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*3 July 1941 - [[Royal Air Force]] [[B-17 Flying Fortress|Boeing Fortress I]], ''AN528'', of [[No. 90 Squadron RAF|No. 90 Squadron]], [[RAF Polebrook]], is destroyed when a troublesome engine catches fire during a late-night ground run.<ref>Taylor, H. A., "Fiasco or Foretaste?", ''Air International'', Bromley, Kent, UK, December 1974, Volume 7, Number 6, pp.280-281.</ref>
*3 July 1941 - [[Royal Air Force]] [[B-17 Flying Fortress|Boeing Fortress I]], ''AN528'', of [[No. 90 Squadron RAF|No. 90 Squadron]], [[RAF Polebrook]], is destroyed when a troublesome engine catches fire during a late-night ground run.<ref>Taylor, H. A., "Fiasco or Foretaste?", ''Air International'', Bromley, Kent, UK, December 1974, Volume 7, Number 6, pp.280-281.</ref>
*15 July 1942 - During [[Operation Bolero]], the ferrying of combat aircraft from the U.S. to England by air, a flight of two [[B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17E-BO Flying Fortresses]], ''41-9101'', c/n 2573, "Big Stoop", and ''41-9105'', c/n 2577, "Do-Do", of the [[97th Air Mobility Wing|97th Bomb Group]] and six [[P-38 Lightning|P-38F Lightnings]] of the [[94th Fighter Squadron]], [[1st Fighter Group]], on the {{convert|845|mi|km|adj=on}} leg between Bluie West 8 airfield and [[Reykjavik, Iceland]], run out of fuel after being held up by bad weather, and all force-land on the [[Greenland]] icecap. All safely belly in except for the first P-38 which attempts a wheels-down landing, flipping over as nosewheel catches a crevasse, but pilot Lt. Brad McManus unhurt. All crews rescued on 19 July, but aircraft are abandoned in place. One P-38F-1-LO, ''41-7630'', c/n 222-5757, now known as "[[Glacier Girl]]", recovered in 1992 from under {{convert|200|ft|m}} of accumulated snow and ice and rebuilt to flying status, registered N17630. One B-17 ("Big Stoop") also found, but it is too badly crushed for recovery.<ref>Hayes, David, "The Lost Squadron - A Fleet of Warplanes Locked in Ice For Fifty Years", Chartwell Books / Madison Press Books, Edison, New Jersey / Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 978-0-7858-2376-6, 1994, pp.40-47, 276.</ref> Although the [[USAAF]] had expected to lose 10 percent of the 920 planes that made the North Atlantic transit during Bolero, losses were only 5.2 percent, the majority being involved in this single incident.<ref name="Bodie">Bodie, Warren M. "The Lockheed P-38 Lightning". Hayesville, North Carolina.: Widewing Publications, 1991, ISBN 978-0-9629359-5-4, pp.99-103.</ref>
*15 July 1942 - During [[Operation Bolero]], the ferrying of combat aircraft from the U.S. to England by air, a flight of two [[B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17E-BO Flying Fortresses]], ''41-9101'', c/n 2573, "Big Stoop", and ''41-9105'', c/n 2577, "Do-Do", of the [[97th Air Mobility Wing|97th Bomb Group]] and six [[P-38 Lightning|P-38F Lightnings]] of the [[94th Fighter Squadron]], [[1st Fighter Group]], on the {{convert|845|mi|km|adj=on}} leg between Bluie West 8 airfield and [[Reykjavik, Iceland]], run out of fuel after being held up by bad weather, and all force-land on the [[Greenland]] icecap. All safely belly in except for the first P-38 which attempts a wheels-down landing, flipping over as nosewheel catches a crevasse, but pilot Lt. Brad McManus unhurt. All crews rescued on 19 July, but aircraft are abandoned in place. One P-38F-1-LO, ''41-7630'', c/n 222-5757, now known as "[[Glacier Girl]]", recovered in 1992 from under {{convert|200|ft|m}} of accumulated snow and ice and rebuilt to flying status, registered N17630. One B-17 ("Big Stoop") also found, but it is too badly crushed for recovery.<ref>Hayes, David, "The Lost Squadron - A Fleet of Warplanes Locked in Ice For Fifty Years", Chartwell Books / Madison Press Books, Edison, New Jersey / Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 978-0-7858-2376-6, 1994, pp.40-47, 276.</ref> Although the [[USAAF]] had expected to lose 10 percent of the 920 planes that made the North Atlantic transit during Bolero, losses were only 5.2 percent, the majority being involved in this single incident.<ref name="Bodie">Bodie, Warren M. "The Lockheed P-38 Lightning". Hayesville, North Carolina.: Widewing Publications, 1991, ISBN 978-0-9629359-5-4, pp.99-103.</ref>
