Fly Past

58 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION BOMBERS

BOEING

FORTRESSFORTRESS

(^19182018) BOEING FORTRESS
1941 TO 1946
M
uch was expected of the new
American bomber and the
press was invited in strength
to see the Boeing Fortress Is of 90
Squadron in the first days of July

1941. The crews were paraded
      wearing oxygen masks to emphasise
      that the RAF was wielding a high-
      flying weapon to strike at the heart of
      the Third Reich.
      The US-based British Purchasing
      Commission had been seduced by
      the potential of Boeing’s bomber,
      which had first flown in July 1935.
      An order was placed for 20 Mk.Is,
      the equivalent of the B-17C. Having
      a range in excess of 3,000 miles
      (4,827km) with a light weapon load,
      it could cruise at 30,000ft (9,144m)
      above and beyond the reach of
      Messerschmitts and the famous
      Norden sight – claimed that it could
      put a bomb in a pickle barrel from
      10,000ft – the Fortress offered great
      promise.
      Eight hours and 26mins after lifting
      off from Gander in Newfoundland,
      Fortress I AN521 touched down at
      Ayr, Scotland, on April 14, 1941 –
      the RAF’s long-range era had begun.
      Re-formed on May 7 at Watton, 90
      Squadron was tasked to evaluate the
      Fortress under combat conditions. Its
      first examples, AN529 and AN534,
      arrived on May 11 and the unit
      transferred to its operational base,
      Polebrook, on June 28.
      By then doubts were already setting
      in. Up for an air test out of West
      Raynham on June 22, AN522,
      J-for-Johnnie broke up in cloud over
      Yorkshire; killing its crew. While
      running up at Polebrook on July 3,
      B-for-Beer, AN528, caught fire and
      was burnt out. Turbulent conditions
      over Northamptonshire on July 28
      caused AN534, E-for-Edward to
      break up in mid-air.

BAPTISM OF FIRE

On July 8, 1941 Wilhelmshaven on

the northwest German coast was 90

Squadron’s first ‘op’ with the new

bombers. Three were dispatched

and two of them successfully hit

the harbour area. The Fortresses

flew at 30,000ft in daylight, and as

individuals not in formation,

unlike other Bomber Command

sorties.

Four B-17s were launched from

Polebrook on August 16, two bound

for Düsseldorf and two for Brest in

France. At 32,000ft over Brest, Plt Off

Sturmey and his crew were amazed

to be relentlessly engaged by Bf 109s.

Three of the crew were killed and

another severely injured during the

onslaught. Sturmey coaxed AN523,

D-for-Don in the direction of England

and executed a forced landing at

Roborough, writing off the bomber in

the process.

Another four were sent off to

Norway, to strike at the warship

Admiral Scheer, moored near Oslo

on September 8. Only one returned

intact. Two, AN525 and AN533

fell to the guns of the Bf 109Fs of

Jagdgeschwader 77 at 25,000ft – all 14

on board the two bombers perished.

O-for-Orange, AN535 limped across

the North Sea and crash landed at

Kinloss. The crew got out, but the

Fortress was beyond repair.

After that, 90 Squadron’s Fortresses

Right

A pre-delivery image

of Fortress I AN528,

incorrectly painted as

AM528 by Boeing. Built

as B-17C 40-2064, this

machine was burnt out

at Polebrook in July

1941. BOEING

were removed from Bomber

Command’s order of battle. Out of

51 individual sorties, 21 had been

scrubbed for one reason or another.

Four of the survivors were deployed

to Egypt where some raids on

North African targets were staged.

Subsequently, the Mk.Is joined 220

Squadron at Nutts Corner where the

Coastal Command unit appreciated

their long range.

Complaints about the Fortresses

were legion. Crews, guns and

equipment froze at the Boeing’s

operating altitudes. Coming down

from those heights left them

vulnerable, all of the gun positions

were single, manual and exposed to

the slipstream and a rearward attack

could not be countered. The Norden

bomb sights proved to be both

cantankerous and complex.

The Americans were incredulous

that the RAF was using B-17s for

offensive operations. They were used

to constantly developing aircraft in

the light of experience – ‘work in

progress’ –and dismissed the B-17C as

being fit “only for crew training”. By

then the USAAF was flying the much

improved B-17D, and in January

“...we would start our Window drop and

head for a target, drop token markers and

bombs and then head back into France

behind the Mandrel screen.”