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Template:Infobox Aircraft The American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was the first mass-produced, four-engine heavy bomber aircraft. Developed by Boeing in 1936, it evolved through numerous design stages, B-17A to G.

It was primarily used for the epic daylight strategic bombing campaign against German industrial targets during World War II as part of the United States Eighth Air Force based in England and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy as well as participating in, to a lesser extent, the War in the Pacific.

The B-17 is one of the most significant combat aircraft ever built. Its legacy was as a bomber that epitomized its "flying fortress" accolade; the B-17 could deliver a devastating load, yet take a lot of punishment and keep on flying. It was loved by its crews for bringing them home despite extensive battle damage.


Design and development

The prototype B-17 was designed by a team of engineers led by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells and built at Boeing's own expense. It combined features of the XB-15 (another Boeing bomber in development) with proven features of Boeing's other aircraft. It first flew on 28 July 1935, as the Boeing Model 299, with Boeing chief test pilot Les Tower at the controls. During a demonstration later that year at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, the Model 299 competed with the Douglas DB-1 and Martin Model 146 for a U.S. Army Air Corps contract to build a "multi-engined" bomber. At that time "multi-engined" generally meant two engines. The four-engine Boeing design displayed superior performance, but Army officials were daunted by the much greater expense per aircraft. Development continued on the Boeing Model 299 and on 30 October 1935, the Army Air Corps test pilots Ployer Hill and Tower took the Model 299 on a second evaluation flight. The crew forgot to disengage the airplane's "gust lock" — a device that held the bomber's movable control surfaces in place while the plane was parked on the ground; the aircraft took off, entered a steep climb, stalled, nosed over and crashed, killing the crew. Since the crashed Model 299 could not finish the evaluation, the Army ordered the two-engine Douglas B-18 Bolo.

Crashed Model 299

Regardless, the USAAC had been impressed by the prototype's performance, and, in January 1936, the Air Corps ordered, alongside 99 B-18s, 13 YB-17s with a number of significant changes from the Model 299, including more powerful Wright R-1820-39 Cyclone engines replacing the original Pratt & Whitney R-1690 radials.

On 1 March 1937, 12 of the 13 YB-17s were delivered to Langley Field, Virginia, and used to help develop heavy bomber techniques. Their first mission, following lead navigator Lt. Curtis LeMay, was to "intercept" the Italian ocean liner Rex 800 miles off the Atlantic coast and take photographs. The successfull mission was widely publicised. The remaining YB-17 was used for flight testing.

The first B-17s went into active service in 1938. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor relatively few B-17s were in use by the Army, but production quickly accelerated immediately afterwards, and the aircraft went on to serve in every World War II combat zone. By the time production ended in May 1945, 12,731 aircraft had been built by Boeing, Douglas and Vega (a subsidiary of Lockheed).

Operational service

B-17 Flying Fortresses over Eastern Europe during World War II

Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times coined the name "Flying Fortress" when the Model 299 was rolled out, bristling with multiple machine gun installations. Boeing was quick to see the value of the name and had it trademarked for use. Aviation writer Martin Caidin has reported that, among the combat aircrews that flew bombers in World War II, the B-17 was referred to as the "Queen of the Bombers."

The first use of the B-17 (the B-17C) as the Fortress I in service with the RAF was against Wilhelmshaven on 8 July 1941. By September, the RAF had lost eight to combat or accidents. They had also uncovered problems with flying it at high altitudes; at 30,000 ft they were unable to hit their targets, and temperatures were so low that the machine guns froze up.

For the USAAF, the B-17 and other bombers were made effective at level bombing from high altitudes by the use of the then secret Norden Bombsight, which was essentially a optical electro-mechanical gyrostabilized computer that computed input variables by the bombardier which determined the point in space at which the bombers ordnance type would be released to hit the target (A.P.) during daylight bombing missions and sorties. The bombardier essentially took over flight control of the bomber during the bomb run.

For this reason the USAAF strategy was to use daylight precision bombing of targets whereas RAF Bomber Command resorted to nighttime area bombing.

