A bomber pilot in WWII

[eagle7-31]

had a bounty put him by none other that Hitler. That pilot was Clark Gable.

 

[rightwinger]

Jimmy Stewart was a Pilot

I thought Clark Gable was a gunner and his missions were restricted to those that were not high risk

Ted Williams flew combat missions in a jet during Korea

 

[eagle7-31]

Jimmy Stewart was a Pilot

I thought Clark Gable was a gunner and his missions were restricted to those that were not high risk

True Gable was a gunner, but he went on plenty of missions and did some

Jimmy Stewart was a Pilot

I thought Clark Gable was a gunner and his missions were restricted to those that were not high risk

Ted Williams flew combat missions in a jet during Korea

True Gable was a gunner, but he went on a number of high risk missions according to this you tube piece. I thought the bounty on Gable from Hitler was news, not aware of that until I read a bio piece on Gable in the wiki.

 

[whitehall]

Lots of Hollywood actors and sports celebs put their careers on hold to fight for their Country in WW2. Not so many since then.

 

[eagle7-31]

Lots of Hollywood actors and sports celebs put their careers on hold to fight for their Country in WW2. Not so many since then.

Very true. I thought Hitler putting a bounty on Clark Gable to bring Gable to Hitler alive and well was one of the more interesting stories about Hollywood and WWII.

 

[DudleySmith]

Given the equipment and circumstances, everything was high risk in the Army Air Corp in those days, especially with bombers, even if you never left the States.

Instructing had its dangers, too, as it involved flying with inexperienced recruits in old aircraft. More than 8,000 men were killed in training accidents or other non-operational flying during the Second World War.

Operational flying was perilous. Chances of survival varied during a tour, depending on factors such as inexperience, fatigue, type of aircraft flown and target. The most dangerous were the first and last five trips. During the whole war, 51% of aircrew were killed on operations, 12% were killed or wounded in non-operational accidents and 13% became prisoners of war or evaders. Only 24% survived the war unscathed.

Life And Death In Bomber Command

Find out what it was like to serve in Bomber Command during the Second World War and learn more about the risks aircrew faced in the skies.

www.iwm.org.uk

Others can find the stats for the U.S. Some expected over 10% losses in just ferrying planes over to England.

Horrific WWII Statistics

pippaettore.com

we lost 14,000 planes in the continental U.S..


Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. The B-17 and B-24 averaged 30 and 35 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, respectively-- a horrific figure considering that from 1980 to 2000 the Air Force's major mishap rate was less than 2.

The B-29 was even worse at 40; the world's most sophisticated, most capable and most expensive bomber was too urgently needed to stand down for mere safety reasons.. The AAF set a reasonably high standard for B-29 pilots, but the desired figures were seldom attained.

The original cadre of the 58th Bomb Wing was to have 400 hours of multi-engine time, but there were not enough experienced pilots to meet the criterion. Only ten percent had overseas experience. Conversely, when a $2.1 billion B-2 crashed in 2008, the Air Force initiated a two-month "safety pause" rather than declare a "stand down", let alone grounding.

The B-29 was no better for maintenance. Though the R3350 was known as a complicated, troublesome power-plant, no more than half the mechanics had previous experience with the Duplex Cyclone. But they made it work.

 

[Dayton3]

Jimmy Stewart was a Pilot

I thought Clark Gable was a gunner and his missions were restricted to those that were not high risk

Correct but IIRC Gable pulled connections to get himself on 10 actual combat missions.

 

[Esdraelon]

Lots of Hollywood actors and sports celebs put their careers on hold to fight for their Country in WW2. Not so many since then.

Jimmy Stewart was a bomber pilot. B-17s, IIRC.

 

[Deadstick]

Lots of Hollywood actors and sports celebs put their careers on hold to fight for their Country in WW2. Not so many since then.

Indeed, Lee Marvin and Robert Ryan were Marines, that war was the last time there was anything worth fighting and dying for.

 

[Deadstick]

Jimmy Stewart was a bomber pilot. B-17s, IIRC.

Those daylight raids by the Americans were not short of suicide missions until they had long range fighter escorts.