Harold "Hal" Weekley was shot down on 13 August 1944 on his 20th mission in B17 42102516, bombing a bridge at Le Manoir, France. The crew bailed out at 25,000 feet, all survived, some captured, some evaded.
"I evaded for six weeks and returned to base after being involved in behindthelines activities. I was the first 398th crew member to return to base from occupied Europe." Hal stayed in the Air Force for some 30 years and afterward became an inspector for the FAA.
Returned to England on 22 September 1944 from Missing in Action (MIA) status.
Hal was reassigned to the USA as a B17 instructor. He also trained jet instructor pilots during the Korean and Vietnam wars. After retiring from the Air Force, he worked with the Federal Aviation Administration for 14 years.
He has amassed more than 20,000 hours in 97 different types of aircraft, and his certificates include that of an airline transport pilot and airplane multiengine land with type ratings in the DC9, B727, and CV240/340/440.
Before dawn on June 6, 1944, Airmen of the 398th Bombardment Group awoke to a day that would turn the tide of the war in Europe and end with 3,000 Americans dead.
Like most in the Army Air Forces, 1st Lt. Ike Alhadeff trained for this particular day, but he did not know when Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower would give the goahead for the largest amphibious military operation in history: Operation Overlord. It was code named DDay the Allied invasion of Germanoccupied northern France.
During a 3 a.m. briefing in Nuthampstead, England, the young B17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 398th discovered Operation Overlord had started a little past midnight.
The Boeing B17 Flying Fortress is a fourengined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry (prototype Model 299/XB17) outperformed both competitors and exceeded the Air Corps' performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract (to the Douglas B18 Bolo) because the prototype crashed, the Air Corps ordered 13 more B17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances. It became the thirdmostproduced bomber of all time, behind the fourengined Consolidated B24 Liberator and the multirole, twinengined Junkers Ju 88.

The B17 was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, military, and civilian targets.

B17 Flying Fortress General characteristics:

Crew: 10: Pilot, copilot, navigator, bombardier/nose gunner, flight engineer/top turret gunner, radio operator, waist gunners (2), ball turret gunner, tail gunner[218]
Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m)
Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in (31.62 m)
Height: 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
Wing area: 1,420 sq ft (131.92 m2)
Airfoil: NACA 0018 / NACA 0010
Empty weight: 36,135 lb (16,391 kg)
Gross weight: 54,000 lb (24,500 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 65,500 lb (29,700 kg)
Aspect ratio: 7.57
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R182097 "Cyclone" turbo supercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Propellers: 3bladed HamiltonStandard constantspeed propeller
Performance

Maximum speed: 287 mph (462 km/h, 249 kn)
Cruise speed: 182 mph (293 km/h, 158 kn)
Range: 2,000 mi (3,219 km, 1,738 nmi) with 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) bombload
Ferry range: 3,750 mi (6,040 km, 3,260 nmi)
Service ceiling: 35,600 ft (10,850 m)
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
Wing loading: 38.0 lb/sq ft (185.7 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.089 hp/lb (150 W/kg)
Armament
Guns: 13 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 9 positions (2 in the Bendix chin turret, 2 on nose cheeks, 2 staggered waist guns, 2 in upper Sperry turret, 2 in Sperry ball turret in belly, 2 in the tail and one firing upwards from radio compartment behind bomb bay)
Bombs:
Shortrange missions; Internal load only (400 mi): 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)
Longrange missions; Internal load only (≈800 mi): 4,500 lb (2,000 kg)
Max Internal and External load: 17,600 lb (7,800 kg)


Watch more aircraft, heroes, and their stories and missions ➤    / @dronescapes  
To support/join the channel ➤    / @dronescapes  

IG ➤   / dronescapesvideos  
FB ➤   / dronescapesvideos  
X/Twitter ➤ https://dronescapes.video/2p89vedj
THREADS ➤ https://www.threads.net/@dronescapesv...

#flyingfortress #b17 #bomber