Old 666

[@Yarnhub]

The first 1000 people to use the link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/yarnhub05211

[@hoangho6781]

Yarnhub maybe do an animation about a naval battle next time

[@kayagorzan]

Mhm

[@Soundwave142]

I saw this on Dogfights as well.

[@drewdaidiot2678]

somone Disliked! >:(

[@drewdaidiot2678]

Hmm Yarnhub I have an idea of an animation but you can decline but my idea is to make a Animation about the yamato's last stand

[@firestar1771]

That Han Solo reference with the Star Wars theme hint just after... I'm happy

[@thomasbentley4757]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas learned about the 666 and it crew and inspired him to create Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon. I'm betting that line was actually said back then.

[@koencagurangan3256]

Timestamp?

[@hazfish4]

@@koencagurangan3256 Around 1:35

[@AldoDeNigris9]

I thought I was the only one that caught that Star Wars music in the background 😅

[@EggnogTheNog]

It’s not the first time, either; see the four minute mark in this video for a couple more examples; kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4G2d3iMa6etm6M

[@lawrencema667]

Fun fact: Zeamer only used “Old 666” because he and his crew were shortlisted for aircraft due to disciplinary problems. He was even warned about Old 666. No one dared fly the aircraft because it had a reputation of coming back from every mission badly damaged.

[@petis1976]

"No one would fly it because every time it went up it got shot to hell." - Jay Zeamer

[@lawrencema667]

@@petis1976 There's the quote

[@nbdb23]

With that tail number, the bomber was cursed

[@Chillin4030]

i reputation of coming back damaged is better than no reputation because you got shot down.

[@TVTProductions]

Sounds like Tinker Toy

[@dimmich7438]

Zeros: Severely damage the B-17 and mortally wound Sarnoski, Zeamer and their crewmen. Zeamer to his crew: There is a beast deep inside you... it will not die... it will fight back!

[@mpcrauzer]

When your B-17 survive and shoot down 3 dornie do 335 attacks

[@Ren-tq1hs]

I smell war thunder reference

[@soto1649]

Imagine air RB ai gunner have accuracy like navy aa gunner

[@suleyman9199]

War Thunder

[@richie_23]

30 minutes later: "YoU gOt A hOlE iN yOuR lEfT wInG!"

[@whothoughthandleswereagoodidea]

B-17 in history: B-17 in War Thunder: Already shot down before the mission started

[@excalibur1251]

I Watched a Group of em make it through Bombing and Returning home and then getting Shot down on their second attempt. although by that time they had like three people to help them

[@Fr1thar]

It’s annoying af too

[@voyager2230]

Well , thx to 30mm mk 103 and the minnengeschoß shell

[@bucket1202]

GODDAMN AAA TURRETS

[@markian6854]

A stray bullet from a turret hits wing Wing: aight imma hed out

[@2Links]

I am always amazed at how strong the B-17s where. They survived such a massive beating and stayed in the air.

[@TheAttacker732]

It wasn't called The Flying Fortress for nothing.

[@theunknownwarrior632]

Wish gaijin could figure that out with the b17 on war thunder

[@arandomfallschirmjagerdude9141]

@@theunknownwarrior632 A gust of wind B-17: Tail cut loose

[@Iamwtfboi]

Yeah, you got this, the Olde Pub, the piggyback ones and many others probably. Thats a lot of special B17 stories.

[@Think_Inc]

If only Boeing was still that good.

[@HingerlAlois]

From my understanding one died (Sarnoski) and 5 got injured. And the mission to photograph the air base at Buka was proposed prior to the sortie, but Zeamer had refused it considering it too dangerous, only when they arrived for their other mission too early they decided to fly to Buka anyway.

[@zeamerseagerbeavers-old]

You're correct. Wounded included Sarnoski (mortally), Johnston, Zeamer, Able, and Vaughan. (Kendrick said later he was, but I've found no record of a Purple Heart for him.) Zeamer got a call about Buka around 10 the night before, refused it, and then was stopped by a jeep literally as they were taxiing to take-off. He refused it then as well. He only agreed to do the Buka recon when they arrived half an hour too early at Bougainville to begin the mapping. He put it to the crew and they voted to do it. Fateful decision.

