How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:08 pm
Quite Rough!!
A-20 Havocs flying through flak on a mission to bomb German gun positions in Anzio on March 2nd 1944.
"A-20B 41-3264 "Pauline" Tail #44 that was flying alongside the camera plane is examined in some detail after the mission at 2:28. In spite of the fact that from a distance the aircraft did not appear damaged, it is peppered with holes from fragments from anti-aircraft shells that exploded nearby. Apart from taking some measure of evasive action, there was not much the crews could do except hope that one of those fragments did not hit something vital that would bring down the plane."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42nM9-p28Yc
A-20 Havocs flying through flak on a mission to bomb German gun positions in Anzio on March 2nd 1944.
"A-20B 41-3264 "Pauline" Tail #44 that was flying alongside the camera plane is examined in some detail after the mission at 2:28. In spite of the fact that from a distance the aircraft did not appear damaged, it is peppered with holes from fragments from anti-aircraft shells that exploded nearby. Apart from taking some measure of evasive action, there was not much the crews could do except hope that one of those fragments did not hit something vital that would bring down the plane."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42nM9-p28Yc
Re: How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:43 pm
The B-17G in the photos below is claimed to be the most heavily damaged aircraft to return from a mission during WWII. According to veteran Charles Prescott "Pres" Huntington, Boeing B-17G of the 429th Bombardment Squadron, 2nd Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. It was hit by antiaircraft fire on a mission to the mashalling yards in Debreczen, Hungary. The radioman, both waist gunners, and the ball turret gunner were killed. The control cables were left intact so the pilot was able to fly the aircraft back to it's base at Amendola, Italy. As the aircraft touched the ground, the weakened fuselage collapsed.
Re: How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:51 pm
Box barrages got more deadly later in the war as Flak crews got more experienced and the onset of new technology.
Re: How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:57 pm
Just incredible... 
Phil
Phil
Re: How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:34 pm
Like all of you, I have read about flak and talked with AAF vets about it.
In the 90s, a B-17 veteran copilot from the 91st BG gave me two pieces of flak recovered from his fort. One of them has aluminum fused to one side from where it came in.
I still have them and it always brings it home, the idea of this screaming in at much higher velocities than a rifle bullet.
In the 90s, a B-17 veteran copilot from the 91st BG gave me two pieces of flak recovered from his fort. One of them has aluminum fused to one side from where it came in.
I still have them and it always brings it home, the idea of this screaming in at much higher velocities than a rifle bullet.
Re: How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Wed Nov 30, 2022 7:39 pm
No many types could survive that kind of damage.
A B-24?...probably not.
Lancaster?....
A B-24?...probably not.
Lancaster?....
Re: How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Thu Dec 01, 2022 1:52 pm
And Sweet Pea was repaired to fly again, but not on combat missions.
Re: How rough could it be flying thru Flak? ...
Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:43 am
This one from the 381st Bomb Group's Facebook page is a good contender:
I quote this from Paul Bingley, whose book, Bomb Group, just out features the 381st in detail:
On this day 75 years ago, the 381st bombed Oranienburg's marshalling yards. The group's 36 B-17s were part of a formation of 675 American bombers.
Over the target, there was much enemy opposition, including fighters. After bombing, the 381st then encountered heavy flak over Wittenberg. The group's lead B-17, 43-37561 suffered a direct hit in the waist, leaving a 15ft tear in its skin, and the waist gunner, S/Sgt. Walter J. Ahl dead. It had also destroyed the crew's parachutes, some of which had been sucked out of the aircraft.
The pilot, Charles 'Hotrock' Carpenter - who'd become something of a celebrity in the previous few weeks, after bombing Cologne with a formation of RAF Lancasters when he lost sight of his own B-17s - flew the crippled bomber on a 4.5-hour solo flight across Germany. He only had his ailerons and throttles for control - the rudder and stabiliser had both been badly damaged.
When he finally reached the coast of England, he headed for RAF Woodbridge - a specially-built 'emergency landing ground' with a runway five times the normal width. On landing, his undercarriage collapsed and the aircraft broke in two. Two engines also caught fire. The top turret gunner and tail gunner were both injured. The stories of these brave men never ceases to amaze me.
The date was 15 March 45.
I quote this from Paul Bingley, whose book, Bomb Group, just out features the 381st in detail:
On this day 75 years ago, the 381st bombed Oranienburg's marshalling yards. The group's 36 B-17s were part of a formation of 675 American bombers.
Over the target, there was much enemy opposition, including fighters. After bombing, the 381st then encountered heavy flak over Wittenberg. The group's lead B-17, 43-37561 suffered a direct hit in the waist, leaving a 15ft tear in its skin, and the waist gunner, S/Sgt. Walter J. Ahl dead. It had also destroyed the crew's parachutes, some of which had been sucked out of the aircraft.
The pilot, Charles 'Hotrock' Carpenter - who'd become something of a celebrity in the previous few weeks, after bombing Cologne with a formation of RAF Lancasters when he lost sight of his own B-17s - flew the crippled bomber on a 4.5-hour solo flight across Germany. He only had his ailerons and throttles for control - the rudder and stabiliser had both been badly damaged.
When he finally reached the coast of England, he headed for RAF Woodbridge - a specially-built 'emergency landing ground' with a runway five times the normal width. On landing, his undercarriage collapsed and the aircraft broke in two. Two engines also caught fire. The top turret gunner and tail gunner were both injured. The stories of these brave men never ceases to amaze me.
The date was 15 March 45.