*23 August 1942 - B-17E-BO Flying Fortress, ''41-9091'', of the [[427th Bombardment Squadron|427th Bomb Squadron]], [[303d Bombardment Group|303rd Bomb Group]],<ref>[http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Aug1942S.htm August 1942 USAAF Stateside Accident Reports]</ref> operating out of [[Biggs Field]], El Paso, Texas, suffers center fuselage failure in extremely bad weather 12&nbsp;miles W of [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]], only the radio operator and the engineering officer for the 427th Bomb Squadron, both in the radio room, survive by parachuting. Pilot was James E. Hudson. The 303rd BG was due to deploy overseas from Biggs on 24 August.<ref>O'Neill, Brian D., "303rd Bombardment Group", Osprey Publishing, Botley, Oxford, UK, 2003, ISBN 978-1-84176-537-2, pp.11-12.</ref>
* 21 October 1942 - B-17D, ''40-3089'', of the [[5th Operations Group|5th Bomb Group]]/[[11th Wing|11th Bomb Group]], with Capt. [[Eddie Rickenbacker]], America's top-scoring World War I ace (26 kills), aboard on a secret mission, is lost at sea in the central Pacific Ocean when the bomber goes off-course. After 24 days afloat, he and surviving crew are rescued by the [[U.S. Navy]] after having been given up for lost, discovered by [[OS2U Kingfisher]] crew.
* 21 October 1942 - B-17D, ''40-3089'', of the [[5th Operations Group|5th Bomb Group]]/[[11th Wing|11th Bomb Group]], with Capt. [[Eddie Rickenbacker]], America's top-scoring World War I ace (26 kills), aboard on a secret mission, is lost at sea in the central Pacific Ocean when the bomber goes off-course. After 24 days afloat, he and surviving crew are rescued by the [[U.S. Navy]] after having been given up for lost, discovered by [[OS2U Kingfisher]] crew.
*3 January 1943 - B-17F-27-BO, ''41-24620'', "snap! crackle! pop!", of the [[360th Bombardment Squadron|360th Bomb Squadron]], [[303d Bombardment Group|303rd Bomb Group]], on daylight raid over [[Saint-Nazaire]], France, loses wing due to [[flak]], goes into spiral. Ball turret gunner [[Alan Magee|Alan Eugene Magee]] (13 January 1919-20 December 2003), though suffering 27 [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]] wounds, bails out (or is thrown from wreckage) without his chute at ~{{convert|20000|ft|m}}, loses consciousness due to altitude, [[freefall]] plunges through glass roof of the [[Gare de Saint-Nazaire]] and is found alive but with serious injuries on floor of depot - saved by German medical care, spends rest of war in prison camp.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.303rdbg.com/magee.html |title=Alan Magee Story |publisher=303rdbg.com |date=1943-01-03 |accessdate=2010-05-08}}</ref>
*3 January 1943 - B-17F-27-BO, ''41-24620'', "snap! crackle! pop!", of the [[360th Bombardment Squadron|360th Bomb Squadron]], [[303d Bombardment Group|303rd Bomb Group]], on daylight raid over [[Saint-Nazaire]], France, loses wing due to [[flak]], goes into spiral. Ball turret gunner [[Alan Magee|Alan Eugene Magee]] (13 January 1919-20 December 2003), though suffering 27 [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]] wounds, bails out (or is thrown from wreckage) without his chute at ~{{convert|20000|ft|m}}, loses consciousness due to altitude, [[freefall]] plunges through glass roof of the [[Gare de Saint-Nazaire]] and is found alive but with serious injuries on floor of depot - saved by German medical care, spends rest of war in prison camp.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.303rdbg.com/magee.html |title=Alan Magee Story |publisher=303rdbg.com |date=1943-01-03 |accessdate=2010-05-08}}</ref>

