The WW2 B-17 "Flying Fortress"

[@Simplehistory]

This video was made possible thanks to everyone on the Simple History Patreon: www.patreon.com/simplehistory

[@RmasterD]

The ball turret on the B-17 was NOT retractable, like that on the B-24 Liberator. Very important distinction.

[@teonea3090]

Hi

[@newgaming5386]

@@Simplehistory yo I am first can I ask you some thing

[@davidspencer8373]

Like video

[@robbiedean2006]

I love simple history videos and the non biased from an American you tuber is rare and valued....but I would like to donate to simple history but the patron rate is never never never ever converted or explained for those that live outside the us dollar ...I live in the UK is 1 dollar the equivalent of 1 pound sterling or 1 euro for our European cousins please explain as no American you tubers has never explained this or made it clear to those living outside the united states of America please bring this up in your next video

[@jokodihaynes419]

"Bravery is fear holding on a minute longer"-George s Patton

[@Newdivide]

There was one B-17 called the Ye Old Pub. After a bombing run over Bremen, Charlie Brown, the pilot, struggled to maintain formation but the plane was too severely damaged to keep up. Many of the crew were injured & incapacitated by enemy Luftwaffe fighters. Charlie fell unconscious & almost crashed to the ground. He didn't realise he had flown over an enemy airfield & was noticed by a Luftwaffe pilot, Franz Stigler. He had 27 aerial victories on his name before the incident & was ordered by Gustav Rodel, his CO, never to shoot any crew members of the plane parachuting. The crippled plane reminded him of the order. He flew closed the bomber & Charlie noticed Franz. He motioned Charlie to land as the bomber was too crippled but he refused. So instead, he escorted the Ye Olde Pub to prevent flak from shooting it down. When they reached the North Sea, Franz motioned him to head to neutral Sweden instead of a 2-hour flight back to England. Unfortunately, Charlie didn't understand his intention. Assuming the bomber would crash into the sea & out of German airspace, he saluted the pilot & left The bomber made it to England & Charlie told his officers about the encounter & was asked to keep it quiet. Many years later, Charlie finally broke his silence & told at a reunion event about the encounter. He soon searched for the pilot who soared him but after four years of fruitless search came up empty until he made an appeal in a combat pilot newsletter & finally, Franz who heard the story came forward & said he was the pilot he met years ago. Franz left Germany after the war & became a successful businessman in Canada. Coincidentally, they both lived near each other, Charlie in Seattle, Franz in Vancouver Both became friends & died in the same year in 2008, months apart

[@TheRealArtimusKnight]

Absolute heroes

[@jacobwelch3949]

If you watch the yarnhub/Sabaton video “No Bullets Fly” it explains it very well, including video footage of Mr. Brown and Mr. Stigler.

[@Newdivide]

@@jacobwelch3949 that's how I learned about the incident

[@ironboy3245]

​@@jacobwelch3949FROM DOWN BELOW AN ENEMY SPOTTED

[@TheIncinerator06]

One of my favorite books! (A Higher Call by Adam Makos) Edit: Simple History, PLEASE make a video about that story

[@TheIncinerator06]

I once interviewed a man, sadly he's gone now, but he was the top turret gunner/flight engineer on a B-17 over Germany. He always flew in the lead of the formations, and he was actually shot down in 1944, and was kept in a POW camp until the end of the war. His whole crew actually made it out of the plane, which was miraculous

[@cosmicsloth5002]

My great grandfather flew one of those. They called it “The Five Grand” because it was the fifth thousandth one built and had all the factory workers names written on it. To this day I’m amazed he survived the flak storms.

[@F.R.E.D.D2986]

To be honest, it doesn't surprise me be survived, over 90% of bombers I believe survived the war

[@conradbecker2870]

Five thousandth

[@AustinHerrig]

“Death of a Ball Turret Gunner” Randall Jarrell 1945 “From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.”

[@BurtSampson]

I've got an interview with my grandpa on my channel. He was a bombardier/navigator in one. He flew over 30 missions before finally getting shot down over Misburg Germany after a successful bombing mission (i've seen the actual BDA photos taken from a reconnaissance aircraft after the mission, it looked like the surface of hte moon, it was an oil refinery is what the target was. He spent the rest of the war in StalagLuft 1 as a POW, then stayed in and did cool stuff in Korea. Check it out, I love people hearing his story.

[@Starfighter23]

Interesting story!