Before the advent of long-range fighter escorts, B-17s had only their .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns to rely on for defense for the bombing runs over Europe. To address this problem, the United States developed the bomb group formation, which evolved into the staggered combat box formation where all the B-17s could safely cover any others in their formation with their machine guns, making a formation of the bombers a dangerous target to engage by enemy fighters. However, the use of this rigid formation meant that individual planes could not engage in evasive maneuvers: they had to always fly in a straight line which made them vulnerable to the German antiaircraft 88 mm gun. Additionally, German fighter planes later used the tactic of high-speed strafing passes rather than engaging with individual aircraft to inflict maximum damage with minimum risk. As a result the B-17s' loss rate was up to 25% on some early missions (60 of 291 B-17s were lost in combat on the fourth Raid on Schweinfurt) and it wasn't until the advent of an effective long-range fighter escort—the P-51 Mustang—that the B-17 became strategically potent.

File:B-17formation.jpg
B-17s of the 381st Bomb Group in combat box formation to concentrate defensive machine gun fire.

The B-17 was noted for its ability to absorb battle damage, still reach its target and bring its crew home safely. Wally Hoffman, a B-17 Pilot with the 8th Air Force during WWII said "The plane can be cut and slashed almost to pieces by enemy fire and bring its crew home." Its toughness more than compensated for its shorter range and lighter bomb load when compared to the Consolidated B-24 Liberator or the British Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. Stories abound of B-17s returning to base with tails having been destroyed, with only a single engine functioning or even with large portions of wings having been damaged by flak. This durability, together with the large operational numbers in the Eighth Air Force and the fame achieved by the Memphis Belle, made the B-17 a significant bomber aircraft of the war.

The plane's extreme durability and powerful defensive arcs led the Luftwaffe to develop a number of innovative (and costly) methods of combating the bomber. Late in the war, the Me 262 saw the most (proportional) success against B-17s. However this success did not come from gun-to-gun combat. While the Me 262 could fly extremely fast, it had to slow down to accurately aim its guns, placing the fighter in the crosshairs of the B-17's guns. Instead, Me 262s would engage at long distances, firing masses of unguided rockets at the B-17 formations. While this tactic was successful it came too late in the war. By the time this technique was proven, there were too many B-17s and too few Me 262s to make a real difference. The number of B-17s lost to Me-262s using this tactic was low.

The design went through eight major changes over the course of its production, culminating in the B-17G, differing from its immediate predecessor by the addition of a chin turret with two .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns under the nose. This eliminated the B-17's main defensive weakness in head-on attacks.

Postwar history

Following World War II, the B-17 was declared obsolete and the Army Air Force retired most of the fleet. Flight crews ferried the bombers back across the Atlantic to the United States, where the majority were melted down and sold for scrap. The USAF Strategic Air Command had B-17 Flying Fortresses, (called F-9s at first (F=Fotorecon), later RB-17s) in service from 1946 through 1951. A number of B-17s survive in museums and at airports. About a dozen of these still fly, visiting airports or performing in airshows. Most of these survivors are surplus or training aircraft, which stayed in the U.S. during World War II. However, there are a few exceptions.

Boeing B-17F-10-BO Flying Fortress Serial 41-24485, The Memphis Belle, 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group

The "Memphis Belle," which flew 25 missions over Europe before touring the United States to advertise war bonds, was preserved in Memphis from 1948 to 2003. The "Memphis Belle" was transported to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in October, 2005, for restoration and eventual display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force there. The restoration is expected to take eight-ten years.

