restored WW2 bombing raid from planning to execution

[raaizin]

This video shows a WW2 video of a bombing mission. I couldn't imagine what went through their minds each time they took off facing long odds. We owe much to them. It is long but worth a view

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

This video shows a WW2 video of a bombing mission. I couldn't imagine what went through their minds each time they took off facing long odds. We owe much to them. It is long but worth a view

WW2 museum in New Orleans said prior to the P51 with external fuel tanks a bomber crew survived on avg 7 sorties. You can only imagine the impact that had on morale.

You didn't want to be a tail gunner that's for sure. Especially with those 20 mm explosive rounds from a FW190 coming at you.

 

[oldhp]

My Dad was a tail gunner in a B-24. When he ran out of ammo the waist gunners had to reload him. They had a B-24 on display at a local air field and were allowing trips thur the plane. I saw where he sat and couldn't believe it. God Bless all air crews.

 

[nomas]

My Dad was a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17 . By the time he got to England the biggest hazard for them was the 88mm AAA . The Germans NEVER ran short of AAA ammo .

 

[Snagglefoot]

At the Canadian Bomber Command museum in Naton, Alberta, south of Calgary they did a good job of telling how it was. There was an article of a Lancaster bomber with the tail gunner position totally broken off with the plane still landing sans the tail gunner.

There was a joke about a crew reunion with the crew sitting together at a rectangular table but the chair at the end held a man that was facing backwards away from the table. "Who's that?" the pilot asked. "That's Smith, the tail gunner" said the navigator.

 

[Number_35]

WW2 museum in New Orleans said prior to the P51 with external fuel tanks a bomber crew survived on avg 7 sorties. You can only imagine the impact that had on morale.

You didn't want to be a tail gunner that's for sure. Especially with those 20 mm explosive rounds from a FW190 coming at you.

Yes, the drop tank c. late 1943 revolutionized daylight bombing in the ETO. With it, the "Little Friends" could escort the bombers all the way to the target, and escort them home.

From "Air War Against Hitler's Germany" from the American Heritage Junior Library, published by Harper Crest. It was a gift to me when I was nine, and remains a treasured possession.