" FORTRESS OF THE SKY " WWII BOEING B-17 FLYING FORTRESS PROMO FILM 1943 XD52584

[@Lockbar]

The best day of my life was 12 years ago at an airshow in Michigan, Eight B-17s and a B-24 lined up with all engines running, waiting to take off and do a circle route around the airfield like at the begining of "12 O'Clock High". I will always treasure that day.

[@henryprice9493]

My great grandfather operated the ball turret in one of these, he did a lot from going to norway to flying over germany to drop bombs on factories.

[@spartacus778]

your great grandpa walks alongside the heroes in Valhalla 🍻

[@BELCAN57]

Your Great Grandfather had guts. Ball turret was a very difficult position.

[@charletonzimmerman4205]

He did all 25? The average survival of "Bottom " Ball turret, was "four" missions, He is a "DOUBLE" HERO".

[@TraitofSiNN727]

what got me when I was a kid and always saluted to him ever since was actor Jimmy Stewart. The man flew B-24 "Liberator" from the 703rd Bomb Squadron, 445th Bomb Group and a rank of colonel at the wars end and became a brigadier general. Awesome. Truely Awesome.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Your hero appears in several films on our channel! He was the real f-ing deal!

[@TraitofSiNN727]

@@PeriscopeFilm f-ing eh Periscope.😺

[@peterparker9286]

​@@TraitofSiNN727Jimmy Stewart in Its A Wonderful Life. New Bed Ford Shire.

[@stargazer5784]

He also flew B-52s during the Vietnam war, as well as being active as a tactical officer in SAC. He also flew the B-58 Hustler, and numerous other aircraft.

[@cowboybob7093]

20:52 This is what makes America great - What my father fought for as a tail gunner in a B-17

[@Jeff-qk1ku]

My father was a tail gunner also. He was shot down on his 11th mission. I miss him

[@flyingfortressrc1794]

I can't believe I've never seen this before. Thank you for posting this.

[@craxd1]

By 1934, the US Gov knew that war was coming, which is why a new bomber was called for. Germany was already building up a war machine, Italy was changing, and Japan had its eyes set upon China. In the book, Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision, by R. Wohlstetter, the US knew that the nation would be attacked by Japan, but they didn't know the target. At the time, they thought the target would be the Philippines. The Ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, had forewarned Washington that an attack was imminent, but the target was not known. This attack was even kept secret from the Japanese Embassy in DC, so Japan's own ambassador didn't know when it would come. He was still trying to negotiate when the orders came to destroy their records.

[@daveweiss5647]

I got to tour one of these with my dad, it was amazing. Boeing used to be the best by far. Shame what has happened to the company, hopefully they can return to their roots and turn it around.

[@philmoregain]

All this made without a use of a Computer is insane 😮

[@smokinhalf]

pray for peace but be prepared for war. Good job boeing.

[@stargazer5784]

'And they bring them home too', says the lady at the bus stop. Thousands were lost by the end of the war. Still, it was a great war machine.

[@ghost307]

Yes, that was a midget at 21:00. They were employed to work inside the tiniest interiors of the wings and fuselage.

[@Goodiej17]

I have a distant cousin who was a pilot on a B-17. Not much is known about him other than, the bomber and crew never make it back.

[@accousticdecay]

At 17:08 you can see the parts that (I think) FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive, grounding B-17 planes.

[@novaseline4u]

I noticed that there was absolutely no mention or visual evidence of the Norden bombsight here. That beastie was very highly classified during the war. I got to fly on B-17 Yankee Lady at an airshow in 2004. I met Memphis Belle pilot Bob Morgan on year at that show.

[@peterswift9474]

Right! My dad was a navagator/bombaradier on a B-17. I still have his analog flight "computer". He won Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 oak leaf cluster, World War II Victory Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 bronze stars. I wound up in USMC aviation intel :)

[@manhoot]

I'm not going unless it's Boeing

[@rayceeya8659]

Love that coffee scene. Definitely faked though. The coffee could have never turned to ice that fast. Still a cute gag none the less.

[@mrs6968]

Video was amazing and had some great laughs like the coffee scene and these ladies use to drive the family car now they drive hitler......crazy

[@robmclaughjr]

Caught that mistake. They show a 1943+ B17 tail prewar. The original tail was a vulnerability

[@dziban303]

Wow even a _woman_ can spot weld! Amazing modern times

[@rayceeya8659]

"They develop an automatic spot welder that (even) a woman can run" LOL The casual sexism of our grandparents.

[@tyvernoverlord5363]

HA! automotive wiring looms, first created at a time when man was at war; for a fortress in the sky.

[@dantethedemon9277]

How about uploading the governments Hemp for Victory ww2 video about cannabis materials

[@behrens97]

Sounds like Admiral Byrd narrating. And they developed an automatic spot welder that a woman can run lol. Times have changed

[@BobSmith-gu3xx]

My Grandfather said they had adapted the 10 little Indians, Most never came back an was pretty much a suicide mission for Little or no Damage. . Americans never did do any good Fighting, The Numbers don't lie..Just America. . Like we see today even, Sad to Use people over an over .. But make a movie your a hero lmao..

[@edwardpate6128]

Wow are your facts out of order!

[@BobSmith-gu3xx]

@@edwardpate6128 The only person scared of America is 3rd world countries that have no defense. .. An you still lost, that's the sad part .. Americans killed more civilians than the pox.

[@lzcontrol]

Drugs are bad.

[@Kneon_Knight]

Do I smell Eurotrash in the comments? Or just a leftist oxygen thief? When you get right down to it, they're pretty much the same.

[@BobSmith-gu3xx]

@@lzcontrol Definitely, That's why The US legalized them ¥