[@Nowzerz56]

Please put a link in for the video. I can’t find it on your channel

[@KekoaHunter-h5o]

What’s the video and name of the nose art

[@BurtSampson]

@@KekoaHunter-h5o search for a video called "my IRL grandpa" on my channel. His main plane was one called "Blackball" and i think it had an 8 ball as the nose art. he was 351st bomb group and most of their planes had a ball themed name, (they even had a baseball with propellers on it as their group logo). The plane he got shot down in was called Dottie's Taxi though I think, i actually found a photo of it from searching the tail number. He got shot down with a new crew because his old crew had already rotated home, but he was only at 32 or 33 missions or something since he was on light duty for awhile from an ear infection.

[@charlesoconnor4314]

His treatment from the Germans must have been good if he stayed

[@PabloHernandez-gl5ij]

Rest in peace to all the flyboys whose Noble sacrifices won us the war.😢🙏

[@Tam0de]

"When i die, they wash me out of the turret with a hose," God damn, that's as grisly as it gets. Needless to say, no open casket viewing for him. My utmost respect goes out to those brave men.

[@ChrisCrossFilms.]

I always get this one and the B-24 mixed up when you play in it in Call of Duty 2: Big Red One Liberators

[@BurlingamePanther1]

the B17 Flying Fortress's ball turret *DID NOT* retract into the bomber as there wasn't enough space, it could be jettisoned from the plane, the B24 Liberator on the other hand could retract the Ball turret into the plane

[@nighthunter5205]

my immediate thought, ive seen the blue paw print on it

[@BurlingamePanther1]

@@nighthunter5205 ?

[@vladivosdog]

what

[@BurlingamePanther1]

@@vladivosdog is your comment directed towards me or to someone else?

[@aqua9270]

@@BurlingamePanther1it’s another KZbin channel which explained the ball turret of the b17

[@Da_gopher]

Idk what to comment

[@johnbean4615]

Then don’t

[@Cronus716]

​@@johnbean4615damn, you beat me to it lol

[@Magister195]

Same

[@babarazamsucks]

No one cares what you comment

[@babarazamsucks]

@@Magister195No one cares what you comment

[@Eskeletor_210]

Rip to the ball turret gunners when it got jammed

[@blyatcraft]

If you are referring to the ball turret gunners getting stuck in the turret while the plane has to do a belly landing, both due to failed hydraulics, its largely just a myth, im not sure it ever happened even once.

[@davidsaville5239]

Tail gunners were also very vulnerable!!

[@senderoverland]

@@blyatcraftit happened all the time i was there

[@GunnerHeatFire]

Ive seen all the videos in this compilation, so i can confidently say before I’ve watched it this is a great video!

[@darknet180]

My Grandfather was a ball turret gunner on a B-17 and had some incredible stories. He successfully did 25 missions and was rotated home (and had 2 planes he had to bail out of!). I believe he taught gunnery school for the remainder of the war. A truly great man.

[@NavyDood21]

I felt so lucky to see a B-17 taxi right by me while I was stationed at Andrews AFB. It was such a beautiful plane, and it sounds dumb, but it surprised me at how big the thing is. The crew waved at us as they taxied by, you could tell that they loved their job.

[@Sunlunranger]

Just finished Masters of the Air tonight, this has timed nicely.

[@Goc4ever]

This compilation was truly engaging, well done Simple History. It goes to show us that despite everything especially the casualty rate the B-17 is a legend that will never die.

[@Filtratedlion9044]

I absolutely love it when a video of ww2 comes out can't get enough

[@swoosh4644]

Here’s a random thought for B-17 lovers and gamer/simulator. Used to be a great game called B-17 the mighty 8th back in the day. Very accurate and detailed for a flight simulator as they usually are. They are re-releasing it or just have. Can’t remember.

[@MilkTruck1210]

Bro on his way to get 10 team kills with that 12 thousand pound bomb

[@kid4eva94]

I've seen Sally B fly several times at air shows this year, still going strong!

[@sprintbrian]

I also saw it in Duxford Battle of Britian Airshow two weeks ago.😊 It is amazing!

[@rtyrsson]

I remember watching the news of the last B-17 lost 5 years ago in Connecticut. The 7 lives were the greatest loss, but it is also what grounded the remaining flying B-17s. Truly the end of an amazing era.

[@TheRealArtimusKnight]

7:02 and this is exactly why the P51 Mustang was made

[@EnrichoNastyAnubianSoldier]

The ball turrets actually had the best survival rate of all the gunners if I recall correctly.

[@DarylDixon-m9g]

How?

[@EnrichoNastyAnubianSoldier]

@@DarylDixon-m9g well, it’s on the belly, most attacks came from directly behind, to the sides, or front. Or even from above, but it’s harder to climb and maintain speed and control.

