Saturday, November 26, 2022

B-17G w/ six .50 cal guns. Imagine your Focke Wulf getting tagged with that stream of hot lead!

 


15 comments:

  1. Those nose guns are the difference between a G and an F model B-17. The Germans figured out the best way to attack a B-17F was from directly in front of it, as none of the existing guns could fire directly forward until the remotely operated nose guns were installed. If I remember right, they were fired by the bombardier.

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    1. Elmo, you remember right. You said all of what I was going to say about the distinction of the G model.

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  2. Sadly all the .50s in the armement couldn't save 'em from the 88 flak.

    "Flak until in June, July and August 1944, flak accounted for about two-thirds of the 700 bombers lost and 98 per cent of the 13,000 bombers damaged"

    LOOK:

    https://theaviationgeekclub.com/allied-heavies-vs-german-flak-why-allied-bombers-never-defeated-nazis-flakwaffe/

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    1. Indeed. As the Allies became masters of the air and the Luftwaffe less of a threat, The Germans were being ever pushed back into a smaller area of control. They took their flak batteries with them, and they became ever more concentrated.

      My dad was a B-17 pilot. He flew 35 combat missions from January 1945 until the end of the war, with this group--

      http://www.447bg.com/

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    2. "The principal tactics to reduce flak risks are:

      1. Avoid flying over flak defenses en route to and from the target"

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    3. RHT 447
      Your dad is an honored member of the BAMF club.

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  3. Also weight limits created trade off between bomb loadout, fuel and defensive ammo.

    More than a few B17's came home with empty 50 cals still getting swarmed by fighters.

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  4. More pics and background info:
    https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/478703-boeing-b-17g-west-end-sn-42-31435-you-want-to-head-on-me-bring-it-on-bro/

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  5. The famous -G model had two remotely fired 50-cal guns in a movable turret. The photo is of an experimental 6-gun arrangement with a fixed firing position.

    https://aviationhumor.net/b17g-with-six-50cal-machine-guns-in-front-turret/

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    1. This was the B-17 prototype version of the B-25H. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_B-25_Mitchell#/media/File:B-25H.jpg

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  6. The Wulf would be all Focked up for sure.

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  7. I had a friend who flew G from September '44 to March '45/

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  8. I do recall the Wulf had twin 20mm cannons.
    They didn't make a bunch of small holes, they would tear entire chunks of the plane away.

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  9. I built the 17 g model, in detail. It was a mighty plane and I used to cheer up those that still listened to me in th PG telling them that our minesweeper has exactly the armament of a second world war bomber. Weren’t we awed when we got the M19 grenade launcher. Oooh, aaaah? I suspect those in the 8th AF probAbly got similar mementos from HQ Back in the states.

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