One of the most iconic and important bomber of WW2, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Given its name due to the amount of guns onboard "looks like a Flying Fortress", was designated at the B-17. When the "Mighty Eighth" set sail on board the Queen Mary, and those on transatlantic flights reaching Prestwick, their first operational stations with their B-17s were RAF Grafton Underwood and RAF Polbrook.
Grafton Underwood would serve as a satellite station to Polbrook with the 97th Bomb Group. It was at Polbrook that was to be the where the first ever USAAF bombing raid started. The mighty eighth trained specifically for daylight bombing raids. This wasn’t what the RAF wanted but the mighty eighth refused to change its strategy now after all they had trained for. They carried out so much training with their bombing accuracy that they were proud to say they could drop a bomb in a pickle barrel.
The first ever bombing raids saw zero aircraft loses. The Luftwaffe were aware of large formations of heavily armed B-17s and attacking a formation from the rear or side would be like multiplying the machine guns by the amount in formation and risking 160 machine guns facing them. Imagine that these were water jets and trying not to get wet…impossible. The Luftwaffe changed strategy which only gave them one second window. They would attack at a 12 o’clock high and dive down and go head on to attack as this was the less defended section of the B-17s. However, you only need to add physics to their combined impact speed at 500 mph. So, each second, they would travel towards the B-17s would bring them 220metres closer. JG54 and JG26 adjusted their guns to 400m. Dangers would be the blast and collision, but this method was the most successful to break the formations and hit the most vulnerable part of the B-17.
The next encounters were the 88mm Flak batteries. Bombers would fall victim to the the 88mm flak and started to weave and zig zag towards their targets. This caused unsuccessful hits to targets. CO Colnol Curtis E LeMay of the 305th BG changed strategy. He decided that flying in a zig zag and weaving over the targets was not only making the targets harder to hit but you were staying under Flak for longer, staying in their range. So LeMay changed to straight line strategy; more accurate and less time under the flaks sight BUT also made sure the sun was behind them when on the bomb run so that flak gunners were looking more in the sun.
'Sally B' is the only airworthy B-17 Flying Fortress in Europe and her home is the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Although permanently based at the IWM, she is not part of the museum's collection but privately owned. Sally B is maintained by Chief Engineer Peter Brown and his team of volunteers and flown by volunteer experienced professional pilots. She is a flying memorial to the 79,000 airman who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Sally B is not only a flying memorial taking part in flypasts and displays, but she has played in major parts in movies such as Memphis Belle, Black Book, Noah's and varies TV shows such as It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
Built as a Boeing B-17G-105-VE c/n 8693, the future Sally B was one of the last to be constructed by the Lockheed-Vega plant at Burbank, California. Accepted by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) as 44-85784 on June 19, 1945, it was too late to see war service and was flown to Nashville for modifications. Converted for training purposes and re-designated TB-17G, it was based at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson AFB), Ohio from November that year.
Businessman and pilot, Ted White brought F-BGSR to Britain via Biggin Hill to the Imperial War Museum Duxford, as N17TE, in March 1975, to begin a new life as Sally B, named after Ted’s long-time companion Elly Sallingboe. Sally B made her debut at the 1975 Biggin Hill Air Fair, flying as the USAAF World War Two Memorial Flight. The struggle to operate Sally B successfully in this important role had begun.
MARKINGS
Yellow and Black Chequered Engine 3 - In honour of Ted White
DF - 324 Bomb Squadron / 91st Bomb Group
Serial number 41-24485 "Memphis Belle"
SALLY B
https://www.sallyb.org.uk
Powerplant: Four Wright R-18200-97 Cyclone radial engines, each producing 1,200 hp at 15,000 ft.
Performance: Max speed 287 mph at 25,000 ft.
Cruising speed: 150 mph at 5,000 ft.
Climb: 20,000 ft in 37 minutes.
Service ceiling: 35,600 ft.
Range: 2,000 miles with 6,000 lbs of bombs.
Weights: Empty - 36,135 lb. Gross - 65,500 lb.
Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in.
Length: 74 ft 4 in.
Height: 19 ft 2 in.
50 Jahre Sally B
