What Exactly Made The B-17 "Memphis Belle" So Special?
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This is the story of the legendary Boeing B-17 bomber named Memphis Belle. During the vicious air battle over Europe (WW2), when the average lifespan of a bomber was only 13 flights, this B-17 bomber was the first to complete and survive 25 combat missions. It’s been the subject of countless books and documentaries, and a feature film has even been produced, which, for many years, firmly held the position in the top 10 best military aviation movies of all time.
Boeing B-17 became known as one of the best heavy bombers of World War II. But interestingly enough, B-17s might not even exist at all.
Chapters:
00:00 - Military Aviation Legends
03:10 - Flying Fortress
05:26 - War Debut
08:01 - Survival odds
10:48 - Memphis Belle
13:11 - Film
15:48 - Twenty-five
17:40 - The firsts
20:46 - Legendary
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My father was a member of the restoration team for the Memphis Belle at the National Museum of the US Air Force. He put a lot of work into the belly turret.
Thank you to him, I got a real nice view of that turret when I visited! It looked amazing
I actually recieved a tour of the belle during her restoration. My grandfather loved that plane and shared that love with me.
I wish the people of Memphis could have maintained the plane in a manner that would satisfy the Air Force, but they could not.
@@johnmcmickle5685 It's expensive to maintain the right conditions for a plane to be kept looking good indoors. It's all but impossible to keep a plane well maintained outdoors for decades. Even the Air Force museum struggles with this. The planes they don't have room for indoors deteriorate at a much faster rate sitting outside. They eventually reach a point where they have to be pulled back into restoration.
@@ForsakenSouleater I know but they city of Memphis could have added room to the Pyramid when it was built for that purpose.
They also could have added room to the museum the city built on Mud Island earlier. It was walking distance from where the plane was on Mud Island. That might have kept the museum open.
I had the privilege to fly aboard the aircraft used in the making of the movie Memphis Belle. She's actually a B-17G modified to look like the real Memphis Belle, which was an F model. I've had 7 flights on B-17s in my life, bit this was one of my favorites.
I managed to get a ride on her for my birthday when she was here in utah back in like 2016 or 2017. An amazing plane, even if it wasnt really her lol
I remember seeing that there’s at least one B-17 that does joy rides. Is that how you’ve gotten to do so many rides or are you part of the restoration and flight community? I guess it could be both.
@@The_ZeroLine Hello. Just a B-17 enthusiast. Tried to talk my parents into letting me buy one in the very early 1970s. You could buy a hulk from the Arizona desert for $1700. Needless to say, I didn't get one 😀
The Belle is a very special airplane, one out of thousands. She represents Everyman who manned an American bomber Over Europe. They are gone now but the Belle remains..
Saved by popularity. Many crews did more sorties, but the Memphis Belle got the credits.
I work with Vets. Would you like to meet a couple of them? We got one just turned 107.
@@foreverpinkf.7603 Better her than nothing right?!
@@viclorenz2522 I always love hearing vets talk about their experiences, it's an amazing thing.
B-17 in real life: can be flown back home with extreme damage
B-17 in WarThunder: oh, one bullet hit my tail? Well, time for it to be completely severed, go back to the hangar
Can you do a video on _Old 666,_ the most heavily armed B-17 in WW2 and has one of the most awarded missions of the war?
by all rights, Old 666 should be as well known and famous as the Memphis Belle and Enola Gay. The crew is finally getting the recognition they deserve though. Better late than never.
Man, I wish more people talked about her.
Old 666 is so amazing
@@TheHolyRussiaSo is Lancaster S for Sugar. 137 successful missions. Now happily retired and on display at the Imperial War Museum.
@paulsimmonds2030 ..💀..Now, THAT is Interesting..!!
You have top quality content, and that certain "X"factor to be a successful channel. All the best, subscribed.
Thank you!