[@PsychopathicV2]

Thank you. I remember hearing that only Sarnoski had been killed. Trying to figure out had I remembered wrong or did Yarnhub get the story wrong.

[@ess6223]

Yup I just read the book! "lucky 666"

[@Ron-d2s]

@@ess6223 Check out TFE "The Eager Beavers"

[@hmmmintresting3770]

Ahh yes the flying pill box

[@Soundwave142]

Pill box? This plane lived up to it’s name here!

[@guy2026]

It's a damn airbase

[@verticalflyingb737]

@@guy2026 It's a fucking battleship strike group

[@eldermaxon697]

Is your profile pic the spy from tf2?

[@hmmmintresting3770]

@@eldermaxon697 yes

[@PaulBarich1918]

This is a reason I love yarn hub. First: they get straight into what happend and does not talk about merch or a sponsor for 4 minutes second: the animation is great and shows you a better telling of the story instead of 2d. Last: they post weekly

[@ww2expert283]

It's rather unfortunate that the pilot was tormented over the death of a crewman(whom was a bombardier by training) who was a good friend of his. If I recalled correctly, he said:"I got him a medal and I got him killed"

[@airplanemaniacgaming7877]

he truly cared for his men. they trusted him with their lives, so the fact that one of them died while he was controlling The Devil's Warhawk (that's what I'm calling that beauty from now on. you cannot change my mind.) would reasonably cause guilt for the poor guy.

[@gachapinCUEVA]

@@airplanemaniacgaming7877 A fine name for Old 666

[@airplanemaniacgaming7877]

@@gachapinCUEVA I'm glad my name for Ol' 666 is one that folks like to see!

[@roadtrain_]

@@airplanemaniacgaming7877 That's a very fitting name for this true demon in the air.

[@Sgt-lott10]

@@airplanemaniacgaming7877 officially her name was Lucy, the name was painted on the nose some time after this event

[@adepic7927]

"They're coming from all directions," "GREAT! NOW WE CAN FIRE IN ALL DIRECTIONS"

[@archtower8564]

Now this is what i call "Quality Content" Unlike whatever History Channel pumps out nowadays

[@pigeonovic9792]

The dogfight one is good but they only put some of them

[@adipocere3340]

The History Channel is perfect, pawn stars is making history by scamming people out of whatever they have

[@jaeger7693]

I know you from Hyperspace

[@alswann2702]

C'mon man! 'Lil green natzis from Mars and idiots arguing at work is as American as systemic racism and white privilege. Our unelected President Bidet falls asleep to History Channel every night in his Lazy Boy before he can even finish his warm milk and pray for more infanticide and gun confiscation.

[@kickofftheboot]

History Channel got cheap with all their reality shows.

[@derweltenbauer269]

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts" followed by the subtle-but-not-so-subtle Force theme in the background deserves a medal.

[@-will-1389]

It was perfect timing for this video, my city wasn't having any covid cases for a while, and all of a sudden yesterday it got 30+ cases and counting. I was feeling pretty low because we have to go back into lockdown now but this video cheered me up.

[@lappin6482]

👍

[@williamwalker9315]

What city?

[@Andrei8pa3]

Somewhere in Australia ?

[@salicazsali]

Well if they'll lock you down for 30 cases then it will never end for you.

[@juststeve5542]

It's the way it goes. If a city has a load of cases, it'll be really low a few months later as there are lots of people with antibodies who act as a firewall. If a city hasn't had any cases for ages, it'll spread quickly if it's brought in.

[@hammer1349]

The three stories in the Long Odds episode of Dogfights are perfect for these kind of animations. Old 666 was one of them. The other two are a SBD Dauntless dive bomber vs 2 Zeros in a dogfight and an F105 thunderchief strike aircraft protecting a downed pilot against Mig21s in Vietnam I believe.