[@scriptsstudios]

Most practically.

[@spectreblitz9312]

@@scriptsstudiosnope, ball turret gunners actually had the highest casualty rate.

[@spectreblitz9312]

I fr thought you was joking too… like you’re actually serious? 😂😂. Ball turret gunners had highest casualty rate. And if he got trapped inside his ball turret, and the plane had no landing gear to touchdown with, then he was 100% getting crushed every time. Happened on some occasions.

[@lthbxfrosty]

Grandfather was mainly a ball turret gunner. Flew 33 missions in WW2 and 1 in Korea

[@R3TR0J4N]

Don't worry with animating the ball turret, I feel your pain animating and drawing perspective

[@Rares-ux4yt]

This is better than going to sleep lol

[@ChrisKane-]

Agreed! 😁😉

[@Chase_Crawford]

The ball turret statically was not the mose dangerous position on the plane and it couldn't retract into the plane on the B-17, but it could be dropped as a last resort (obviously without the crew member in it).

[@T_rev-ud7zb]

I was thinking that the entire ball turret section

[@FXHUND-pk3gk]

From down below an enemy spotted So hurry up, rearm and refuel But through the bomber’s damaged airframe See wounded men, scared to their bone Look to the right and then look again And see the enemy in the eye No bullets fly, spared by his mercy Escorted out, out of harm’s way Fly, fighting fair, it’s the code of the air Brothers, heroes, foes Killing machine Honour in the skies B17 Flying home Killing machine Said goodbye to the cross he deserved He risked his life two times that day To save an unknown enemy Escort to safety, out of the killzone A short salute, then departed

[@TalenGryphon]

Back before the B-17s got grounded, sometime in 2011 or 2012, I remember seeing the one from Seattle's Museum of Flight flying around over my job at Smith Cove on a warm spring day. That profile is unmistakable. I just stood in the staff parking lot and watched her circle around. Happier days

[@MrPobski]

The b17 did not have a retractable ball turret, yet the b29 liberator did

[@BurlingamePanther1]

B17: Flying Fortress B24: Liberator B25: Mitchell B26: Marauder B29: Super Fortress

[@MrPobski]

@@BurlingamePanther1 sorry b24

[@BurlingamePanther1]

@@MrPobski it happens

[@saurus3197]

The Liberator was a B-24.

[@andrewmontgomery5621]

My personal favourite American aircraft.

[@CalebAnimations3000]

1:38 Very cool animation with that German bf 109.

[@gregjaro-mk7zs]

THAT FLYING FORTRESS WARPLANE IS A REAL LIFE MILLENNIUM FALCON & IT'S AN ABSOLUTE MONSTER! 🛩️🛩️🛩️

[@corymorimacori1059]

JRR Tolkien: Kings, queens, dragons, dwarves, horses, fortresses, magic and swords! Theodore Roosevelt: Oh shoot, World War too soon? Well Teddy’s dropping bombs so you best go hide in your tube! You should be ashamed of your military honor!

[@SakorskySP]

The B-17 video was my fav video from simple history in the past

[@MiaDobre-b3e3e]

Your videos are a real quintessence of quality and talent. Thank you for your inspiration!🎆🤭🖥

[@winterroadspokenword4681]

Amazing what some of these guys did in ww2 in hard, niche, dangerous roles. I don’t know how they did it. I’m considered brave, calm and confident by many. But getting into a flimsy exposed turret like that to face bullets and anti aircraft fire is something else.

[@akapantsusenpai181]

The ball turret gunner of the B-17 always reminds me of the Season 1, Episode 5 of "Amazing Stories." It's called "The Mission." That story is etched in my mind forever.

[@MarkHazlitt-c5n]

Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation.

[@Azai_1]

impressive work as usual!

[@timsheehan6954]

My great uncle was A Tail gunner on a B29 crew. The man was the emphasis of "Speak Softly and carry a big stick"

[@instantbadass]

Good timing to watch this as im currently reading Masters of the Air.

[@Matt-416]

The B17 did not have a retracting ball turret. That was the B24 Liberator. The B17 could drop its ball turret with some effort, but they could not retract into the fuselage. And, no hydraulics operated the B17 gun turrets, as they were completely electric. Unlike the B24, which relied primarily on hydraulic pumps.

