October 14, 1943 - Black Thursday

[ZeamerB17]

October 14, 1943 - Black Thursday.

All the fine young men ... R.I.P.

[TonyM]

The week prior to this raid was pretty brutal too. At least 141 B-17s lost over the continent between October 8 thru 14, 1943. Twenty-seven lost on October 8; twenty-four lost on October 9; thirty lost on October 10; Sixty lost on October 14; Operations were halted for a time after this bloody period.

TonyM.

[tom d. friedman]

great historical memory......... thanks for the re-fresher!!

[Elroy13]

Thanks for remembering! My Grandfather was in the mix on that day.

[daveymac82c]

What brave young men.

This is a part of history that I wasn't familiar with until now. I knew that the bomber crews had lost many aircraft, but didn't realize there was a specific period that represented the worst losses.

I can't begin to understand what was racing through the heads of the lucky crews that made it back after each mission. They must have all started wondering, "When is it my turn?"

What a terrible time to recall, but we have to remember they did not die for no reason. I am thankful for the work they did to provide us with the world we live in today. If I could shake all their hands I wouldn't care how long it took, I would shake every single one, and probably shed a few tears of gratitude.

We just had Thanksgiving here in Canada and it makes me d*mn thankful to have such great neighbours to the south who courageously helped the allied forces secure a free world.

I digress.

-David

[gary1954]

out of the 1410 men, figuring 10 men per aircraft, I wonder how many were KIA, MIA, and became a POW . Brave men to fly five miles high in a tin can....very Brave Men. I am humbled to be in their presence when I meet an old Warrior.

[TonyM]

out of the 1410 men, figuring 10 men per aircraft, I wonder how many were KIA, MIA, and became a POW :( . Brave men to fly five miles high in a tin can....very Brave Men. I am humbled to be in their presence when I meet an old Warrior.

All of those stats for the Schweinfurt mission can be found in the appendix of a book titled:

BLACK THURSDAY

by

Martin Caiden

And those numbers I posted above do not include the damaged B-17s that returned with dead and wounded aboard. Some aircraft made it back but never flew again. So the price was actually higher than what has been posted here.
Good Luck

TonyM.

[SPANNERmkV]

My Dad Wm. M. Price bailed out of Windy City Avenger on Black Thursday.
He made it back to England and the elevator control cables separated while he was in an upward "trend" and when the plane got to 2000 ft. he hit the bell and everybody joined the caterpiller club...
(And no CANSO I am not talking about ground pounders... )

My Dad fractured two ribs bailing out through the bomb-bay, but the rest of the crew had nary a scratch.

Bless those who gave their all that day.

SPANNER

[67N20]

A few numbers from Martin Caidin's Black Thursday:

From 1st Air Division (B17):
149 planes dispatched, 101 attacked target, 45 lost in battle, of the returning planes, 63 were damaged. KIA: 1, Wounded: 29, MIA: 451
Expended 321,126 rounds of.50 cal ammunition.

From 2nd Air Division (B24)
29 planes dispatched, unable to make formations due to weather, none attacked target.

From 3rd Air Division (B-17)
142 planes dispatched, 128 attacked arget, 15 lost in battle, of the returning planes, 79 were damaged. KIA: 4, Wounded: 11, MIA: 143
Expended 376,202 rounds of .50 cal ammunition.

The "Bloody 100th" Group dispatched 8 planes, all attacked the target, no planes lost or casualties.

The 305th Group dispatched 16 planes and 13 were lost. 3 wounded, 130 MIA

Last edited by 67N20 on Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[gary1954]

This is exactly WHY AirShows are important in Education. If people took the time to learn about the aircraft that are at these "events", then they would have a better perspective of the Brave men and women that flew these machines, as well as the machines themselves. Teaching our children doesn't seem to be important to the public masses in general, which is tragic. The cost of our freedom, and the freedoms that other countries of Europe enjoy, is buried in the ground. Thank a Vet.

[Elroy13]

Well said Gary! I believe you hit it on the money! That's why Im glad that we had the Living History Group at LSFM. When the crew would hit different airshows we would take our WWII flight gear and educate the public about what the men and women would go through and the conditions they were in.

God Bless Them All!

[Django]

Are the KIA listings guys that made it back to England, DOA?

[mustangdriver]

Brave men, all of them.