[@Chilipopcorn]

When you put all your stats in DEF and ATK

[@theillegalseagull6838]

And intelligence (because the pilot was a good one as stated in the video) INT

[@minato5851]

Not HP tho

[@empireofitalypsstimfromano5025]

*And Completely Forget Speed And Agility*

[@impassivehaze]

G-g-g-g-Give me a corpse

[@thomasb1889]

@@minato5851 The old Fortress really didn't need more HP

[@rarinrecruit3150]

I love this story when I found it on History Channel in Dog Fights. The story of a supposedly cursed bomber plane, that would always get “shot to hell”, literally and metaphorically, which led to it being abandoned and left at the yard to be scrapped. I liked to think there was a sort of “spirit” or “demon” that was attached to this bomber, not only cursing it’s pilots but those who dared fight it, leading to the near-impossible victory for it’s final mission. Maybe even how Sarnoscy gained enough strength to shoot down one last Zero, possessed by the demon briefly to fight for those he cares about. It truest was an awe-inspiring story to me, so much so I even got the book “Lucky 666”. And I’ll always treasure it. Thank you for finally covering this gem of an awesome war-story

[@jackofsometrades7476]

I loved that episode, really hope they make a video about Swede Vejtasa facing off against 4 zeroes in an SBD, remarkable story

[@ess6223]

Amazing book! I just finished reading it!

[@joshuariddensdale2126]

Yup. Co-pilot JT Britton was still alive at that time, and there was an audio recording of Zeamer's account. As they both recalled, Old 666 was slated to be scrapped, and they were basically blacklisted for a new plane due to a reputation for lack of discipline. But on that day, they managed to survive an onslaught from nearly 20 enemy planes. Despite being mortally wounded, Sarnosky stayed at his post to the end.

[@wackings7776]

Japanese: "this will be a piece of fish cake!" Zeamer and his crew: leonardo decaprio face

[@sweetsugar_forcake]

We should drink wine

[@anormalperson1188]

@@sweetsugar_forcake no im an taxi driver so *nein*

[@concretecoal2872]

Zemer and his crew: Buenos dias fuckboy

[@VladimirGluten82]

(-•••-)

[@paul_ujb]

Can't imagine how tough it must have been to fend off all those Zeroes alone. Thanks for sharing this story. I really like the weathering on both the B-17 and the A6Ms and the wide shots of the Zeroes attacking Old 666 really drive home how chaotic it must have felt. Great work once again!

[@abhinath1260]

I remember this from Dogfights as well! Definitely one of my favorite episodes from Dogfights.

[@Soundwave142]

Me too!

[@kylestevenu.nepomuceno5101]

so do i

[@terencepaul7475]

oooh Dogfights! its either this story or the Battle of Leyte Gulf are my favorite episodes!

[@clawyraptor9029]

except in Dogfights, old 666 was also attacked by a ki46 dinah which isn't mentioned in this video

[@AnimatedAirlines]

@@clawyraptor9029 that were my thoughts exactly. Maybe the runtime wouldn't allow for it to fit in, which is understandable

[@jastinisip]

Nobody: B17 flying fortress stories exists* Yarnhub: Its free real estate

[@zoopdterdoobdter5743]

Everybody: Please, stop making this generic-AF comment.

[@Iamwtfboi]

666, Ye olde Pub, Piggyback, what next?

[@crusaderjacob7084]

the animators must have so much caffeine in their blood to make this nice stuff so fast

[@trainboi014]

ALL OF THE COFFEE

[@lorizoli]

Quick give me a mug! My caffeine stream is being diluted with blood!

[@plagu3tank836]

Fun fact: The Old 666, before it was used by Lt. Col. Jay Zeamer and his crew, saw service as a reconnaissance plane in the 19th Bombardment Group were it became famous for it's bad luck. It got damaged all the time and was involved in some accidents too. It got retired after it was transfered to the 65th Bombardement Group and was about to get turned into scraps, when Zeamer took over the plane and turn it into a legend. Great video Yarnhub! It is always a joy to watch a new one and it just gets better and better :) Keep it up!

[@azrenalmanza9748]

I watch these videos when I'm supposed to be doing school and I convince parents that it's for history class

[@Surfliner450]

I mean like...this is

[@danthedude4227]

yea

[@nmomenl]

I used this as a source for studying in library class

[@bucket1202]

im currently reading this while my teacher shouts “ARE YOU THERE?!”

