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B 17 bomber crew positions6/20/2023 Subtracting the weight of the machine guns, their turrets and the gunners meant more mail or additional fuel could be carried, thus increasing the effectiveness of each mission.įor more details on the RCAF B-17s have a look at Dave's article here:īoeing B-17 Flying Fortress Mk. Flying across the Atlantic Ocean to places like Morocco, England, Cairo and Italy meant that the chance of being attacked over open water by a German marauder was negligible, and now, with North Africa secured by the Allies, the only enemy aircraft with the range to find them were also four-engined patrol bombers like the FW200 Condor. They underwent immediate changes that saw the removal of the features that earned them the name Flying Fortress, specifically, their machine guns. When the first of these former training Fortresses arrived at Rockcliffe in the first week of December 1943, they were somewhat clapped out and still carried their defensive weapons, American markings and serial numbers. Canadians serving in RAF Bomber Command served as aircrews on Handley Page Halifax, Avro Lancaster and Short Stirling heavy bombers, as well as Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers and Short Sunderland flying boats with Coastal Command, and many were flying in all B-17 crew positions, attached to Fortress units of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber and Coastal Commands. Although the RCAF had never operated Flying Fortresses before, Canadians were no strangers to four-engine bomber operation. The Rockcliffe Flying Fortresses were the only B-17s ever in the direct employ of the RCAF, and they were given the standard RCAF four-digit serial numbers common in the Second World War, using a block of numbers from Serial No. The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAC in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of the Second World War against German industrial and military targets.Īccording to an article by Dave O’Malley, the RCAF purchased six used Boeing B-17E and B-17F Flying Fortresses from the USAAC and ferried them to Rockcliffe, with five flying in over three weeks in December and the sixth in February of 1944. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber developed for the the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) in the 1930s. 168 (HT) Squadron, Rockcliffe, Ontario, in 1945.
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