The Yanks liked to give their bombers names and paint eyes and teeth etc on their fighters, small things. . . . . A well known aphorism. I didn’t know they had a B17 called ‘Memphis Belle’, but it is not altogether surprising.
Agreed.
I think the technical term is 'pizzazz', and you're right
@@richarddyasonihc Oh they had an entire culture of "nose art" as it still is called. Often the names were quite humorous/ironic/sarcastic.
Here some examples: B-24D "Reluctant Dragon" (reluctant as in not really eager to go in), B-17G "Miss Chief" (wordplay on mischief, a friendly word for sex before marriage), B-24D "Flak Bait", etc, etc...
Just google "nose art" for some giggles. :D
The quality of your video's is so high! I was already impressed by the video about the TU22. This one was very good as well. The numbers of casualties among the aircrew shocked me, I had no idea it was that high... RIP to al those who perished during the war.
By far the air war in European skies was the deadliest of world war two. An American infantryman had a better chance of coming home.
I was there at the unveiling in 2008 with my grandfather, who crewed on B-17s in WWII, and we both broke down in tears when the curtain fell. I've heard the story countless times, but it never fails to draw tears from my eyes.
I was reminded of something interesting while you were showing footage of the heavily damaged B-17's and that's survivor bias. At some point in the war they were putting more and more armor on the spots that had the most damage. Then they realized that they needed to armor the places where they DIDNT have damage because that's the spots the planes were hit hard enough to not come home.
From what I recall, the mistake was pointed out before any modifications were made.
@@SnakebitSTIYes.
I love that you mentioned the others that completed the tour of 25 earlier. From my understanding 'Hell's Angels' was rejected for publicity purposes which is why it was not celebrated in the same manner that Memphis Belle was. There were 15 aboard 'Hot Stuff' when it went into bad weather in Iceland and slammed into the mountainside. Captain Robert Shannon was going to be the public face of bringing bomber crews home until that untimely accident. There are many stories of crews on their 25th and final mission falling painstakingly short having made it over the coast of Kent.
It's interesting to note also that when Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar of 617 Sqdn. went on a publicity tour in the USA after the Dambusters raid, a person complaining about the fact USAAF crews had to complete 25 missions asked him how many he had flown. 173 was his answer at the time. He and Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO & Two Bars, DFC are two very different commanding officers of 617 Sqdn, but both well worth reading about. Leonard Cheshire as much for his charity work along with his wife Margaret Susan Cheshire, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw, Lady Cheshire, CMG, OBE, better known as Sue Ryder.
These are people I have a huge respect for and hold in the highest regard.
I met the pilot, Col. Robert Morgan at an air show in Florida many years ago. He signed a copy of his book for me. He was a pretty nice man. No airs at all. RIP Col. Morgan.
God speed, sir.
May this channel continues to grow and become a legend one day
I got the chance to see and take pictures of the “Belle” at the National Museum of the United Sates Air Force in Dayton Ohio, where she is on permanent restored display. She could fly if they wanted to fly her, but she is a National treasure. And man is she beautiful!
Grandparents took me there to the National Museum in Dayton when I was 8 or 9, didn't really appreciate it as much as I would now. Hoping to go there in the near future!
Yeah. Given the fate of (I believe) _Nine O'Nine_ it's better that they don't fly her.
.
Let's not forget that those bombers have attacked civilian targets 90% of the time. That's the reality when Holywood isn't involved.
@@dxb8086 let’s not be hypocritical and forget that the civilians there were beneficiaries of a system that was systematically erasing, murdering, and enslaving an entire race.
@dXb nah they targeted industrial targets (valid military targets). During WW2 the closest thing to precision bombing was still imprecise to the point of only being able to hit large navy vessels. Basically: shit happens.