[@woodstock0779]

I mean,It does fit the Context

[@RetroAvi8or]

B-17s that fought in the Pacific aren't as well-known as their sisters in Europe. Hopefully events like the story of Old 666 will give them the recognition they deserve.

[@ZeamersEagerBeavers]

The entire air war, especially the bomber war, in the SW Pacific, is criminally unknown. It was literally the polar opposite of the air war in Europe, and what they accomplished despite being at the end of a 6000-mile supply chain and second priority to Europe was as incredible in its own way as what the bombers over Europe accomplished.

[@ryancampbell4119]

If I remember correctly only 5 zeros were left because the others were either shot down or too badly damaged and had to go back. Plus I thought they repaired old 666 due to her being the heaviest armed bomber that was best suited for doing these dangerous missions. Also this crew would be the most decorated bomber crew in ww2 and become the most decorated crew from one mission as well

[@ZeamersEagerBeavers]

You're correct about the Zeros. The lead pilot's plane was damaged early in the engagement and he returned home with an escort. Another eventually went into the water. That left five to harass them in the repeated frontal attacks at 10K feet. As for 666, there was no need for repairs because it was perfectly airworthy when Zeamer requisitioned it. It was returned to the 65th BS at 7-Mile by 8 Photo Recon after they took it on a mapping mission on May 14, and four days later Zeamer took it up on a test hop to assess it. They commenced upgrading it in their spare time after that, which wasn't much until after June 2 because they were kept busy flying combat missions.

[@pvt.jamesramirez6810]

Satan :*See the thumbnail* Also satan : Bro, i just want you to know, i'm a big fan

[@nigelng402]

Lo

[@nigelng402]

L

[@justavideo6324]

@@nigelng402 lo

[@TigerWithAnChristmasHat1224]

@@justavideo6324 -fight

[@Tact1cal450]

Lol

[@aarongerard7277]

That B-17 must've been super heavy on account of the titanium balls the crew had.

[@SilverWolfxYT]

you mean tungsten

[@akramgimmini8165]

,,Old 666 was an Demon on the Air" I see what you did there

[@akramgimmini8165]

@Todd Starbuck to show it's an Quote

[@bravomike4734]

@Todd Starbuck Some people takes artistic liberties with the commas.

[@pls-no-punterino7095]

@Todd Starbuck Quotes in other languages are ,,like this." English isn't this person's first language, most likely.

[@langbo9999]

Number Of The beast.

[@akramgimmini8165]

@@pls-no-punterino7095 yes in Germany we use ,, "

[@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts]

Yarnhub knocks it out of the park again. Old 666 is a well-known WW2 tale but Yarnhub consistently breathes fresh life into these stories with wonderful storytelling and animation. Thanks guys, for doing Old 666 justice 👍

[@asukahasegawa]

I love the Star Wars parallels in the music! As someone who's composed orchestral music myself, I have to admit I'm guilty of it as well. Your content just keeps getting better by the week. Amazing video as always, keep up the great work!

[@raydyfetch3]

There's inception in it too I think

[@nolandevine8722]

0:57 holy crap that looks amazing, keep up the great work! your uploads are always appreciated

[@danb2234]

Phenomenal story, but wouldn’t have known about it without you. Really goes to show how important these channels are

[@pelicanair2048]

The Han Solo reference with the Star Wars music is fantastic.

[@vince9758]

Having school, isn’t an exception to not watch this.

[@odd-ysseusdoesstuff6347]

Very true!

[@ELIGG15]

Ikr I'm just gonna watch it in school

[@hifzuliman1434]

Me laughing at UTC +8

[@bukitcengkeh1]

True

[@thekringe4387]

Welp today’s my last day today so screw school and if they ask I’m showing them this comment.

[@rhr-p7w]

The mask hoses look AWESOME! something I love about your videos is how they get better, and better, and better, and better. Slowly and steadily. Smoke, lighting, sound, storytelling, EVERYTHING gets better!

[@KazooieX1]

Love the way you explain and teach history. We need you in every classroom.

[@jacobkleeman8546]

Imagine taking 24 of some of the best fighters in the world and still losing to a single bomber. That plane is fucking badass.