Revision as of 02:53, 15 June 2011

Main article: B-17 Flying Fortress

This is a partial list of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing-designed B-17 Flying Fortress. Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances.

Aircraft were constructed by a three firm consortium, Boeing, Vega and Douglas, known by the acronym BVD. Boeing built airframes at their plant in Seattle, Washington and their production models were appended -BO. Douglas Aircraft Company constructed airframes at Long Beach, California with a -DL suffix. The Vega Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Aircraft Company, at Burbank, California, delivered airframes with the -VE suffix.

1930s

Crashed Model 299 at Wright Field, Ohio.

1940s

  • 18 December 1940 - Y1B-17, 36-157, c/n 1981, of the 2d Bomb Group, Langley Field, Virginia, crashed E of San Jacinto, California, en route to March Field, California.[3]
  • 6 February 1941 - B-17B Flying Fortress, 38-216, c/n 2009,[5] crashes near Lovelock, Nevada while en route to Wright Field, Ohio, killing all eight on board. Pilot Capt. Richard S. Freeman had shared the 1939 MacKay Trophy for the Boeing B-15 flight from Langley Field, Virginia via Panama and Lima, Peru at the request of the American Red Cross, for delivering urgently needed vaccines and other medical supplies in areas of Chile devastated by an earthquake. General Order Number 10, dated 3 March 1943, announces that the advanced flying school being constructed near Seymour, Indiana is to be named Freeman Field in honor of the Hoosier native.[6]
  • 22 June 1941 - Royal Air Force Boeing Fortress I, AN522, of No. 90 Squadron, RAF Great Massingham, flown by F/O J. C. Hawley, breaks up in mid-air over Yorkshire during a training flight. Single survivor, a medical officer from RAE Farnborough, reports that the bomber entered a cumulo-nimbus cloud at 33,000 feet (10,100 m), became heavily iced-up with hailstones entering through open gunports, after which control was lost, the port wing detached, and the fuselage broke in two at 25,000 feet (7,600 m). Survivor, who was in the aft fuselage, was able to bail out at 12,000 feet (3,700 m).[7]
  • 3 July 1941 - Royal Air Force Boeing Fortress I, AN528, of No. 90 Squadron, RAF Polebrook, is destroyed when a troublesome engine catches fire during a late-night ground run.[8]
  • 15 July 1942 - During Operation Bolero, the ferrying of combat aircraft from the U.S. to England by air, a flight of two B-17E-BO Flying Fortresses, 41-9101, c/n 2573, "Big Stoop", and 41-9105, c/n 2577, "Do-Do", of the 97th Bomb Group and six P-38F Lightnings of the 94th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group, on the 845-mile (1,360 km) leg between Bluie West 8 airfield and Reykjavik, Iceland, run out of fuel after being held up by bad weather, and all force-land on the Greenland icecap. All safely belly in except for the first P-38 which attempts a wheels-down landing, flipping over as nosewheel catches a crevasse, but pilot Lt. Brad McManus unhurt. All crews rescued on 19 July, but aircraft are abandoned in place. One P-38F-1-LO, 41-7630, c/n 222-5757, now known as "Glacier Girl", recovered in 1992 from under 200 feet (61 m) of accumulated snow and ice and rebuilt to flying status, registered N17630. One B-17 ("Big Stoop") also found, but it is too badly crushed for recovery.[9] Although the USAAF had expected to lose 10 percent of the 920 planes that made the North Atlantic transit during Bolero, losses were only 5.2 percent, the majority being involved in this single incident.[10]
  • 23 August 1942 - B-17E-BO Flying Fortress, 41-9091, of the 427th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group,[11] operating out of Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas, suffers center fuselage failure in extremely bad weather 12 miles W of Las Cruces, New Mexico, only the radio operator and the engineering officer for the 427th Bomb Squadron, both in the radio room, survive by parachuting. Pilot was James E. Hudson. The 303rd BG was due to deploy overseas from Biggs on 24 August.[12]
  • 21 October 1942 - B-17D, 40-3089, of the 5th Bomb Group/11th Bomb Group, with Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, America's top-scoring World War I ace (26 kills), aboard on a secret mission, is lost at sea in the central Pacific Ocean when the bomber goes off-course. After 24 days afloat, he and surviving crew are rescued by the U.S. Navy after having been given up for lost, discovered by OS2U Kingfisher crew.
  • 3 January 1943 - B-17F-27-BO, 41-24620, "snap! crackle! pop!", of the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, on daylight raid over Saint-Nazaire, France, loses wing due to flak, goes into spiral. Ball turret gunner Alan Eugene Magee (13 January 1919-20 December 2003), though suffering 27 shrapnel wounds, bails out (or is thrown from wreckage) without his chute at ~20,000 feet (6,100 m), loses consciousness due to altitude, freefall plunges through glass roof of the Gare de Saint-Nazaire and is found alive but with serious injuries on floor of depot - saved by German medical care, spends rest of war in prison camp.[13]
  • 23 April 1945 - A U.S. Army Air Force B-17G-95-BO, 43-38856, 'GD-M', of the 381st Bombardment Group (Heavy), crashes on the east facing slope of North Barrule in the Isle of Man killing 31 US service personnel (including ground crew) en route to Belfast for memorial service for President Roosevelt.[14]
  • 5 November 1948 – A DB-17G, 44-83678,[15] returning to Eglin AFB, Florida, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, crashes in woods SE of Auxiliary Field 2, Pierce Field due to pilot error, crashing and burning NE of the runway at Eglin main base early Friday. All five on board are KWF, including Lt. Col. Frederick W. Eley, 43, of Shalimar, Florida, staff judge advocate at Eglin for nearly three years – he was returning from his grandmother's funeral in Portland, Indiana; Maj. Bydie J. Nettles, 29, who lived in Shalimar, Florida but was originally from Pensacola, Florida, group adjutant for the 3203rd Maintenance and Supply section; Capt. Robert LeMar, 31, Ben's Lake, Eglin AFB, test pilot with the 3203rd; crew chief M/Sgt. Carl LeMieux, 31, of Milton, Florida; and Sgt. William E. Bazer, 36, assistant engineer, Destin, Florida. Bazer's wife was the Eglin base librarian.[16]

