Keep in mind that aircrew was a role that people competed for. Most considered it a better life than slogging through the war on the ground as infantry (especially early in the war when the allies weren't doing all that well).
Generally, I think it was considered as a "Careful what you wish for" kind of thing once the heavy bomber losses became known generally. I don't think that fighters were considered as much of a "you'll
never make it home" prospect that bombers were by 1943, though.
martin_sam_2000 wrote:
I am under the impression that even tho they were in in the military and couldn't leave, the choice to be an aircrew was theirs and they could leave flight status and be reassigned to another role without any detrimental affect on their record.
I have talked with many 8th AF vets in the past and most of them told me they could turn in their wings if it got too rough, but generally they considered theirs a better lot in life than in a tank or a foxhole.
That's what they assumed awaited those who said they couldn't hack it. If that was accurate for official policy, I was never able to determine.
I once talked with a B-17 co-pilot (don't remember which group) who landed his bird as the only non-wounded member of the crew, covered in the remains of his pilot. As soon as he got out of the flak house (rest center) he walked into the air exec and handed him his wings. He said they made him a ADC for a general stateside as his command decided he'd really had enough, even for that line of work.
He also said he was shunned by the other aircrew on base before he got on the plane back to CONUS. He never flew a plane again, up to the time I met him in the 90s...