Author discusses 8th Air Force and the 'Flying Fortress' (video)

Photo by JOHN HAEGER (Twitter.com/OneidaPhoto) 

Author and historian Cheryl Pula talks about her book "The Children's Crusade," that details the history of the 8th Air Force in World War II and the B-17 bomber, during a talk at the Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library on Saturday, March 3, 2012.

SHERRILL — Despite the most common depictions of U.S. airmen in World War II, author Cheryl Pula says members of the 8th Air Force were much younger than most think.

In fact, many say they were just children.

In an hour-and-a-half presentation Saturday morning at the Sherrill-Kenwood Library, Pula presented an illustrated talk of historical facts about airmen in World War II, particularly those who were stationed in Britain and flew B-17s in the bombing raids over Germany.

Many of those facts formed the basis for her historical fiction novel, “The Children’s Crusade,” which she based on information gathered from interviews with 8th Air Force veterans. The second book in the series is expected to be released in April.

The B-17 planes the airmen flew were notorious for sustaining extensive damage but still able to get them back to their base, she said. The U.S. government commissioned the design of the plane in 1934, the year Adolf Hitler took power. The U.S. wanted a long-ranger bomber, knowing that war was likely inevitable.

Three companies submitted designs and Boeing, which sank all its money into the prototype, was awarded the bid. Pula noted that had the company been passed over for the job, it likely would have discontinued. The plane was nicknamed the “flying fortress” and took its first official flight on Aug. 20, 1935 from Seattle to Dayton, Ohio. When it returned, however, it crashed. The accident was blamed on a pilot error before takeoff and as a result, the pre-flight checklist was created, a measure that has been used in all other flights since.

Nearly 400 changes were subsequently made to the aircraft before it was mass produced for the Air Force’s mission overseas. It quickly gained other nicknames, like “Queen of the Skies” and “Big A—Bird.”

With a crew of 10, the aircraft was 75 feet long, had a wingspan of 103 feet, was 19 feet tall at the tip of the tail and had four engines. Eleven Browning machine guns were stationed throughout the plane.

The crew required extensive training and each had a specific and efficiency-demanding role. The average age of the pilot, co-pilot, navigator and bombardier was just 22 while the engineer, radio operator and gunners were usually not older than 19 years old.

The average plane lasted about six bombing missions before it was shot down, making it a 1 in 3 chance for airmen to return back to base. 8 out of 10 planes were destroyed and 8 out of 10 crewmen were killed. The 8th Air Force had the highest casualty rate of any of the other military branches with the exception of the infantry.

Pula described the typical routine of a B-17 crew before and during a mission. The men would be fed high calorie meals to prepare for the next seven to 14 hour mission without food. They attended a one-hour briefing followed by another hour-long meeting for the navigators and bombardiers.

Airmen were dressed in flax vests and helmets. Their flight suits were intertwined with electrical components that could be plugged into the plane to keep them from freezing. The planes were not pressurized, so temperatures fell to as low as minus 50 degrees.

The bombardiers, whose complicated responsibility it was to pinpoint the bombing target, were sworn to keep the location of targets safe, even from other crew members and were given orders to shoot and kill anyone who tried to figure out the location. Their maps were made out of rice paper so if they were captured, they could eat them to prevent the enemy from seeing them.

On bombing missions, the trip back to base was more dangerous than the trip there because by then, the Germans knew the plane’s location. It wasn’t until long-range fighter planes were built to accompany bombers the whole way that flights become safer.

For their survival, airmen were awarded several distinctions. For meeting their flight quota of 25 mission, they were inducted into the “Lucky Bastard Club.” If they had to bail out of their plane and use their parachute, they became members of the “Caterpillar Club.” If their plane was ditched into the English Channel and they had to use their dingy to get to safety, they became members of the “Goldfish Club.”

In all, 12,000 B-17s were built. The 8th Air Force was made up of 350,000 personnel who flew 10,631 missions, lost 4,145 planes, 47,000 men were killed, 7,000 Purple Hearts were awarded, 46,000 air medals were given out and 17 Medals of Honor were received.

Famous alumni of the 8th Air Force include Clark Gable (actor), Tom Landry (a Dallas Cowboys coach), Andy Rooney (60 Minutes), Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek) and Jimmy Stewart (actor).

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