The Bomber that was NOT Supposed to be Shot Down

Comments · 327

• TJ

  @TJ3 · 2 years ago · pinned

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• UG

  @ughettapbacon · 2 years ago

  As I&apos;m rapidly approaching 50 years old I can say this with confidence. Young man you do excellent work.

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• LA

  @LancelotChan · 2 years ago

  It&apos;s fascinating to see the story from two sides&apos; perspective, and somehow the german&apos;s ace realization that the victims were not that different from himself that it could be his turn soon, restored a bit of my faith in humanity. At least he&apos;s not some cold blooded killing machine.

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• MI

  @MinipizzaBatfish · 2 years ago

  American bomber crews at that time used to joke that they had &quot;fighter escort all the way to the target - Hurricanes and Spitfires until they got over the Channel, then 109&apos;s and 190&apos;s all the rest of the way.&quot;

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• RA

  @ramonzzzz · 2 years ago

  This was the third mission flown by American heavy bombers into Germany. &nbsp;The cost was five B-17s and two B-24s, both from the 44th BG. &nbsp;The Germans lost two Bf-110s and one FW-190, but in one of those 110s, one of the leading German night fighter aces at the time, Ludwig Becker, was killed. &nbsp;US gunners claimed 21 fighters destroyed, as well as a number of probables and damaged. &nbsp;German pilots claimed at least 12 American bombers, but probably more than that.

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• HI

  @Hi-lb8cq · 2 years ago

  my grandfather who served with the 464th bomb group in italy and was a top turret gunner and flight engineer was always mad that the B-24 didn&apos;t get recognized more and that the b-17 was always talked about like the B-24 never existed...thank you for talking about the B-24...please make more videos about the b-24 and the missions they flew...there is barely any decent videos on youtube talking about the B-24 during ww2

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• PA

  @Pablo668 · 2 years ago

  My Grandfather was in the RAF and flew in Liberators from North Africa and Malta (where he met my Grandmother). I honestly don&apos;t know how he managed to do it. Basically whether you survived or not in bombing runs was a 50/50 at best. It would have been psychologically brutal.

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• PA

  @Paladin1873 · 2 years ago

  A late friend of mine was a B-24 waist gunner. &nbsp;His plane made a forced landing in Turkey during the Ploesti Raid and the survivors were interned. &nbsp;Like many Liberator crewmen, he was not a great fan of the aircraft. &nbsp;It was faster than the B-17 and could fly further, but it had a lower operational ceiling and was not as rugged or well-mannered as the Fortress. &nbsp;I don&apos;t know how much the loss of Robert Post affected the decision of war correspondents to fly on Liberators, but I do know the B-17 groups were located closer to London and were easier for reporters to visit than the B-24 groups.

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• CH

  @chrislaursen8723 · 2 years ago

  The irony is Robert Post’s most famous and enduring story is not one he wrote but one in which he’s the main character.

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• MA

  @matthewyoung9040 · 2 years ago

  Man that quote hit hard. I “knew” I would die with my comrades in Iraq and still don’t understand why I made it home without them. I try to live the best I can so that I can carry their memory forward. <br><br>We will reunite with all warriors in Valhalla. Semper fi!

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• BR

  @bryantbridgewaters7177 · 2 years ago

  Great video. Once I saw the paint scheme on that 109, I knew who the ace was. You should do one on how Heinz Knoke came up with the idea of bombing the bombers. That is... dropping 500Kg bombs on the bomber formations to break them up.

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• KR

  @krautyvonlederhosen · 2 years ago

  It appears you have done a bit of due diligence here as opposed to the standard shoot and die stories. Thanks for these depictions that define WWII by the personal stories. It was after all, real men, not just someone manning the planes and carrying the rifles who &nbsp;ultimately were successful in crushing the evil that the entire world faced during these dark times. How many of us today would willingly face certain death to carry out these missions without their cell phones?

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