The Engine Secret That Let B-17s Fly Higher Than German Fighters Could Follow

Comments · 136

• DW

  @dwtees · 1 month ago (edited)

  My Dad flew B-17's with the 8th Airforce out of RAF Knettishall England Airfield in the 1943 bombing raids of the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt Germany.  I don't remember him ever talking about the cold except him mentioning they wore electrically heated suits.   My dad was the radio operator in a B-17 named "Baby Red" or "Red Baby".    My Dad also operated the 30 cal machine gun position near his radio room.   His pilot drew the short straw and they had to fly in the bottom of Curtis Lemay "Iron Ass Lemay's" flying box formation.  He was attackd by BF 109's and FW-190's.  He was shot down in 1943 and spent WWII in Stalag 17 for the rest of the war until Patton liberated Europe.  All crew members but one bailed out and survived.  He said they had to bail out of the bombay compartment.  My dad was the epitomy of the Greatest generation.  We lived in poverty.  He had severe post tramatic stress syndrome.  The USA forgot him and others like him. My dad and men like him service is the reason why we are not all speaking German.  To call him a Hero is an understatement.

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• MA

  @markchandler7847 · 1 month ago

  My dad, Albert Allen Chandler, was a mechanic stationed with the U.S. Army Air Corps in Ipswich UK fixing B-17’s.   I asked once about his time in service.  He got a far away look in his eyes and recounted often being awakened in the predawn morning as bombers returned from night raids.  He could identify by sound alone some of the aircraft, and diagnose what repairs were to be done on sputtering engines.   His eyes darkened as he recalled the bullet and AA riddled fuselages then his lower lip quivered as he recalled the carnage those holes left on the gunners and crew.  Silence.   I never asked again.  He is my hero.  RIP Dad.

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• MI

  @MilitaryCommentary-j2y · 1 month ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr06g252tp8&amp;t=2125">35:25</a> “Waste exhaust spun a fireproof wheel.” I love how this story shows that technological advantage was not just about having a clever idea, but about decades of metallurgy, testing, manufacturing, and access to the right materials. The turbocharger became powerful because an entire industrial system could make it reliable at scale. It’s a great reminder that breakthroughs often depend on patient work nobody notices at the time. Which mattered more here: engineering knowledge, raw materials, or industrial capacity?

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• CR

  @CrotchetyOldEngineer · 1 month ago

  The turbosupercharger, made possible by advanced metallurgy, was indeed a significant factor in winning the air war. Still, a distressing number of those B-17’s and B-24’s were downed by the fighters that couldn’t reach them.

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• BI

  @billhowcroft5751 · 1 month ago

  Well made. The best video I&apos;ve watched this year. <br>(Former Rolls-Royce design engineer)

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• MR

  @MrCarrizojim · 2 months ago

  There’s no doubt that Hastelloy and other high temp alloys like Inconel changed the world. <br>GE made some big contributions, but Solar Turbines in San Diego has made huge contributions to turbine technology for industry and aviation since the 1930s. Their aviation division, Turbomach, built APUs for a heck of a lot of aircraft, you know, the secret extra engine in every jet that no one ever talks about? I built turbines, APUs and jet engines for 42 years. Some APUs, 787, weighs 1000lbs and generates 1/2 Megawatt. I helped build the first 250 production engines. That business is now Pratt &amp; Whitney/Raytheon owned. My last 10 years, I worked on F135 engine assembly in Jupiter, FL. <br>Hastelloy-X was my career. I saw the lady running a roll welder in one clip. In the 80s I ran the same exact machine building combustion chambers for Solar Turbines Centaur H and Mars industrial turbines out of Hastelloy and inconel.

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• MW

  @MW-bi1pi · 1 month ago

  Stellite alloy is still in heavy use today. To think it was developed almost a Century ago is nuts. The best firearm silencers often use it.

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• HA

  @halfabee · 1 month ago

  I worked for the UK Admiralty Research Establishment from 1977 to 1982. I was involved in building a high-temperature wind tunnel to test erosion on gas turbine blades.<br>We machined small gas turbine blades out of various Nimonic/inconolls to observe their corrosion.

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• AL

  @alumycrick2911 · 2 months ago

  &quot;They reached for stopgaps, and every one confirmed the shape of a wall.&quot; Even a discussion about engineering can be enhanced by a flourish of deadpan elegance.

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• ST

  @stacase · 1 month ago

  Turbo superchargers were made by Allis Chalmers here in Milwaukee during the war. &nbsp;The plant was located at 43rd &amp; Burnham . My Dad worked there, he was an engineer.

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• OL

  @olepossum3970 · 2 months ago

  You need more audio VOLUME please.

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• SR

  @sraps2007 · 2 months ago

  I enjoyed your video. &nbsp;You blended tech facts with the human story, and DIDN&apos;T over-dramatize or push a lop-sided narrative. &nbsp;The turbo supercharger was indeed instrumental in the fight against the Axis and laid the foundation for our EcoBooost Ford engines and turbos used by many leading automobile manufacturers today. &nbsp;Nice job.

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