Masters of the Air – 100th Bomb Group Tactical Review Part 1 & 2 – Combat Missions & Losses

8th US Army Airforce European Campaign 1942-1943, 100th Heavy Bombardment Group Missions and B-17 Squadron Compliments.
Raid 01 June 25th 1943 Bremen U-Boat Bunker Pens Weser River Complex Germany. Combined Airwing 78 Heavy Bombers 6 Air Groups. Aborted Mission,100th Squadrons three B-17’s lost in action crew KIA / MIA. Two B-17’s heavy damage 26 Aircrew wounded
Raid 02 July 18th 1943 Trondheim U-boat Complex Norway. Combined Airwing 36 Heavy Bombers 3 Air Groups. Successful Target Saturation Significant Damage. 100th Squadrons one B-17 Flax Damage Emergency Landing Northern Scotland. Three minor damage.

Masters of the Air Part I & II (Ep1 Ep2)

Tactical and Strategic overview and formation structure,
Combined Airwing, Bomber Groups, Element Squadrons.
B-17 Crew positions of ten stations, Defensive Armament, Bomb Load

German Luftwaffe Air Defense Network Anti-Aircraft Artillery.
ME-109 Fighter Interceptor Capability
FW-190 Butcher Bird Heavy Interceptor
JU-88 Coastal Defense Patrol Plane

#appletvplus #mastersoftheair #flyingfortress #ww2 #usaaf #b17 #royalairforce #ww2aircraft #militaryhistory

How’s it everyone this video Expedition will examine the US Army Air corp’s 100th heavy bombardment groups missions losses and combat actions during the first two episodes of Masters of the air following the 10-part series on Apple TV Plus in 1942 the unit was formed consisting of 36 B17 flying fortresses

Each capable of carrying 8,000 lb of bomb ordinance paper payload while also being equipped with 13 50 caliber 12.7 mm defensive machine guns the aircraft had a top speed of 317 mph and an operational range of 2,000 Mi while carrying a full capacity bomb load the crew compliment of 10 consisted of the

Pilot Commander Lieutenant co-pilot flight engineer Navigator Bombadier radio operator two door Gunners ball turret Gunner and a tail Gunner the Bomb Group consisted of four squadrons with nine bombers each the 349th 350th 351st and 418th each with a formation commander and executive flight officer responsible for all 36 aircraft five of

These b7s were specialized observational Pathfinders flying at high altitudes in advance of the formation to Mark the Target area to guide the following Navigators to the mission objective area of operation or the IP initial point to release their bomb loads this breakdown will analyze the tactics and every

Aspect of the bombing raids including b7s loss in action those damaged the crew casualties and that of the LOF dfa’s opposing aircraft 360 US Army Corps Airmen had spent the last 18 months receiving extensive training in the Midwest region of the United States and by early 1943 were preparing to

Cross the Atlantic to join the eth Air Force in its bombing campaign over German occupied Europe in May 1943 a Pathfinder B17 of the 48th Squadron detached in advance of the Air Group over to England joining the 389th heavy bomber group with the observation crew LED by the group’s executive flight

Officer on May 21st 1943 during a raid over Williams Haven Germany the forward deployed Fortress was pounced upon by four German me 109 interceptors these were the LOF waffa’s most widely produced fast and Nimble Frontline fighter armed with two 13 mm machine guns and a single heavy 20 mm nose

Cannon made the 109’s Dead lead to Allied air Crews major Bucky was was able to save the stricken B17 from an engine fire through a dive safely lumbering the damaged bird back across the English Channel to a RAF British Airfield making this the first B17 listed as out ofaction for heavy repairs

For the group’s first bomber to see combat however a minor Victory achieved when the crew managed to damage a 109 from one of the defense guns that was an extremely difficult and rare occurrence that was overshadowed by severely injured Bomer and other wounded crew members depending on the severity of a

Damaged and often shredded B17 the planes were either cannibalized for parts or would undergo extensive Repairs by the maintenance team to cycle back into rotation these valuable airframe Assets in Spring 1943 the group’s 35 bombers and 350 crew crossed the transatlantic Gap Landing in Greenwich Greenland to refuel and rest following

The long and turbulent 12-hour flight from the United States on June 8th the group arrived at East Anglia England’s RAF thrope abbots Airfield for their permanent base of operations joining the eighth Army Air Force in the European theater during the Greenland Transit a B17 experiencing navigation and electrical issues straight off course

Over the coast of occupied France where they were greeted by a barrage of German anti-aircraft fire finally reaching their intended destination the crew was forced to perform a belly landing rendering a second Fortress as damaged and taken out of flight status to undergo weeks of extensive repairs before a combat mission was ever

Flown the H hundredth was already down to bombers June 25th 19 43 in the early Dawn hours 19 b7s from the hund joined a combined airwing of 78 heavy bombers for a raid on the Brennan ubo pins threatening Allied convoys located on the wiser River Inland from the Baltic

Coast of Northwest Germany six bombers of 349 Squadron seven from the 350th and six 351st Super fortresses comprised the rear Echelon of the combined bomber Wing formation in route mechanical engine problems caused a fortress from the 349th element to turn around near the coast returning to base across the English Channel overcast weather

Combined with low cloud cover caused poor visibility as the 77 bombers struggled to maintain tight formation nearly colliding at times as they came within range of the radar assisted coastal defense defense batteries adding to the element’s increased difficulty of maintaining their defensive flight box formations as heavy 88 and 105 artillery