"The Swoose," the only surviving example of the narrow-tailed B-17s of the A, B, C and D series, flew combat missions in the Pacific Theater before being converted to an unarmed transport/flying command post used in Australia by Lt Gen. George Brett, commander of Allied air forces in the South West Pacific Area. It returned to the United States with Brett in 1943. The oldest surviving B-17 in the world, "The Swoose" is presently in storage at the Smithsonian Institution's Silver Hill ("Paul E. Garber" Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland. As of 2000, the Smithsonian was planning to restore her. Col. Frank Kurtz, commanding officer of the 463rd Bombardment Group at the Celone Airbase near Foggia,Italy and the father of actress Swoosie Kurtz(b. 6 September 1944), carried the Swoose name forward from the original Swoose (which he flew in the Pacific prior to being named CO of the 463rd), naming the B-17G he flew with the 463rd Swoose II. The 463rd BG was thereafter known as the "The Swoose Group." The name, "Swoosie" was a derivative of Kurtz's original name for his B-17, which he referred to as a "half-swan, half-goose."

Another noteworthy combat veteran is "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby," which flew 24 combat missions from England with the 91st Bomb Group before being forced to land in Sweden in May, 1944. Sweden, which was neutral, interned the crew. About the same time, a deal was made between the Swedish and US Governments to allow about 300 American crewmen to return in exchange for nine B-17Fs and Gs that had landed intact in Sweden. Seven of these were converted by SAAB Aircraft into airliners that could take 14 passengers.

"Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

"Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" became SE-BAP, flying for SILA, an airline that eventually became a part of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). In December 1945, it was one of two B-17s sold to the Danish Air Lines (DDL), and flew as OY-DFA "Stig Viking" to June 1947. The B-17 was subsequently transferred in March 1948, to Danish Army Air Corps as DAF 672, and in December, 1949, to the Danish Navy. Then from October, 1952, to the Royal Danish Air Force as ESK-721, it finally retired a year later. In all its service time in the Danish military, her nickname was "Store Bjørn." After two years in storage, she was sold as F-BGSP to IGN, Institut Geographique National, a French aerial mapping company based in Creil outside Paris. Last flown in July 1961, the remains of the plane were donated to the U.S Air Force in 1972. A restoration was undertaken between 1978-1988 at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware and the bomber can be seen today at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The Museum has announced that when the "Memphis Belle" restoration is complete, it will replace "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" as the museum's B-17 exhibit.

It has also been recently discovered that the B-17G at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California was delivered to the 15th Air Force and most likely flew combat missions over North Africa and in the Mediterranean (which was confirmed by battle damage found after the plane was paint stripped during restoration). The exact details of that plane's service, though, are not yet known.

As part of Operation Bolero, on 15 July 1942, two B-17s navigating and acting as mother ships, along with six P-38 Lightnings, were forced to land on a glacier in Greenland during a ferry flight to the UK. None of the crews were lost. By the 1990s, these eight aircraft had been buried under more than 250 feet of ice. The recovery effort located the lead B-17 to find it crushed; subsequently, one of the P-38s was recovered and restored as "Glacier Girl."

"My Gal Sal" (41-9032), a B-17 from another ferry flight in Operation Bolero that was forced to ditch, has also been recovered. It is being restored to a static configuration in Cincinnati.

Several B-17s and other World War II bombers were converted into airliners. Other B-17s saw extended and valiant service as converted aerial tankers used for fighting forest fires in the western United States.

Variants/design stages

Main article: B-17 Flying Fortress variants

The B-17 went through several alterations in each of its design stages and variants. Of the 13 YB-17s ordered for service testing, 12 were used by the 2nd Bomb Group of Langly Feild, Virginia to heavy bomber techniques. The 13th was used for flight testing at the Material Division at Wright Field, Ohio. Experiments on this plane led to the use of a turbo-supercharger, which would become standard on the B-17 line. When this aircraft was finished with testing, it was re-designated the B-17A, and in April 1948 was the first plane to enter service under the B-17 designation.

As the production line developed, Boeing engineers continued to improve upon it. To improve performance, the original design was altered to include larger flaps. Most significantly, with the "B-17E" version the fuselage was extended by 10 feet, a much larger vertical fin and rudder were incorporated into the original design, a gunner's position in the tail and an improved nose were added. The engines were upgraded to more powerful versions several times. Similarly, the gun stations were altered on numerous occasions to enhance their effectiveness.