[@NubDiePie]

Thats why they call that plane "Flying Fortress"

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

This crew deserves a series of videos. This was only the last mission they flew as a crew, but their whole story needs to be told.

[@ZeamersEagerBeavers]

Stay tuned...

[@elitely6748]

This is beautiful as always. You guys could make a series or feature length film on a war, like Netflix's "Liberator" but even better and in 3d

[@Xx_Chuckles_TV_xX]

I reasearched old 666 and there was NOT a second waist gunner, it was only one guy, "These are my guns." Also the front gun was the Shnoze gun which was two brownings.

[@thomasb1889]

From what I have found about this plane the story after they got it and before this mission was just as wild. Night bombing of a Japanese base and when the search lights lit up the formation they broke formation and went into ground attack mode to shoot out the spotlights for one example. That must have been a rude awakening for the Japanese gunners seeing this huge plane charging down spitting tracers everywhere. While the first movie was years later Godzilla would have been a perfect logo for the plane.

[@gaming4life392]

WW2's most second (INFAMOUS) and (FORGOTTEN) story about a B-17 that defined the odds of survival during the Pacific Theatre. YarnHub, I hate to inform you that (Dark Docs or Dark Skies which is the same person) already made a video of the (CURSED B-17). But it's amazing that your animating historical events (3D) while (Simple History is 2D anime) which both of you are great.

[@GuniMoo]

Can we all just appreciate that the YarnHub team's making us know a lot of stuff from war that we didn't even knew yet? Like most of us probably haven't heard the old 666

[@gerupyon]

B-17: _Takes a lot of punishment by machine gun and cannon fire_ B-17 crewmen: *'Tis but a scratch!*

[@TheNerdForAllSeasons]

You thought that Star Wars theme would sneak by me, Yarnhub? I don't think so Tim.

[@PotatoLover66]

The animations never cease to amaze me. They keep getting better.

[@kenmeri5832]

Yarnhub: "they flew over the pacific" also yarnhub: 2:19 shows map of the netherlands

[@DAFPvnk]

It was a very long flight :P

[@earthenjadis8199]

It's actually the Dutch East East East Indies.

[@ryangamer8434]

dutch east indies

[@matthijshoogstad8291]

@@earthenjadis8199 the map shows the Netherlands, not the dutch east indies

[@ryanwa2001]

@@matthijshoogstad8291 Exactly

[@WhydoIsuddenlyhaveahandle]

I wish this aircraft was preserved for posterity. An aircraft modified by the crew itself and the most decorated crew ever. Just like I will never forgive the Navy for not preserving the Big E for a museum

[@markmulder9845]

The crew probably used skillshare to gain the knowledge of kickassery

[@skitelzgaming1752]

Imagine being one of the A6M zero thinking its an free kill but it destroyed your entire team

[@dipayandey264]

It's so heartwarming everytime whenever Yarnhub notification drops in. It's amazing to see how this Channel is growing not only with fanbase but also with the quality of content..❤️

[@levicagampang7139]

Even though this channels one of the most underrated channel ever most of its subscribers are the most loyal thats why i love this community

[@Yarnhub]

Thanks. We really appreciate the love.

[@youeckert]

Like 8 months ago I left a comment on a couple of your videos suggesting you guys do a video on Old 666 most likely you didn’t read my comment and if you did it wasn’t the reason you made this video but if it was that is absolutely awesome. Gods speed.

[@FillipOnDeez]

I am super excited about this one. My grandad was a bomber gunner. A POW are being shot down. Thanks for sharing your hard work! Amazing as always!!!!

[@flytopusa]

B-17 in history: B-17 in War Thunder: Already shot down before the mission started

[@Dan86130]

Watched a "shooting range" episode about old 666 just yesterday, i got blessed from yarnhub

[@Jakob_Herzog]

That plane should have been put in a museum, not a god damn scrap yard!

[@horizon9108]

Dude... this is 10 million subscriber quality animations. You deserve more and more! I am amazed.

[@Dumbrarere]

A damn shame about Old 666's fate. It should have been donated to a museum, where it would have been preserved in its upgraded state.

