s avanger’ of the 8th 303 bomber group that crashed on 12 february 1944.
4 brave man died on that day.
I’m 25 years old and These video’s give me an understanding how brave they were on my age. I will sure visit the crash memorial soon to pay my respect.
Greetings from Belgium.
This is truly amazing. My dad had a cousin from the DC area who was a navigator in a B-17. His plane collided with the other lead ship in his formation on a bombing run over Germany in 1944. He was the only survivor in his crew, and spent over a year in a Luftstalag. These young men were a special breed.
I got to fly in a B-17 when it came to Boeing field in Seattle from a company that travels the USA about 10 years ago It flew north to Edmunds and back along the water about a 1 hour ride
This is one of the first aircraft videos that’s left me feeling sad. Flying on one of those things in combat must have been hell on earth. Those poor lads. ☹️
Thanks for the tour. My step father that helped raise me since I was a child was a captain of a B-17 in WW2 and was only 19 years old in 1941. I can't imagine a 19 year old flying one of these. He would say that it flew itself so not to take any credit. Thanks again @
You're welcome
Another very enjoying tour! Thanks Paul! Yet another reminder of the bravery of the young men who flew in these!
Glad you enjoyed it
A B-17 is at a museum in Mesa Arizona named Sentimental Journey. For a fee you could go for a ride. It does airshows all around the US.
Anyone else's algorithm recommend this right after the awful Texas airshow accident involving a B-17?
😢😢
No but I'm going there next, thanks.
Paul, Great video. The B17 did indeed have an auto pilot. It was located below the throttles and you can see it clearly at 14:33. It was used to keep the plane flying smoothly prior to the release of the bombs.
Thought that bombardier had control of the plane during the bomb run?
As a modeller, this is great stuff !!! thx.
I had the privilege of flying in the bombardier's seat on the B-17 "Sentimental Journey" a little over a year ago. It was cramped for my 6' 2" frame but I didn't care. It was a wonderful 20 minutes looking out of the bubble window at the area around the Chino Airport and flying to Lake Matthews and back. The final approach and landing looking through the bubble were exhilarating. I have a great video of it.
Awesome place to visit if you are in southern Arizona. I have been there a few times and I have spent hours looking at this airplane. 10 men risked their lives in this small airplane to deliver a load of bombs on target. Truly done by the greatest generation.
Great video, minor corrections though, they did have an autopilot system in the G models and also, you state that the props weren't variable pitch when they were, the prop governor levers control just that. Iirc, the G model used an electric prop speed governor. Must say, this has to be one of the most thorough B17 crawl videos I have ever seen. Thank you for posting
I've flown on B-17 Yankee Lady and it was an incredible experience!
Thank you! This was an amazing video find. I am the proud & honored 3rd cousin of Lt. Vandermarliere, Gilbert EC, and a pilot of the B-17-G, 306th bomb group "The Reich Wreckers", the 369th bomb squadron (Later: Lt. Col. Gilbert E.C. Vandermarliere). I called him Uncle Gilbert. Great man with an inspiring story from his military career which includes serving in 3 wars, and being a 3x POW. Then in retirement had been a bus driver for Detroit and survived a brutal assault. Aside from ALL that... he smiled... Very good man... wish someone would research and tell his story. Again, Thank you for this video.... I got to see where he sat and the controls he looked at... was interesting.
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm off to Europe next month to film more similar videos
Amazing walk-around report. thank you
My dad flew B-17Gs as a co-pilot with the 615th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group, out of Deenethorpe England. He never told me about it until about 1970. I was reading a library book about military aviation history one day. Mom passed by and said "Oh, a B-17. Did you know that your father flew those in World War Two?"
When I asked Dad directly his answer was "Yes". That's all. Only much later, 60-70 years after the war, and only after a few drinks, did he talk much about it. I guess his experience was pretty rough for a 22 year old kid.
CZcams can be a great place of learning and an incredibly harmful platform at the same time
I'm very glad creators like these exist
Thanks random teacher
Thankyou random student. And I agree. Commercial television is driven by views so they dumb everything down but youtube is great for obscure hobbies
I got to ride in a b17 bomber a few years ago and it was awesome. Something you'll remember forever
I really appreciated this video. WW2 weapons junkie here!!! Thanks again!!
Glad you enjoyed it Greg. Hope you've seen my B-29 video and my B-36 one is coming...
I will never be able to watch “12 O-Clock High” the same way, after this video!
My grandmother took airman as loggers from the 390th bomb group during the war, as her house was on the edge of the airfield. The young men who manned these planes were brave heroes for the 301 missions they dropped over 19,000 tons of bombs lost 162 aircraft and 742 airmen were killed. Shocking statistics for just one airfield we should never forget the sacrifices made.
My favorite aeroplane of all time!
Fantastic!...Thankyou for the tour.
You're very welcome! I'm back to PIMA in a few months to film inside their B-24 :)
Wow! VERY interesting video. Back in the late 1980s while I was scouting locations for motion pictures, I met Kermit Weeks at his aircraft museum located at Tamiami Airport. I was looking for a runway where we could film a Honda Accord commercial with Dr. Ruth. In the back of his hangar, outside in the elements, was the fuselage of a B-17. No wings. It was awaiting restoration. I went inside of it. I was shocked. IT WAS SO SMALL! I had never been inside a bomber of any kind. Crammed with ten men, equipment, .50 caliber machine guns, a bomb load--it was hard to imagine working in those conditions. Narrow. No ceiling. No padding. No insulation. Paper-thin aluminum. If I was in the Air Corps and posted to one of those flying machines I would have bugged out. Transfer me or discharge me, I WANT OUT! As Rosemary Clooney sang, "Thanks for the memories."
Its cool to compare this to modern AC-130's cause they can level whole towns too and the advancements are interesting.
Watched the first 2 episodes of masters of the air and wanted to get a better idea of what the b-17 looked like. So claustrophobic! It must have been a terrifying job working in one. Particularly in the ball turret. Thanks for the tour