SB-17G Flying Fortress, also designated B-17H, used as a Search and Rescue aircraft

By the time the definitive B-17G appeared, the number of guns had been increased from seven to 13, the designs of the gun stations were finalized, and other adjustments were complete. The G model incorporated all changes made in its predecessor, the B-17F. The B-17G is the final version of the B-17. In total, 8,680 were built with many examples converted for other missions such as cargo hauling, engine testing and reconnaissance. A number of B-17Gs were converted for use as search-and-rescue planes. Initially designated SB-17G, they were later redesignated B-17H.

Two versions of the B-17 were flown under different designations. These were the XB-38 and the YB-40. The XB-38 was an engine test bed for Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engines, to test the engine should the Wright engines normally used on the B-17 become unavailable. The YB-40 was a modification of the standard B-17 used before the P-51 Mustang became available. Since no fighters had the range to escort the B-17, a heavily armed modification was used instead with an additional power turret in the radio room, a chin turret (which went on to become standard with the B-17G) and twin .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns in the waist positions. The ammunition load was over 11,000 rounds making the YB-40 well over 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. Unfortunately, the YB-40s with their numerous heavy modifications had trouble keeping up with empty bombers. The project was abandoned with the advent of the P-51 Mustang and was phased out in July 1943.

Late in the Second World War, at least 25 B-17s were fitted with radio controls, loaded with 20,000 lb (9000 kg) of high explosives, dubbed "BQ-7 Aphrodite missiles," and used against U-boat pens and bomb-resistant fortifications. Because few (if any) BQ-7s hit their target, the Aphrodite project was scrapped in early 1945. During and after World War II, a number of weapons were tested and used operationally on B-17s. Some of these weapons included "razons" (radio guided) glide bombs, and JB-2 Thunderbugs - the equivalent of the German V-1 Buzz Bomb.

Operators

Main article: List of units using the B-17 Flying Fortress
File:Living Legends.JPG
Over Germany, B-17 Flying Fortresses from the 398th Bombardment Group fly a bombing run to Neumunster, Germany, on 13 April 1945.

The B-17 was a versatile aircraft, serving in dozens of units in theaters of combat throughout World War II. Its main use was in Europe, where its shorter range and smaller bombload relative to other aircraft available did not hamper it as much as in the Pacific Theater. Only five B-17 groups operated in the Pacific, with a peak of 168 bombers in September, 1942, and all groups converting to other types by mid-1943. Thirty-two groups were stationed in Europe, 26 in England and six in Italy. Peak USAAF inventory (in August, 1944) was 4,574 worldwide.

It was also used by the Royal Air Force, though mainly in roles other than those for which it had been designed. The first B-17s (-C and -D models) were known to the RAF as "Fortress I"s. The British already operated the more capable Avro Lancaster and were reluctant to use the B-17 for its original mission profile of heavy bombing. The British regarded the early B-17 as inefficient, due to its larger crew and relatively small bomb load compared to the Avro Lancaster. Instead, they used them for patrol bombing and, later, equipped a number of them with sophisticated radio-countermeasures equipment where they served in some of the first electronic countermeasures operations with RAF 100 Group.

B-17 damaged on bombing mission over Cologne, Germany.

During World War II, after crash-landing or being forced down, approximately 40 B-17s were repaired and put back into the air in the service of the Luftwaffe. These captured aircraft were codenamed "Dornier Do 200," given German markings and used for clandestine spy and reconnaissance missions by the Luftwaffe-most often used by the Luftwaffe unit known as KG 200, hence a likely possibility as a source for the "Dornier Do 200" codename.