[@drmasrooraliqureshiph.d.6346]

The pilots in the animations look exactly like they do in real life

[@NoName-fj5nm]

There is more to this story. The reason why they took the old bomber old 666 was because they were always causing mischief and getting into trouble so they were dead last in the line to get a new bomber. So they took old 666 instead to fly sooner. Also the reason they did that mapping mission I believe is because the captain knew how important mapping is to the marines and army. Also I believe the total number of enemy fighters was at 17.

[@NoName-fj5nm]

@@zeamerseagerbeavers-old I guess the story has been exaggerated over the years then or the men felt like they were fighting 17 planes. Still it’s shows how much they wanted to fly that they grabbed an old bomber and restored it. Even their courage is shown when they selected a mission more than knowing they be going alone an probably getting attacked by the enemy. Just goes to show the commitment and bravery and even the leadership skills of the captain.

[@NoName-fj5nm]

@@zeamerseagerbeavers-old they were a hell of a crew no doubt about that.

[@jeffwalther3935]

The story of B-17 12666 Captain Zeamer and this Fort's great crew IS the #1 greatest military war story I've ever heard! That mission was the most highly decorated mission in aviation history FOR GOOD REASON - one unescorted or accompanied B-17 vs 17 Zeroes for over an hour, completes its vital recon mission and lands successfully after downing 3 or 4 Zeroes and exhausting the fuel and ammunition of the attacking fighters, fuel supply becoming a vital determinant of outcomes in battle, unique to air war over long stretches of transoceanic battlefields. Double CMOH's and AAF DSM's to the entire crew is historically peerless for such a singular, self-initiated volunteer mission. But, it was Captain Zeamer's airmanship and defensive tactics, sustained over and over, for almost an hour, all the while at high and low altitudes, while sustaining colossal damage, was as much responsible for the outcome as were the 6 additional 50 cal. machine guns and unlimited ammunition for all, surprising the fighter interceptor squadron commanders time after time. Here's how and why: standard attacks at bombers were head-on because hits were most likely to hit the pilots or engines and destroy the aircraft most efficiently and safely. But each time wave after wave of attackers came in, Zeamer would bank sharply out of the direct line of fire reducing the opportunities for each attacker to fire to a fraction of what it it would have been had he flown straight ahead without the steadfast and brutal evasive maneuvers throughout the engagement. He flew like no other bomber pilot before or since, like a champ, never giving up, until presumed dead after landing! Wow!

[@milferdjones2573]

I have found the greater number of zero's shot down was damaged zero's and wingmen who returned to base in large part for example commander of Japanese force got hit and returned to base. I have found a lot of article claiming false kill credits are mostly wrong when you consider damaged enemy aircraft on same day. They hit enemy craft it dives out of battle they can't tell if it actually went all the way to the ground or not up there. In this case there being no separate bomber to confuse hit counts the 666 crew was just counting how many came at them minus those left at the end and found most of their thought they hit it count was close so they counted them all as shot down.

[@flack2998]

The day the Yarnhub cat disappears is the day humanity ends

[@oceanboilmao]

3:02 every person that was used to seeing the internals of a plane get scrambled due to air pressure when any door was open: *those bastards lied to me* .

[@Iseefoodonwall]

The animations get better every vid it’s crazy

[@vickychase565]

" 666 was a demon in the sky" Of course it was its named 666

[@iancopeland6908]

Zeros: the guns are useless Crew: you forgot one thing 666 is unlucky

[@heanvisalseyhak9487]

Yes yarn hub you upload again just want to let you know that I love your animation and I’m early for this I wait for 2 mins long and learn another Great history and story stay safe We love you ❤️btw the cats part is so cute 🥰 I laugh so much when the cat came up and hold the sign

[@rmcarlan2557]

2:48 their just circling us MENACINGLY

[@steventimotiustejo4182]

Well im gonna watch it while rejecting whole humanity.