My grandpa was a B-17 captain in the Mighty 8th Airforce over Germany during WW2. His B-17 was named FiFi. He was one of the youngest B-17 Pilot's during WW2 because he forged his paper work and joined when he was 16. Also he told a story about how they bombed a German Brewery instead of their target after drinking whiskey all night and during the flight. He would claim the Germans gave up the next day because they couldn't fight without beer lmao
@Mizzle20420..💀✨️..Haa Haa..!! Beautiful.., I Love it..😉👍
Finally, someone - you sir, have nailed it and managed through what has obviously been quite thorough research, to tell the true history of these aircraft and how the 'Belle was selected to represent what she had accomplished. Kudos for the effort!
Not great research as tthe Belle wasn't the first B17 to complete 25 missions..
@@gailraby2423 No s##t! ... I think that was made abundantly clear. The 1st was the B17F "Hell's Angels" but due to the nose - art/name, it was deemed inappropriate for PR. There was another in the Pacific Theatre, but was deemed inappropriate because the focus was to shed favourable light on the Daylight Bombing campaign over Nazi occupied Europe and the need to smash the German/Axis war - machine. There was a B24D also. The aim was to find an aircraft suitable for the War - Bonds tour. This is pretty well explained and I've personally been aware of this matter for many years... so have a LOT of other people. In fact a B17F of the same Group - the 91st, was all but set to go, but went down on her 25th mission... that shed light on the next aircraft in the group and the rest is history. If it isn't this post, there is another that sheds light on tbe whole train of thought on an aircraft deemed suitable for PR work/War - Bonds Tour conducted by the USAAF ... the actual 1st to complete the requisite number of mission's was never about that single factor. Politics and the military are strange bedfellows at the best of times.
@@gailraby2423 FYI - B17F "Hells Angels" VK - D, Serial number 41-24577, 303rd B.G. 48 mission's at July 1943. 25 reached just before the Memphis Belle.
@@christiankirkwood3402 yes, proving my point, the Belle wasn't the first B17...
@@gailraby2423 ...proving your point?... it's simply a matter of wuite well known history and you offer no specific information. I've qualified and added clarity to this widely known and established fact by naming anf in this case in point, identifying at least one particular aircraft that was, as I accurately mentioned, wasn't deemed suitable for the desired "public relations" exercise the USAAF had in mind in an effort to both convince people that the daylight bombing campaign conducted - with it's appalling loses at that time - and align an ideal of "apple pie" decent young men fighting for supremacy over Hitler's Europe. As I also deferred to, there is a great post about how the politically driven PR branch of the Air Corps actually came to choose just which aircraft met the criterion of thinking behind showcasing a particular aircraft to use for the purpose of raising money and moral at a time when there where some big doubts anf worries about daylight - bombing. Far from championing "your" insight into this not so astute observation, I'm trying to flesh out your broad and seemingly uninformed recognition of this well known fact. This post is a fantastically well researched and presented piece of historic content that really separates the 1990 movie myth about that final mission, not to Bremen snd all but shot out of tne air, but sheds fact and shear's away movie fantasy from a deserved legend. Any bomber that commenced operations from General Ira Eiker's time in late 1942 when he himself delivered "Esmeralda" - the well known B17E fresh from the U.S. and through those very early op's and raids that established daylight bombing and also the high risk to loss ratio, rates as worthy of the publicity and awareness established by the "26th" mission of the Memphis Belle. Kind regards from Sydney :)
I've had the good fortune to see three B-17s in the air, along with a B-24 and the only remaining airworthy B-29. Just a single one of them is impressive. I can only imagine what an entire wing of heavy bombers passing overhead would be like.
There are two airworthy B-29s, Doc and FiFi.
@@prinzalbatross9526 I wasn't aware of a second one. But I have had the experience of sitting in my house, hearing multiple piston engines, and looking out the window to see FiFi and a P-51 making a low loop over the city.
Capt Morgan, after a brief furlough, went on to fly B-29 missions from Saipan, leading the 1st B-29 mission to bomb Tokyo proper, targeting the Mitsubichi aircraft factory
The Belle's bathing suit is blue in one clip and red in another.
