The B-17 Flying Fortress
Flying a B-17 in formation is comparable to driving a "rig" at high speed in heavy traffic. Pilots relied on hand controlled throttles for each of the four engines which controlled forward velocity to keep them in formation, while holding the airplane level and true. There were no brakes and no hiding places from the enemy. The B-17 Flying Fortress was not the largest bomber plane used during the war, although it's wingspan is about a third of a city block. Nor, did the B-17 fly the highest or carry the largest bomb load. Its operational airspeed was only 150 mph in order to maintain "Group Integrity." In a 30 ship formation the enemy was up against 390 machine guns firing 600 rounds a minute. The plane was made out of aluminum overcast skin in which you were encased. This was your only protection from 20 mm cannon fire from an ME 109; thousands of rounds from machine gun fire; rocket fire from an FW-190; flak, and the wind chill that was 75F degrees below freezing. You could not allow your bare skin to touch any metal or you would stick to the metal. Although heated flying suits were worn at 27,000 feet the temperature could easily reach 50 degrees below zero. A blown flying suit at that height would mean frostbite and possible amputation. Oxygen masks were a necessity at 10,000 feet; although torturous instruments (they pinched your nose and made your nose run), you did not have the luxury of trying to live without one for longer than 90 seconds. At high altitude the nose drained constantly. Pilots or copilots would call to each crew member every five minutes to ascertain his readiness and remind him to check his mask and crack out any accumulation of frozen drainage. Crews were instructed that if the mask ever froze the wearer would never know it --he would lose consciousness and be dead within less than a minute.