[@jjthesheep]

The Boeing B-17 is one of my Favourite WW2 Bomber Planes, Because it has alot of 50. Cal MGs on it, And if it Loses One or Multiple Engines they can Still Glide Smoothly, Thus they can mostly Return back to Base, Thus earning the name "Flying Fortress"

[@dont2086]

My wife and I had a chance to go through an old B-17 that was at Paducah Kentucky at the time. They were giving rides they also had a fighter plane I think it was a Mustang. But anyway I remember going through that B-17 I'm a big guy more round than anything else I suppose but it just amazes me how those guys made their way through that airplane to their various duty stations. I walk through the Bombay and it was all I could do to get through that thing just barely enough room and those guys at the time was wearing all their gear and flak jackets must've been a real tight fit. Anyway I take my hat off to those gentlemen definitely had the right stuff I don't see how they did it.

[@DillonDaVillain222]

These cross section style videos are my absolute favorite I hope we get more of these whether it's aircraft, tanks, machinery, weaponry, battles, tools, or honestly anything. I like seeing the animation of the workings.

[@justinthompson5969]

Got the B17 waist gunner hoody from you guys last year✊️love it By far my favorite bomber

[@jakoot733]

Great grandfather was a B-17 pilot. Takes some serious guts to fly these damm things for sure

[@joshbiddinger1744]

Statistically speaking the ball turret was the safest place on the bomber. It was extremely armored and the 50 cals were next to the gunner’s head. Also there is no recorded event of a gunner being trapped in the ball and being killed due to a belly landing. 4 or 5 systems would have to fail for him to be completely trapped.

[@SobaYatai]

Since the time i watched the Unbroken and play Zeppelin War it stuck me with fascination since then on the idea of a “Flying Fortress” as things like battleships and submarines didn’t really interested me as much as this because i feel like the idea of walking around in the air on a, like the name suggest, “Flying Fortress” fending off aircraft while on tour to drop off santa presents is pretty cool bc of the challenges the crew has to face I mean you could say the same thing about battleships and submarine but for me this one is just built different

[@georgeh5075]

Miss the old guy

[@AmericanOdyssey91]

The ball turret gunner had the LOWEST casualty rate of any crew position.

[@mirwellduo8986]

Thank you simple history.. awesome 😊

[@bhight100]

My great grandfather 2LT Roberts was a bombardier, one of 3 survivors when his bomber was shot down over the Netherlands

[@TR00P]

I’ve read that the tail gunner was the most dangerous position as enemy fighters preferred to attack from the rear.

[@the1magageneral323]

The b17 is an iconic airplane

[@CT-7027]

My Great Grandfather was suppose to be assigned to one of these flying coffins, scary, but very interesting.

[@AustinDx-p5e]

Nice job

[@stephenhill1716]

I thought that “statistically speaking” the most dangerous gunner position was the tail? I really wanna say I remember learning that many years ago.

[@joewalsh1054]

I had a patient at work who said he was a former B-17 pilot. He told me a couple crazy stories. One after getting off his plane he turned around and he asked where the rest of the crew was and they said he was it. Another time his copilot's head exploded and he had to fly his plane next to a headless man.

[@Predator42ID]

I use to like this channel. Contrary to some out there myth the Ball turret was the safest position in the aircraft. The Germans made it a point to hit the bombers from 12 o'clock which resulted in the waste gunners suffering the highest casualties.

[@sheilah4525]

The B17 was the “Rocky” of the air war. It took its’ hits and it didn’t win “pretty”, but it flew by day, persevered, finally won through.

[@matthewcaughey8898]

Uhh no on the B-17 the ball turret was not retractable. There was a way to jettison it in an emergency but that took 20 minutes if you were just dumping the turret, or 45 if you were trying to salvage the K-7 gunsight. The B-24 could retract its turret but in the B-17 it’s fixed and is operated manually from inside to position it for the gunner to enter. The original ventral gun emplacement was not remote controlled either. It was a canoe shaped fairing and relied on periscopes for aiming. The remote controlled turrets didn’t see action until the B-29 entered service. They frequently became non functional in the tropical environment and had a tendency to slew 90 degrees relative to the position they were in and discharge the entire ammunition loadout. Jams and gun malfunctions were impossible to clear as the gunners had no access to the guns themselves on the B-29s

[@thermalserpent4269]

America: get that one Britain: I CRAVE VIOLENCE

[@charlesbird2897]

Brits probably had more of a grudge against the Germans than the US haha

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@charlesbird2897 I am baffled by position on area bombing being the way to demoralize the populace into forcing a surrender. The British were bombed in their cites in both world wars, and it stiffened their resolve. So the Germans would have responded differently because???

[@charlesbird2897]

@@MonkeyJedi99 I didn’t say they would. I simply said the Brit’s had more of a grudge than the Americans.

