Where to armor on the B-17 bombers to reduce losses: Surprising Combat Study Results

WWII US Bombers were armored mainly to account for Projectiles and FLAK fragments from behind and the sides. The 8th Army Air Forces studied the Bomber’s damage distribution from FLAK, machine gun and cannon fire. The study results indicated most FLAK damage Originated from Below the bomber and enemy aircraft gun and cannon fire was evenly distributed over the surfaces. This led to the conclusion the armor should be placed protecting from front or bottom of the aircraft. Also to reduce stragglers, engine armor should be considered since 50% of bomber losses are stragglers. Most stragglers are caused from engine failure.

[TheCrapOnYourStrapOn]

This channel is a refreshing break from the insanity of YouTube

[joeverna]

In July of 2000. I flew in a B17 over NE Pennsylvania. It was a 20 minute ride. The things that suprised me were the engine noise and how thin the metal was on the outside of the plane. It seemed about as thick as cardboard on a cereal box. I can't imagine having bullets and flack passing right through the plane. I realized how brave these men really were. Thank you for your dedication and sacrifice.

[johndanger]

So many people in the comment sections of “Masters of the Air” clips need to head over to this channel instead…

[AviationHorrors]

After binging on quite a few of your episodes, I’m impressed by the simple quality and straightforward presentation - no gimmicky graphics or obnoxious self-promo, just good info.

[kevinwhitehead]

I sincerely hope that the new series will generate more subscribers for your channel! I consider it one of the most informative and interesting channels on this platform!

[well-blazeredman]

Fascinating, intelligent video. I gather that those doing 'OA' for RAF Bomber Command were similarly concerned about not placing too much weight on damage assessments of aircraft that had managed to return home.

[johngaither]

Dad arrived on Tinian late in the war. He only flew 8 missions. He said by the time he arrived that Japanese interceptors would not fly into a formation of B-29 airplanes unless they planned a ramming attack. They would loiter at long range and fire 20mm rounds at the bombers. Their deflection shooting skills were so poor they were not able to score any hits. The B-29 gunners occasionally lucked into some hits with .50 caliber rounds which were usually pretty deadly to the Japanese aircraft.

[Slaktrax]

The amount of detail you manage to research and upload for us that find your channel interesting is amazing. Thank you 🙂

[alanm.]

My Dad was a B29 pilot in WWII, flying out of Saipan. On one mission his tail gunner was hit. I don't know (or don't recall) if it was flak or fire from an enemy airplane.
Dad was copilot on that mission and was later awarded the bronze star for his efforts to rescue the tail gunner. He had to crawl through a narrow unpressurized tunnel to help the gunner, then drag the man back through the same tunnel to the central pressurized cabin. Unfortunately the tail gunner did not survive his wounds.

[williamlloyd]

Always good to see science/ analysis versus survivor bias

[blockmasterscott]

5:08 Just imagine, with all those millions of armed servicemen and women overseas doing their bit in WW2, with the insane logistics, it was all done on pen and paper. All of it.

That never ceases to amaze me.

[enigma]

Some bright one suggested examining strikes on returning aircraft as to location. This sounded good until it was suggested that the locations least struck should the most armored, which made sense. They were evaluating aircraft who made it back, not the ones who suffered fatal strikes didn't.

[JK-rvtp]

Farking brilliant. Really. Your channel is a gem.

[scottterry]

Thank you, this series has been very informative. I never thought much about how the planes got shot down but this channel has helped me to better understand the bomber losses

[tfogelson]

While researching the drawings of the B-17 G for a repair of a bird strike on "Texas Raiders" leading edge, I ran across a drawing of a Flak Blanket. I do not remember size or if the weight was given, but it was a heavy canvas with pockets sewn on it that contained small overlapping steel plates. If I remember correctly the plates were about 2x4 and it looked as if the blanket was for the waist gunner position. The drawings were Boeing drawings for the G model.

[seafodder]

As always, love your use of pirmary sources!

[jastrapper]

I want an ejection seat. lol. That must have been the number one fear. Being unable to get out of the bomber bouncing off the ceiling as you free fall hurtling to the ground. Stuck in a ball turret or a severed tail section. Etc etc. what’s worse is that all the remaining crews were witness. I was truly shocked to learn how high the strategic bomber losses were in WWII for America. Their survival rates were nightmarish. That’s always what fascinates me. How men go out knowing they are most likely going to die or be injured. In Iraq around 2006 it got so bad that when we went out a platoon of four LAV’s… experience had shown that not all four were coming back into the FOB on their own wheels. They were put on bigger low boy transport vehicles due to IED and mine damage (marines were dying or being seriously hurt in them). The number of missions and number of incidents we had made it almost a certainty. Not everyone will be coming back. I remember it was the most terrifying “statistic” or realization to make. Nobody needed to give us any official numbers… we knew because we were living it and seeing it happen. The odds are not looking good. Excellent video.

[ypaulbrown]

aways wonderful content, it really shows the hard work you put into these, best wishes, Paul

[calvingifford]

My Dad was on the flight of B-17's coming into Hawaii when the Japanese attacked. He got pretty lucky. Later, he had to bail out of a different B-17 over New Guinea. Was very lucky he was uninjured and sighted by a Coast Watcher as he came down. His luck ran out over the Southern Philippines in a B-24 bombing Mindanao, being injured before bailing out and running into a young Japanese soldier soon after reaching the ground. He spent quite a bit of time in the hospital and was never able to fly a mission after that. Great video!!

[RichardHinds-qsmi]

Another great video brother. As I’ve told you from the beginning, good work, ur providing a great service.