When Israel achieved statehood in 1948, the Israeli Air Force had to be assembled quickly to defend the new nation from the war it found itself embroiled in almost immediately. Among the first aircraft acquired by the Israeli Air Force were three surplus American B-17s, smuggled via South America and Czechoslovakia to avoid an arms trading ban imposed by the United States. A fourth plane was abandoned due to malfunctions and confiscated by American officials. On their delivery flight from Europe, in retaliation for Egyptian bombing raids on Tel-Aviv, the aircraft were ordered to bomb King Farouk's Royal Palace in Cairo before continuing to Israel. They performed the mission (despite some of the crew fainting due to defective oxygen equipment) but caused little damage. The B-17s were generally unsuitable for the needs of the Israeli Air Force and the nature of the conflict in which long-range bombing raids on large area targets were relatively unimportant although the psychological impact of the raids was not lost on the enemy. They were mainly used in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War flown by 69 Squadron IAF. They were withdrawn in 1958.

Noted B-17 pilots and crew members

Four women pilots leaving their ship at the four-engine school at Lockbourne during WASP training to ferry B-17 Flying Fortresses.

Notable B-17s

B-17G-VE,"Aluminum Overcast," serial number 44-85740, at EAA's 2006 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Specifications (B-17G)

File:040607-F-0000S-005.JPG
Nuthampstead, England. Aircraft mechanics with the 398th Bombardment Group change a B-17 Flying Fortress engine. During the group's stay in England from May 1944 to April 1945, the 398th flew 195 missions and lost 292 men and 70 B-17 aircraft in combat.

Data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft

General characteristics

  • Crew: 10: Pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier/nose gunner, flight engineer-top turret gunner, radio operator, waist gunners (2), ball turret gunner, tail gunner
  • Aspect ratio: 7.57
  • Airfoil: NACA 0018 / NACA 0010

Performance Armament

  • Guns: 13× M2 Browning 0.50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns (with optional extra nose armament fitted in glazed nose)
  • Bombs:

Notes

  1. Pilot Training Manual for the B-17 Flying Fortress issued by by USAAF. Quoted on the B-17 Pilot Training Manual section of Marshall Stelzriede's Wartime Story. With examples; and
  2. Browne 2001
  3. General Ira C. Eaker, commander the Eighth Air Force during World War II described the plane as "The best bomber which was ever built. She could handle extensive damage and still stay in the air.".
  4. ^ Fortress In Development: Model 299
  5. Salecker 2001, p.46.
  6. Boeing.com 2006
  7. Saleker 2001, p.48.
  8. National Museum of the USAF: Model 299 Crash, 15 November 1935
  9. ^ National Museum of the USAF: BOEING Y1B-17
  10. INTERCEPTING THE “REX”
  11. ^ Y1B-17/Y1B-17A
  12. Yenne 2006, p. 8.
  13. Yenne 2006, p. 12.
  14. Yenne 2006, p.23.
  15. Fortress I for RAF
  16. Boeing B-17B Fortress
  17. B-17 Pilot Training Manual
  18. "B-17F/Fortress Over Europe" paragraph 9
  19. Caiden 1960
  20. Hoffman 2006
  21. Battle-Damaged B-17s
  22. USAF National Museum 2006
  23. The Swoose 2006
  24. Brennan 2006
  25. BOEING B-17G “SHOO SHOO SHOO BABY”
  26. Glacier Girl History
  27. HISTORY OF THE B-17E "My Gal Sal"
  28. B-17 Commercial Transports. Accessed 25 December 2006.
  29. B-17G/Fortress Triumphant
  30. Boeing B-17H
  31. Vega XB-38
  32. Boeing YB-40
  33. History of the BQ-7
  34. Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles Boeing BQ-7 Aphrodite
  35. B-17 Squadron Assignments
  36. Dornier Do 200
  37. The Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed December 24, 2005] From Israeli Air Force Bombers
  38. Gobrecht 2006
  39. Frisbee 1994
  40. Freeman 1981
  41. Smith 2005
  42. Aluminum Overcast - the Experimental Aircraft Association's B-17G that tours the US offering flight experiences
  43. Libertyfoundation.org
  44. Nine 0 Nine
  45. The Pink Lady
  46. SallyB
  47. Donald 1997, p. 155.
  48. Airzona Wing CAF Museum describes in detail the various positions and their related duties. The Boeing Pilot Manual also describes duties.

