Can the Memphis Belle fly?
“It was a very stable airplane,” said Hunt about the Belle. “It was a little beat up when I flew it because it had completed its war service. But it flew real nice and landed easy.” Hunt served as a ferry pilot during World War II, flying “almost everything in the [USAAF] inventory.”
Which airfield did Memphis Belle fly from?
RAF Bassingbourn
How many B 17 crews made 25 missions?
Hell’s Angels was the first B-17/crew to complete 25 missions on May 13, 1943. Memphis Belle’s crew completed 25 missions May 17, 1943 (without any loss of life).
Is the Memphis Belle airworthy?
The city by then had turned the plane over to the Air Force museum, which loaned it to the newly chartered Memphis Belle Memorial Association under an agreement setting terms under which the bomber could stay in Memphis. The Belle, however, will never again be rated as airworthy, museum officials say.
When did the Memphis Belle last fly?
On May 17, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, one of a group of American bombers based in Britain, becomes the first B-17 crew to complete 25 missions over Europe. The Memphis Belle performed its 25th and last mission, in a bombing raid against Lorient, a German submarine base.
How many American bomber crews died in ww2?
The U.S. suffered 52,173 aircrew combat losses. But another 25,844 died in accidents. More than half of these died in the continental U.S. The U.S. lost 65,164 planes during the war, but only 22,948 in combat.
What American pilot had the most kills in WW2?
Major Richard Bong
Can you find out who your pilot is?
No way to tell except from the company and the company isn’t going to release the name. The FAA does release the names of those with pilot licenses so if you know what state he lives in you could look for a name on the list.
What do pilots fear most?
“For the most part, pilots fear those things they cannot control,” Smith wrote. “We are less afraid of committing a fatal error than of finding ourselves victimised by somebody else’s error or else at the mercy of forces impervious to our skills or expertise.”