Craig59 wrote:
wolf wrote:
I would be interested if it was about the 15th AF, not the reporters living in luxury in England - there was a reason RAF Bassingbourn was called the country club.
Seriously? Half of the U.S. Army Air Forces' casualties in WW2 were suffered by Eighth Air Force; 47,000 casualties,
with more than 26,000 dead. That’s more casualties than the entire U.S. Marine Corps; 24,511.
Perhaps viewing it would change your perspective and increase your knowledge.
I know more about these causalities then you, having written so far 5 books on the subject of the B-17. How many of you people know in February 24 with the 15th AF, the entire 2nd BG was almost wiped out with one squadron loosing 16 x ships. How about the very next day, the 301st BG on a mission to Regensburg, lost 13 ships in one squadron and additional 11 seriously damaged.
and the reason for the 8th AF loses being so high was the mistaken believe the the name Flying Fortress actually meant sending unescorted bombers to bomb targets deep inside Germany (the B-17 being a well obsolete design by 1944).
How about you learning some history, like when a British Lancaster gets shot down, there is almost no chance of the crew escaping.
Compared to the other theatres of operation, the 8th AF was considered luxury - pass's to modern english speaking cities, good to excellent medical care (compared to say a 13th AF crew member), the 8th AF received pretty much the lions share of new equipment (hell, all P-38 were prioritized to the 8th AF over the pacific groups).
RAF Bassingbourn was considered by all reporters as a country club - this is a fact. One of the reasons the 91st BG received a lot of publicity - Fact. RAF Bassingbourn had barracks with central steam heat, tennis courts, a golf course, a swimming pool - RAF Bassingbourn was one of the most modern RAF stations and was less then 1-hour train from London.
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