References

B-17 tail gun position, Duxford
  • Baugher, Joe. BQ-7: Encyclopedia of American Aircraft. Access date: 12 January 2005.
  • Birdsall, Steve. The B-17 Flying Fortress. Dallas, Texas: Morgan Aviation Books, 1965.
  • The Boeing Logbook: 1933 - 1938. Boeing.com. Access date: 18 December 2006.
  • Bowers, Peter M. Fortress in the Sky. Granada Hills, California: Sentry Books Inc., 1976. ISBN 0-913194-04-2.
  • Bowers, Peter M. Boeing Aircraft Since 1916. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1989. ISBN 0-37000-016-1.
  • Brennan, Sandra. Biography All Movie Guide, 2006. Access date: 25 December 2006.
  • Browne, Robert W. The Rugged Fortress: Life-Saving B-17 Remembered. "Flight Journal: WW II Bombers, Winter 2001, Special Issue." Air Age Media. Access date: 18 December 2006.
  • Caidin, Martin. Black Thursday. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1960. ISBN 0-553-26729-9.
  • Davis, Larry. B-17 in Action (Aircraft No. 63). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1984. ISBN 0-89747-152-0.
  • Donald, David. (1997). "Boeing Model 299 (B-17 Flying Fortress". "The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft: 1". Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books. ISBN 1-85605-375-X. p. 154-155.
  • Freeman, Roger A. B-17 Fortress at War. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977. ISBN 0-684-14872-2.
  • Freeman, Roger A. Mighty Eighth War Diary. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbook International, 1993. ISBN 0-87938-405-6. p. 497-500.
  • Freeman, Roger A. The Man Who Wouldn't Quit. Access date: 20 December 2006.
  • Frisbee, John L. Valor: Colin Kelly (He was a Hero in Legend and in Fact). Air Force Magazine Online, June 1994. Access date: 20 December 2006.
  • Gobrecht, Harry D. WERNER G. GOERING CREW - 358th BS. Hell's Angels: Home of the 303rd Bomb Group (H) Association. Access date: 20 December 2006.
  • Hess, William N. B-17 Flying Fortress: Combat and Development History of the Flying Fortress. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbook International, 1994. ISBN 0-87938-881-1.
  • Hess, William N. Big Bombers of WWII. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Lowe & B. Hould, 1998. ISBN 0-681-07570-8.
  • Hoffman,Wally. We Get Our Feet Wet. Magweb.com: Coalition Web, Inc., ©1998-2001. Access date: 18 July 2006.
  • Jablonski, Edward. Flying Fortress. New York: Doubleday, 1965. ISBN 0-385-03855-0.
  • Johnson, Frederick A. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (Warbird Tech Series, Volume 7). Stillwater, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 2001. ISBN 1-58007-052-3.
  • Lloyd, Alwyn T. B-17 Flying Fortress in Detail and Scale. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1986. ISBN 0-8168-5029-1.
  • O'Leary, Michael. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (Osprey Production Line to Frontline 2). Botley, Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-85532-814-3.
  • Salecker, Gene Eric. Fortress Against the Sun: The B-17 Flying Fortress in the Pacific. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Combined Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-58097-049-4.
  • Smith, Starr. Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot. St. Paul, Minnesota: Zenith Press, 2005. ISBN 0-76032-199-X.
  • The Swoose. 463rd Bombardment Group Historical Society. Access date: 18 December 2006.
  • Thompson, Scott A. Final Cut: The Post War B-17 Flying Fortress, The Survivors: Revised and Updated Edition. Highland County, Ohio: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 2000. ISBN 1-57510-077-0.
  • Willmott, H.P. B-17 Flying Fortress. London: Bison Books, 1980. ISBN 0-85368-444-8.
  • Yenne, Bill. B-17 at War. St Paul, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint, 2006. ISBN 0-7603-2522-7.
  • USAF FAQ. USAF National Museum. Access date: 18 December 2006.

External links

"Big Yank" of the 483rd B.G. served in 1945 and was credited with three Me 262 kills and one probable kill.

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