Edit: Looks like maybe difference between left side and right side.
No, you are absolutely correct - the bathing suit is blue on the port side and red on the starboard side.
@@ianmacfarlane1241 Should be green on the starboard side and red on the port side lol
@@KingJellyfishII Yes, if it was done to replicate aircraft lights, but I've no idea why they'd have painted it that way.
Maybe they used all the green paint up on the Jeep’s 😁🍻
I think the reason why one of the bathing suits is blue instead of green is probably that blue is more visible against the green paint underneath
Dude I'm loving going through all of these!! Absolutely top quality content, I look forward to seeing your channel expand the way it deserves to. Please keep the stories coming!
I love how the plane managed to lose more engines than it had at any one point in time.
In one of my B-17 books, it's written that Capt. Morgan insisted on Wright built radials only. Auto maker Studebaker was also making the Wright 1820 while contributing to the war effort. He thought they weren't as well made, so he refused to have them used as a replacement.
I just randomly stumbled onto your channel good sir, and I must say, I am super impressed and really genuinely happy that I did! Something you hear a lot in regards to TH-cam channels is people who say that most TH-camrs look back on their very early videos and cringe at the glaring mistakes that are common with novice creators. From where I'm sitting having watched three of your first nine videos though, I must say, your channel exudes a confidence and a competency rarely present in most channels within their first year of making videos, let alone in their first four months! From the absolute top tier channel name "Paper Skies" (seriously, bravo) to the succinct yet respectful levels of detail given while presenting these tremendously engaging true stories, it's clear you made a great decision when you decided to start this TH-cam channel, because you have undeniable talent for this storytelling medium. Hats off to you good sir, subscribed!
I was just about to jump off TH-cam when I seen the thumbnail
you have some of the BEST content on this sort of stuff. absolutely love it.
51% that's shocking
The last minute really gave me chills! Keep up the great work!
6:20 the B-17G didn’t roll off the line until August 1943. The most common B-17 in use before was the B-17F
At home with an injured right leg, I have watched many of your videos today. I am impressed with the lack of empty “fillers” to make the videos longer. Your videos are full of clarifying background information, and excellent photos, original videos and great illustrations. My father was a fighter pilot way back in the mid 1920’s, and his stories gave me a lifelong love of learning more about both military and civilian aircrafts. Keep up the great work! This retiree loves your videos!
My mums next door neighbour was a mid-upper gunner on a HH Halifax. He was a ‘caterpillar club’ member and was captured in Holland. He gave me a very interesting talk on defensive fire and how it was done. USAAF gunners tried to damage or destroy attacking planes but RAF doctrine was to drive the attacker off or cause their fire to miss. It was fascinating.
Great vid btw (again:)
THIS. This needs to be promoted by the TH-cam algorithm. I really appreciate the narrative, the editing, the attention to detail, and the calm voice guiding us throughout the video. The very last remarks towards the 24:00 minute mark are really outstanding. Not glorifying war, or human aggression, but rather a humble statement from which we all should learn. Countless lives were unnecessarily lost dues to fights over ideology (or religion). We, now a global civilization, need to learn from this. In every part of the world. Maybe I am being naive, but I cannot help it.
I felt like I am watching a professional documentary with real budget, keep up the good work! Million subs channel here
What fantastic story-telling! Simply beautiful. Thank you! 👍😎
Well done! Your research was impeccable. I appreciate that you mentioned "Hell's Angels" as the first B-17 to complete 25 missions in the ETO--in the difficult days of 1943.
Your videos are fantastic. Great footage, great editing, and very well written scripts that not only present loads of interesting historical and technical details, but also highlight the human stories behind the aircraft--and there's something about your narration, a kind of genuineness, that really nails that down.
I remember watching The Memphis Belle as a kid. I love war movies, and this is one of my favorites.
