B-17's attacked by German Luftwaffe fighters - Combat footage скачать в хорошем качестве

B-17's attacked by German Luftwaffe fighters - Combat footage

Presented is a clip of German Luftwaffe combat footage taken while attacking American B-17 Bombers. At this time, there were no allied aircraft that had the range to escort the bombers to and from deep in German-occupied territory. 8th Air Force bomber command was confident the heavy defensive armament of the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers would be more than enough to fend off the German fighters during daylight bombing missions. They were gravely mistaken. One example, Mission number 84, also known as the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission resulted in the loss of 60 bombers out of 376, and the 11-man crew for a total of 552 American airmen lost. The 8th Air Force continued to experience heavy losses until the P-51 Mustang fighter entered service in 1943. The P-51’s long-range capability allowed for fighter escort to and from targets deep into Germany. Bombing missions were still extremely risky even with fighter escorts given the flak from German 88mm cannons over strategic military targets was accurate and deadly. Damaged American bombers trailing behind the main group would still be picked off by German fighters. On average, 6,600 (220 per day) American servicemen died per month during World War 2. The 8th Air force accounted for 47,000 casualties and 26,000 KIA. Total air combat casualties amounted to 121,867. Total military-related deaths for the United States during World War 2 amounted to around 415,000 with another 700,000 wounded. Please take a moment to grateful for our great country and remember the young men who laid down their lives for us all. Welcome to Walter's War History Archive. Please like, share, and consider subscribing to support the channel if you enjoyed this content. #ww2 #worldwar2 #warbird #history #aviationhistory #aviation #avgeek #vintageaviation #aviationheritage #airtoair #air2air