[@nitsu2947]

I REJECT MY HUMANITY JOJO

[@steventimotiustejo4182]

@@nitsu2947 And return to Monke Titan

[@31oannamphong66]

umh yes, culture

[@Ribbon_Fighter]

total concentration breathing flame breathing 5th form flaming tiger or tiger

[@kaijudirector5336]

She might have faced half the amount of Zeros as claimed, but that doesn't change the fact they accomplished the map mission. I remember in the 666 book that the maps made all the difference when American boots hit the beach.

[@luuk5120]

'they had to fly over the well defended buka island' *shows map of the Netherlands*

[@YoBeenSniped]

So glad you did a video on Old 666. It's one of my favorite stories!

[@ncrtrooper7246]

"Plane literally too angry to die"

[@magnanimus9692]

Zero pilots: "We cannot defeat the beast, we can only hope to contain it."

[@buckduane1991]

The waist guns were upgraded to twin .50 cals along with the bombardier and navigator’s guns in the nose. Jay had a .50 added in the nose over the navigator’s star blister fixed between himself and his copilot and the last was converting the emergency gun located behind the top turret which rotated out if needed to a twin from a single. A B-17E had 13 machine guns. 666 had a total of 19. Their lack of discipline has put the crew at the bottom of the list for a new plane, until one day a war reporter said “I know where there is a plane, but no one will fly it because every time it goes out it gets shot to hell!” That bomber, tail number 12666, was their new plane. They armed as they planned to fly the missions no one else would. As they approached Bouka, seeing the Zeroes take off, Jay thought “To Hell with this!” and nearly turned away knowing he could escape... but then he thought “But I was once in infantry, and I knew they were going in on November 1st, so I did what I knew was right.” John Wayne always said “courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s being full of fear but saddling up anyway.” He was speaking of Zimmer and 666. To fight the Zeros after dropping to 10,000 feet, Jay would stand 666 on its wing tips and fly head-on at the Zeros, giving them a narrow profile and only a split second to shoot. Sarnoski, despite his stomach being ripped open and nearly cut in two by plexiglass from the initial 20mm cannon hit grabbed his converted twin .50 and shot down a Dina recon plane making a head on pass, a pass that if he had not silently crawled back to his gun as the bombardier asked him if he was okay and taken action would’ve assuredly taken out the cockpit. Less than 90 seconds later, Joseph Sarnoski was dead, collapsing over his gun, and was the end of his and Jay’s close friendship that had begun at the start of the war clear back in the states. Only after the siege of the Flying Fortress ended did Jay relinquish control of 666 to his copilot who landed the plane. “I’ve made a lot of landings since, but never one like that. I just slicked her right in,” he said. Jay was hit in the legs and his wrists were shattered by visible shrapnel, blood covering the dials and his over nose slung machine gun taken out... but on raw adrenaline he flew that plane for 45 minutes. When someone said Jay was dead once in the ground, he would later say “I tried to say ‘You are full of shit, you idiot!!!’ but I was too weak to lift my head and my speak.” With two medals of honor, one posthumously, and seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, it was the most highly decorated mission of the entire war by any Allied bomber crew.

[@zeamerseagerbeavers-old]

According to Zeamer's flight log and the 65th BS morning report for the mission, there were 16 mounted .50s; the 19 Zeamer refers to in his Jan 1945 American magazine article includes those stashed on the catwalk as replacements for any that became inoperable. Also, per Zeamer himself, his .50 was modeled after his friend Ken McCullar's on Black Jack (and others like Madame X): mounted to (probably below) the bombardier's deck to the right of the bombardier's chair. Zeamer's evasive technique did involve turning into oncoming fighters, but it involved turning inside the firing line of their fixed guns. It was a technique he learned from his time with the 22nd BG, which developed it in mid- '42.

[@milferdjones2573]

@@zeamerseagerbeavers-old Pilot's gun was used on one mission to take out search lights and gave piot a weapon that allowed him to even fighter like shoot at enemy although it be head on or when he got lucky with fighter not realizing a B-17 can turn and maneuver some and actually try to stay on your tail.

[@ZeamersEagerBeavers]

@@milferdjones2573 You're correct that Zeamer had a fixed .50 in the nose of 666 that he could use against fighters approaching from the front. But they didn't fly 666 in combat, only for mapping. Almost all of their combat flying in the 65th was in B-17F "The Old Man," which didn't have a fixed .50 for the pilot. He did report shooting down a Zero himself with his nose gun in 666 returning from a mapping/recon mission I believe to the Admiralty Islands, but I haven't seen any official orders for a kill credit confirming that.

