“When the United States entered the war, the European Theater was deemed priority one — only a small number of B-17s were allocated to the Pacific.”
MOST KNOW ABOUT the swarms of B-17s the U.S. Army Air Force flew against the Third Reich in World War Two. But Flying Fortresses also fought in the Pacific in the opening years of the war, albeit in limited numbers.
Pre-war American forces in the Philippines maintained 35 B-17s; 12 more were ordered there just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. In fact, those same dozen bombers were trying to land on Honolulu to refuel just as Japanese planes struck the island on Dec. 7, 1941.
When the United States entered World War Two, the European Theater was deemed priority one – most equipment, including the Flying Fortress, was sent there. Only a small number of B-17s were allocated to the Pacific.
he 43rd Bomb Group, which had been trained as a unit, was sent to Australia without any aircraft at all. They spent five months idling there before more aircraft arrived, and even then there were only bombers enough for two of the group’s four squadrons, the 63rd and 403rd. The others, the 64th and 65th, wouldn’t receive aircraft until the 19th Bomb Group, which had been fighting since the war began, rotated back to the U.S. in November 1942, leaving their aircraft and aircrews behind for the 43rd.
Eventually, stateside factories produced enough heavy bombers to equip units in the southwest Pacific — mostly with Consolidated B-24 Liberators. All the new Flying Fortresses were being requisitioned by Eighth Air Force in Europe as fast as they could be built. As such, the 43rd would have to transition from its early model B-17s to newer Liberators — not a popular prospect among the aircrews. The process lasted from April to October of 1943.
A 403rd Squadron bird nicknamed “The Champ” experienced a critical malfunction just after takeoff when its landing gear failed to fully retract. The plane bounced slightly on the airstrip as it went airborne, damaging the retraction cylinders on the landing gear, from which the hydraulic fluid poured out. One of the wheels was jammed in extended position, while the other was tucked into the plane.
The crew attempted to lower the retracted gear with the backup system, but had no success. The protruding tire and strut created too much drag to fly the mission, and without both wheels down, attempting to land the plane with a full load of fuel would be exceedingly dangerous. After the crew manually opened the bomb bay doors to salvo the bomb load, Capt. William Gowdy, the pilot, radioed the control tower for instructions. He was told to circle Port Moresby to burn fuel and await further orders.
Read the Remainder at Military History Now
Do you happen to have any info handy on C-109 tankers flying “The Hump” over Burma?
I can look into it GP..will email you with “C-109” in subject line, so be sure not to trash it! Give me a few days.