WWII: B-17 Flying Fortresses Defend Themselves From Incoming Fighters

first published on July 31, 2016 by Funker

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The B-17 Flying Fortress truly a mobile fortress in the sky. Watch as these planes defend themselves from incoming attackers over Europe.

Flying Fortress is an accurate description for the B-17. These sturdy bombers were capable of carrying large payloads of munitions over very great distances, while defending themselves from enemy fighters. The B-17 is a legendary aircraft, and with good reason. 1.5 million pounds of ordinance were dropped on the Germans by the Allies. Out of that 1.5 millions pounds, over 640,000 pounds were dropped from the B-17s.

Rare colorized footage below shows the gunners of the craft defending the bombers as they traverse the skies over Europe. The aerial machine gunnery that is displayed in this video is a lost art, and it may be a long time (if ever) before we ever see it used again.