[@scottmckee4328]

Hell of a crew and plane to take that much of a fight and still make it back. Its memorial day weekend let's take the time to remember and thank those who have fought this country.

[@randomaccount3181]

Ah nothing better than a yarnhub video

[@randomaccount3181]

He pinned my comment and then it disappeared

[@jasdavsim]

I’ve been waiting for old 666 and you did not disappoint me 👍🏻

[@miteb.decarburetor2656]

Do you guys think you can do the story of Eddie Rickenbacker and his trip to the pacific where his B17 transport crash landed in the Pacific? I think it's an interesting topic and more people should learn about it.

[@zeamerseagerbeavers-old]

Rickenbacker was a beast. Survived the air war in WWI, an Eastern Airline Crash that fractured and broke bones throughout his body, paralyzed a hand, and popped his eye out of his socket-and then survived being lost at sea in the Pacific for 24 days in October '4. The man deserves a miniseries all his own.

[@miteb.decarburetor2656]

@@zeamerseagerbeavers-old I agree

[@markbowerii7632]

The depiction of 2 waist gunners is incorrect. Jay asked the waist gunner if he wanted someone to work the other side of the craft and the waist gunner replied "these are my guns and I'm gonna shoot all of them, I don't need to be bumping asses with another guy while I do it." Also, and I may be wrong, but didn't Old 666 have dual 50s on each side for waist guns?

[@bulldogcowwy3959]

5:27 you’re telling me none of the Japanese pilots aimed for the engines? now that’s luck.

[@zeamerseagerbeavers-old]

It was fairly standard practice for Japanese fighters, when they had the opportunity, to attack bombers from the front to knock out the pilots. They knew that B-17s especially were able to continue flying on even two engines (as long as they were on opposite sides of course).

[@mouse6170]

There was an episode of Dogfights that covered this event too and I think it is worth a watch titled "Long Odds" where it talks about bombers going up against fighters. During the episode they talk about Old 666 and a few other stories that are definitely worth watching the whole episode.

[@carycoller3140]

These stories always bring me to tears. Amazing.

[@ayodejiogundiran5153]

Yarnhub, a slight correction. Only Sarnoski died that day. Others were severely wounded but survived.

[@WordlessQuarry34]

As they always say, all things must come to an end

[@arkfamily4361]

Even though the Zero was overpowered, it had very weak armor

[@Kaine-ub5lf]

We already know that yarnhub is a legend at making every videos.

[@waterlicker8635]

For anyone who wants to see a B-17 E, sadly there is only one left, but it is on display in the NOLA WW2 museum

[@justarandomsovietofficerwi2023]

"How many guns do you want on your bomber?" "Yes."

[@tgsachris]

Something about this story that i've always wanted to know is what exactly the crew did to this plane to be able to add so many extra guns. Like if you *could* have that many guns on it before why not? There must have been a reason like weight saving or space issues or something, so what did these guys do to solve that issue and why didn't anyone else follow their lead?

[@marcusdaniels1840]

I thought it was horror-related but still,its an a amazing story

[@TheAttacker732]

You could spin it as a horror story from the Japanese side. The tale of an unkillable steel beast, leaving only after the combined efforts of 24 pilots failed to best it.

[@account8494]

I like how this channel started with 2D animations and now makes legit movies.

[@ATIMELINEOFAVIATION]

2:34 10/10 using runway correctly

[@Rascal9527]

It's pilots and crew like these that inspire me not just to be a better soldier, but also a better man, also love that Star Wars reference man, and keep the animations up!! Everything fails to disappoint

[@TadifoTf10]

Bro wtf Your Channels amazing 🤩

[@carsonm7292]

Awesome to see this animated after watching the Dark Skies video on this. If anyone is interested in more background detail about this crew in their story, I'd highly recommend checking that out as well.

[@Tankdestroyer467]

I never expected a Star Wars soundtrack could be so effective in providing an excellent background music.