1950s

1960s

  • 29 August 1967 - B-17G-95-DL, 44-83857, later PB-1W, BuNo 77226, to civil register as N7228C. [21] Destroyed in crash at 0927 hrs. at Kalispell, Montana while in use as a fire bomber, after making wheels-up landing due to smoke in the cockpit, killing two crew according to one source, [22] no fatalities according to an NTSB report, which seems more credible as the co-pilot reported that the fire began in the accessory section of the number three (starboard inner) engine. Jettisoned load before touch down. [23]

1970s

  • 18 August 1970 - B-17F-50-VE, 42-6107, c/n 6403, to TB-17F, to civil register as N1340N. Reengined with Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops in 1969. [24] Crashed at 1637 hrs. during fire bomber run on down slope side of mountain near Dubois, Wyoming, with density altitude of ~13,000 feet, winds of 25-35 mph, updrafts and downdrafts. Pilot misjudged altitude and clearance, failed to maintain flight speed, aircraft stalled and struck trees. Two crew killed. [25]
  • 5 August 1976 - B-17G-110-VE, 44-85812, later PB-1G, BuNo 77246, to civil register as N4710C and used for fire ant spraying by Dothan Aviation, destroyed in accident near Rochelle, Georgia. [26][27] NTSB report gives cause as fire in or near carburator, forcing emergency landing at 0815 hrs., airframe burned. [28] Another source cites crash site as Blakely, Georgia. [29]