[@aqua9270]

Dude the ball turret could use the manual turning handle to turn it and get out in case it gets jammed

[@4shink]

Fact check time....the ball turret was NOT retractable on the B-17...only on the B-24.

[@BurlingamePanther1]

correct, the ball turret could be jettisoned off both bombers in the event that the position was too heavily damaged or weight needed to be taken off the plane

[@daleupthegrove6396]

I toured a B-17 and B-24 at an air show some years back. I thought the B-24 had a bit more elbow room than the 17 which was a lot narrower at least to me.

[@SteveBrownRocks2023]

No WAY I’d ever man a ball turret! 😲 No submarine duty or flamethrower stuff either!

[@christianweibrecht6555]

How about being placed in a submarines ball turret that contains a flamethrower?

[@SteveBrownRocks2023]

@@christianweibrecht6555 well, that actually sounds interesting! 🤔

[@derekhauser6780]

Grandpa buff needs b17 guns to wreak havoc!

[@ChrisHall-vh4fx]

Anyone know how many of these things are still flying? I know theres some but i would imagine by now it isnt very many. Like low double digits probably. Awesome piece of history and probably my favorite planes ever.

[@Nugget123.1]

I wish they made a vr simulation of what it was like in ww2

[@d2kwazza57]

You should look up the story of ‘old 666’ the b17 that was built by maybe the most daring b17 crew in the war

[@dennisstcyr6109]

Hey my name is Dresden! 16:35

[@pyeitme508]

Classic!

[@Kaun1011]

Makes me want to rewatch Memphis Belle

[@georgesakellaropoulos8162]

Statistically, waist gunners were more likely to become casualties than ball turret gunners.

[@mrmeme9105]

Do Lancaster bomber next.

[@noblesicks]

I just love how mid video he just has a southern accent

[@snitchpogi1277]

"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind." - Arthur Harris

[@swgeek4310]

About half way through Masters of the air novel....Good god.

[@ProteinAndSquats3966]

Lived in the pacific north west. There are people who have a couple of b24 and p51 mustangs that would do flybys on good summer days. The sights and sounds of the aircraft is much cooler to hear knowing they are not dropping ordnance somewhere. I’ve never heard or seen a flying b17 but I imagine it would be awesome.

[@theodosios2615]

Whenever you think your job sucks... just think of ball turret gunner.

[@janzdeboer1359]

Bedankt

[@jadenbolton670]

Do the B-24 next

[@Darkel45]

The nightmares of a B-17: 1- FW 190 2- BF 110 with rockets 3- ME 262 4- escort leaving because they saw a random 109

[@cobalt7872]

Good thing these things were basically non existent

[@Darkel45]

In 1943 FW 190s with rockets snaked on 17s, but in 1944 and after, them 190s, 110s, and 262s had no gas

[@ravenheartwraith]

Killing machine, Honour in the skies, B17, Flying home!

[@hello_freinds7248]

Those bloons stood no chance

[@noahnorman6877]

In the words of the Intellvision Voice Module: Mattel Eletronics Presents: *BEEEE SEVENTIN BOMMMMMMER*

[@johnosborne1873]

B-17 MENTIONED 🦅 🦅 🦅

[@zhuangsaur227]

Was the B29 more durable than the B17???

[@charlesjadearbutante]

Yes

[@gabrielho1874]

Question, i know that the Lancaster had a longer bomb bay for some larger bombs while the Fortress stuck to the carpet bombing but why did the RAF wanted to mount larger bombs for their strategic bombers and why the USAF didn't considered the idea?

[@Da_gopher]

Hi guys

[@Bot2985-n6g]

I had a question,what is the b17 secret recipe to make him resilient to enemy fire?

[@maice_kanin722]

When the fighter planss reach their limit: Luwaffe fighters Lookinghe b-17: ITS A FREE REAL ESTATE

[@TheRealArtimusKnight]

So the bombing methods have pros and cons Night: safer but harder to hit your target Day: more dangerous but easier to see and hit your target

[@gabbyaghoulfemboy]

there is no ideal situations just trade offs

[@Hotarg]

America had the industry base to replace the huge losses from daylight bombing. England did not.

[@aliashfaque1746]

Thank you cod 2 for letting us experience this in a game

[@ScottsimonThompson]

My Gdad was a gunner in WW2,SAME PLANE...... WOW❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@xXMinion96Xx]

Good morning gentlemen: Todays Target. Is Breman . Fleuzeugbaur 190 factories. Heavy flak over the IP and fighter cover . There will be 200 forts with you today. Gentlemen.