OPENING QUESTION: We recently talked about WWII fighters, let's take a gander at the evolution of Bombers Since WWII-- starting with the B-17 "Flying Fortress":

1) See if you can find all of the "turrets" where the machine guns live

2) The B-17 carried a crew of 10, some of these are obvious, others... not so much. Discuss with your group and make sure you can identify each of the following:

1. Bombardier
6. Radio Operator/Gunner
2. Navigator
7. Ball Turret Gunner
3. Pilot
8. Right Waist Gunner
4. Co-Pilot
9. Left Waist Gunner
5. Top Turret Gunner/Engineer
10. Tail Gunn

LEARNING GOAL FOR TODAY: I will be able to describe the crew responsibilities of a B-17 during today's class.

I will be able to describe the challenges of a bombing run over Germany in a B-17 aircraft during today's class.

WORDS O' THE DAY:

  • B-17
  • B-29
  • B-52
  • B-2

CALENDAR:

WORK O' THE DAY:

Take a few moments and imagine you were one of the crew members of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Jot down a few bullett points to show your thoughts/feelings/emotions/experiences on a raid over Germany on October 14, 1943 -- a day later known to bomber crews as "Black Thursday":

  • 291 Bombers left Britain to bomb factories in Germany
  • They were met by 300 German fighters
  • 60 were shot down
  • 5 crashed on the way back to base
  • 12 were so badly damaged they never flew again
  • 122 bombers suffered some degree of damage

Do a wee bit of research to familiarize yourself on what it was like to be one of those crewmen.

I'd suggest searching newspaper articles, magazine articles and (especially) diaries of the men who flew on those bombers on that mission or similar missions over Germany

Now let's compare/contrast that with THIS amazing aircraft: The B-29 SuperFortress

This is the plane that our colleague Connor's cousin flew in WWII.

That particular plane ("The Enola Gay") was one of the most significant planes every to fly. Why is that?

10 Years Later:

And Then the B2 "Stealth" Bomber