I had a Great Uncle that was a Lt. Colonel in the 8th Air Corps. Flying a B-17 over Germany. His name was Jimmy. One mission he was the only person on his plane to come back without any injuries, most of the crew was killed. They had to pry his hands off the steering wheel.
88mm: "do you feel lucky punk? well, do ya?"
"YES I DO"
That was SO well produced in all ways. Excellent narration with a good script, and great clips with good editing. Thank you I learned a lot. Subscribed and bell rung.
I saw the aircraft that played "Mother and Country" and several others in wide shots in the movie, at an air show in Germany in 1997. I had the pleasure to see it up close during the day and even stand in the crowd directly behind the barrier when it was starting up and taxiing to its sortie back to France. When it turned left onto the taxi way we were standing watching directly behind it, in the full wash of the props. Amazing to witness.
What a beautiful plane the B17 is…
i remember watching an old VHS when i was a kid in the 80s when i stayed at my grandmother's house. it was an OLD documentary about the Belle, and all of the filming was FROM a mission in the early 1940s. it's neat to see that is the subject of this video.
It was undoubtedly this: th-cam.com/video/7gSHiQeT1R4/w-d-xo.html
This is great! So interesting :) Make more videos!
The B-17 Hell's Angels (41-24577) of the 303rd Bomb Group completed 25 combat missions on 13 May 1943, becoming the first B-17 to complete the feat, one week before the Memphis Belle. B-24 Liberator Hot Stuff of the USAAF 93rd Bombardment Group, 330th Bombardment Squadron was the first heavy bomber to complete 25 missions on February 7, 1943.
I am truly impressed by the videos of Paper Skies. The voice overs seem to be from someone for whom English is a second language but the minor mistakes add to the charm of the work and make it far, far more entertaining that the alternatives.
I wish the staff at Paper Skies good health.
The naration is fine, considering most Americans only speak English and Americans from the south can't be understood in California.
Yes, the naration is fine.
Thanks for the channel.
@@splifstar85 no he's not, he's ukrainian
"So maybe the Memphis Belle was the first B-17 bomber to complete 25 missions, with a captain and crew who also completed 25 missions, entirely in the European theatre, solely in daylight, without a serious wound or injury to its personnel, and never had a flat tire, and finished up on a Thursday?"
"Yet again... no."
Over 26,000 US airmen were killed in the 8th Air Force alone. RAF Bomber Command lost over 55,000 aircrew during the war as well. If you were flying in a heavy, it was coin toss if you made it back home.
Here's one for the algorithm: liked and subscribed!
Absolutely love the channel! I see major growth in your future!
Your videos are so in depth. Most others would leave out certain things to keep their videos at 10:00 or less. You are doing an excellent job!
TH-cam is full of short videos that barely scratch the surface and tell you nothing. Give me channels like Paper Skies any day, where I can watch a video on a topic I already know pretty well and still likely learn something!
Exceptional video! Very well done!
Another great video!
Very informative and well made Doco. Thanks for that.
Excellent presentation! I enjoyed every minute of it, what a story
Great video, the bit at the end about aircrew coordination was perfect.
That was a GREAT VIDEO, ONE OF YOUR BEST. AWESOME JOB.
*whew* It got into a museum!
Fantastic video! Real top quality and wise, sobering comment. Keep up this amazing work! Thank you so much!
Your way of narrating the story is awesome, and subjects you choose is more of like a thriller... Great job 🎉🎉
Excellent video! Thank you.
Awesome research and storytelling! Wow
this content is top notch! glad i found this channel. just subbed
I love having the other sides perspective and doctrine explained in such a complete and relatively unbiased way. Your videos are quite excellent, informative and humorous at the proper times. Great job!
Amazing videos man, keep up the good work. This channel is going to blow up soon enough 👍
What a story,thanks for the additional intel.