Pepper the Squadron slicing large holes through their air frames with zero tracking through the northern bombsite crosshairs the lead plan’s Bombadier decides to scrub the mission at this early stage of the campaigns Eighth Air Force’s bomber command was dedicated to striking prision military or industrial Targets in an attempt to avoid civilian

Casualties unlike the Royal Air Force doctrine of indiscriminate aerial night bombing over German industrial targets and population centers now all the b7s had to turn around heading back towards the Baltic straight still burdened by the bomb loads slowing the lumbering plains as they again went through the

Thick walls of flat eagerly waiting to jettison their bombs as they crossed into the sea the only thing worse than the exploding aerial shrapnel barges is when they abruptly sto signaling the new Calm before the even greater storm of fast approaching German Fighters amidst cancelling the mission and maneuvering

Through the thick clouds and anti-aircraft fire the five remaining 349th bombers strayed from the main formation a deadly flight of seven fw1 90s quickly singles out and zeros in on this isolated group of b7s with lighning efficiency the fuer wolf 190s also known as butcher birds are the newest LOF dwaf

A series of Fighters considered the most advanced and combat capable design in 1943 bristling with four heavy wing mounted 20 mm cannons and two rapid 13 mm nose machine guns made them purpose-built bomb bomber Slayers in a matter of seconds hundreds of high explosive shells rip through the first

Bomber reducing it to a tumbling Fireball engulf by the volatile payload in under 2 minutes two more b7s suffer the same fate as the 190s form the repetitive strikes resembling streaks of multi-directional lightning blasts three bombers and 30 crew are instantly erased from the sky as the nearest formation of

B7s watching HB as a fourth bomber nearly suffers the same fate with multiple Cannon strikes before as quickly as the attack began it ended as the German Fighters peeled away to avoid the perimeter range of Allied air cover as the LOF dwara Pilots preferred not to Slug It Out with

P-47s following almost 2 years of the Army Air cor outdated doctrine instilling that the bomber will always get through the hundreds first comp combat mission was a baptism of fire and destruction illustrating that by even 1943 the eth Army Air Force especially the top brass still had a lot to learn

What appeared to be increasingly tactical futility to the American bomber Cruise strategically in the overall European theater the eth Air Force was detering nearly half of German fighter strength away from the Soviets Eastern Front to deal with the hundreds of us bom is increasingly threatening German occupied Western Europe that otherwise

Would be allocated against the Red Army on the meat grinder of the Eastern Front following One mission after the first two weeks of the 100th bomber group being in theater four of the flying fortresses sustained significant damage with two airframes being scrapped for Salvage and two more still down

Undergoing extensive repairs another B17 was destroyed in a training maneuver with the entire crew lost raising the casualty rate to four planes destroyed totaling six being scratched from the group and two more unavailable for flight operations placing the total strength at 27 active aircraft out of the initial 350 Airmen 40 have been

Listed as Kia and 26 wounded equaling an overall casualty total at an an alarming 20% loss rate only two replacement fortresses are scheduled to arrive in the coming week due to every eighth air force bomber group facing similar shortcomings during the early summer months of 1943 following a must needed Duty

Rotation on July 18th the 100th was assigned its next raid over German occupied Norway targeting the ubo bunker pins at troden Heim two squadrons of six totaling 12 bombers from the 100th will lead the strike formation of 24 fortresses rending in route with a 95th group’s additional 12 b7s increasing the

Total bomber strength to 36 aircraft carrying 288,000 lb of ordinance for the combined raid navigating through clear skies in route to the Norwegian Coast the bomb Wing encounters thick to moderate Flack AR artillery compared to that of the heavily fortified Rin land region some 3 weeks prior pressing on

Through the anti-aircraft barges the two wian elements link up guided towards in advance by the Pathfinder marker all 36 bombers saturate the ubo pins with the high explosive salvos inflicting significant and absorbed damage with numerous direct hits guided through the Norton bomb sites thicker flat back over

The IP area knocks out a b7s engine that Cascades into a dual prop failure the flight leader elects to slow the wing formation to escort the stricken bomber back to Scotland three ju88 night fighter bombers make an attack run on the tip B17 formations these twin engine German Fighters have been relegated to

Anti-shipping coastal defense and night operations against British bombers due to the lower max speed and vulnerability to single engine Fighters earlier in the war the bombers defensive fire scored a probable kill on one of the yers causing the other two 88s to Shadow the bomber formations waiting to pick off any

Stragglers before turning around back to Norway the combined bomber Wing reaches the safety of Northern Scotland’s secured airspace and the damaged Fortress executes a rough but successful emergency landing in a Highlander field causing minor damage to a farm following both bombing raids over a 30-day period

In Late July of 1943 the 100th heavy bomber group has 27 operational aircraft available for combat Duty with two new B17 soon to arrive from the states and two more damaged planes nearly repaired the group strength likely will raise back up to 31 Mission capable aircraft these will be desperately needed for the

Group next allocation in the most ambitious large scale strategic raid straight through the heart of fortified Germany on a scale unlike anything previously attempted by the eighth Army Air Force to close out with some family history my grandfather was a master crew chief in the 305th bombardment group in

England during 1942 at 105 chelston RAF station so I planed on covering every bombardment operational mission for masters of the air with part three coming up next if you want to help support this type of content subscribing and posting comments goes a long way for

The AI gorithms it seems to like it a lot and it also likes the thumbs up thingy Miggy thanks for watching and it’s not over till it’s over over there