1980s

2010s

  • 13 June 2011 - B-17G-105-VE, 44-85734, registered N390TH, named "Liberty Belle" and operated by the Liberty Foundation, Kissimmee, Florida, as a flying history exhibit, suffered an in-flight fire in port wing while on a positioning flight from Aurora, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana, and the crew made a precautionary emergency landing in a cornfield near Aurora ~20 minutes after takeoff. Three crew and four passengers escaped safely before fire consumed the airframe. [33][34]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mueller, Robert, "Air Force Bases Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1989, ISBN 0-912799-53-6, p. 237.
  2. ^ Bowers, Peter M., "Fortress In The Sky", Sentry Books, Granada Hills, California,1976, Library of Congress Card No. 76-17145, ISBN 0-913194-04-2, p. 37
  3. ^ a b Freeman, Roger, with Osborne, David, "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story: Design - Production - History", London, UK: Arms & Armour Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85409-301-0, p. 71. Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated4" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Bowers, Peter M., "The Forgotten Fortresses", Wings, Granada Hills, California, August 1974, Volume 4, Number 4, pp.22-23.
  5. ^ 1938-1939 USAAS Serial Numbers. Joebaugher.com. Retrieved on 2010-08-05.
  6. ^ Freeman Field Title Page. Members.tripod.com. Retrieved on 2010-08-05.
  7. ^ Taylor, H. A., "Fiasco or Foretaste?", Air International, Bromley, Kent, UK, December 1974, Volume 7, Number 6, p. 280.
  8. ^ Taylor, H. A., "Fiasco or Foretaste?", Air International, Bromley, Kent, UK, December 1974, Volume 7, Number 6, pp.280-281.
  9. ^ Hayes, David, "The Lost Squadron - A Fleet of Warplanes Locked in Ice For Fifty Years", Chartwell Books / Madison Press Books, Edison, New Jersey / Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 978-0-7858-2376-6, 1994, pp.40-47, 276.
  10. ^ Bodie, Warren M. "The Lockheed P-38 Lightning". Hayesville, North Carolina.: Widewing Publications, 1991, ISBN 978-0-9629359-5-4, pp.99-103.
  11. ^ August 1942 USAAF Stateside Accident Reports
  12. ^ O'Neill, Brian D., "303rd Bombardment Group", Osprey Publishing, Botley, Oxford, UK, 2003, ISBN 978-1-84176-537-2, pp.11-12.
  13. ^ "Alan Magee Story". 303rdbg.com. 1943-01-03. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  14. ^ Freeman, Roger, with Osborne, David, "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story: Design - Production - History", London, UK: Arms & Armour Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85409-301-0, p. 256.
  15. ^ http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_5.html
  16. ^ Fort Walton, Florida, "Seven Airmen Dead in Eglin Plane Crashes", Playground News, Thursday 11 November 1948, Volume 3, Number 41, page 1.
  17. ^ http://www.accident-report.com/world/namerica/slist/eglin.html
  18. ^ http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/1950s/1950Oct.htm
  19. ^ Bowers, Peter M., "Fortress in the Sky", Sentry Books, Inc., Granada Hills, California, 1976, Library of Congress card number 76-17145, pages 228-229.
  20. ^ US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos-Third Series (70188 to 80258). Joebaugher.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-25.
  21. ^ http://www.aerovintage.com/b17list.htm
  22. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=26248
  23. ^ http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=16721&key=0
  24. ^ http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
  25. ^ http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=1592&key=0
  26. ^ http://www.aerovintage.com/b17list.htm
  27. ^ http://warbird-central.com/?p=1549
  28. ^ http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=54414&key=0
  29. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=26320
  30. ^ http://www.aerovintage.com/b17list.htm
  31. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=32738
  32. ^ http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1944_6.html%7Ctitle=1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098)|work=USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers—1908 to Present|accessdate=2007-05-04|publisher=Joseph F. Baugher
  33. ^ http://www.aerovintage.com/b17news.htm
  34. ^ http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-crews-responding-to-incident-involving-wwii-bomber-20110613,0,5852034.story

External links

Media related to B-17 Flying Fortress at Wikimedia Commons

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