I just subscribed today after watching a few videos. Looking forward to many more. Thanks for great content! 👍✌❤
You’re narration is captivating. Good research 👍
A fine in depth report, Well Done ...GK
Great channel, and great stories.
i must say, you're really a great storyteller, thanks for making these videos!
Amazing. Great video !!!
Amazing content! You really do a great job too! Thanks.
This channel is AMAZING! I'm recommending it to all my friends
I've watched your 16 Admirals and Stuka disaster videos months ago. But TH-cam gladly has recommended you again and after watching this and leaening the real history behind Memphis Belle. I must hit that subscribe button
awesome video, awesome information, awesome production value, awesome delivery. also your accent is very easy to listen to.
Very well told. Thank you 👍
Awesome quality content, pleasant voice, more than excellent visual content and presentation. Subscribed. Triple A quality!
great channel loving the videos. subscribed
Amazing story telling. Great channel.
you produce great content. thank you very much.
The story that sticks in my head from Iwo Jima was one my granddad liked to tell. He was one of the men who took photos of the first flag raising, and until the day he died that man was upset about R. Lowery's photo getting famous and not his
That's a shame, but history breaks that way, sometimes. I'd like to see your granddad's photo. You should put it up.
I have seen her in person even though my parents tried to not let me see her. all due to the artwork being that of a woman that had see through nightie on her side under the windshield.
Thank you and much appreciated. There are no words to tell you that the research behind the story.
Watching this on the 1st anniversary of the loss, of the B-17 Texas Red Raiders, at the Dallas CAF airshow. There, one of the only surviving, flying examples of a King Cobra overshot his turn and slammed into the B-17, just aft of the wings, completely shearing off the Tail of the bomber and killing everyone involved. Very sad day in CAF history.
Excellent. A great story well told.
Excellent production, you’ll be a very successful channel
WW2 planes were the most fascinating thing for me as a child with the B-17 at the top of the list. I ate up all the books i could find about the topic while building airfix models as well. Thanks for a trip down memory lane. Great content, subscribed!
Let's not forget that those bombers have attacked civilian targets 90% of the time. That's the reality when Holywood isn't involved. You americans are so delusional, it hurts...
The best channel and info..👍
*New video is coming soon. Subscribe so you don't miss it.*
Thank you for this and other amazing videos. I subscribed! 👌👍
@13:12 I'm sure I've seen this particular piece of footage but until now I quite honestly didn't know what I was looking at - now that I do (and it's pretty clear to see), it's amazingly chilling to understand what's going on inside that bomber, having just been struck by ordnance from a friendly bomber above.
Many thanks man, great coverage on a legendary crew and plane 👍🍻
Thank you, well done.
Being completely honest, I've never been interested in WW2 or any other military aviation era in general which was before the Korean war, but the way you present videos right down to the smallest details, has given me a new passion for older eras! Fascinating work! Keep em' coming! Subscribed!
Yeah right, I have been intrested in alot of military topics and just discovered this channe ltoday, Soon i will have binge watched every upload
WWII is a quite fascinating period for military aviation, going from seat-of-the-pants biplanes at the start, to jets and radar at the other
Enjoying your content. Subscribed.
Just watched all your videos back to back from newest to oldest as of the time of writing this comment. And let me say it this way keep up the good work and i can see the silver play button in your hands pretty soon .
Excellent Video! I always wondered why Memphis Belle was so special, now I know why. To the crew of the Memphis Belle, thank you for your service to our country!
This is such good quality video!
I love this channel excellent work
Fabulous video!!!!!! Loaded with heretofore unknown facts I was totally unaware of. Thank-you sir!
My grandfather flew 39 missions in a B-17 before being shot down over Austria. He could’ve gone home after 25 but his whole crew signed up for a second tour. Great plane flown by even greater people.
Nicely done.
Amazing! I love your channel. You do not find quality content like this every day
Glad you enjoy it!
Bassingbourne!!! I did basic there (military) many, many years after this story! Thrilling!
Absolutely outstanding!