Comments by "Itinerant Patriot" (@itinerantpatriot1196) on "Inside the B-17 | The dangerous missions of the Eighth Air Force" video.

  1. I'm glad they restored that aircraft to its original mission configuration. Some may take this the wrong way, but it was built to bring destruction to the enemy, not fly around a rich guy, or even a group with a noble purpose. I worked on military aircraft for many years (the good old C-130 Herc) and I can tell you, they have their own personalities (at least the older ones did). Again, some may not get it, but if you've worked with the same bird night after night you get to know its quirks and habits and how to deal with them in ways not always found in the technical orders. The men of the 8th Army Air Force were true heroes. That outfit had the highest casualty rate of any group during the war and they accounted for more than half of all Air Force losses during that timeframe. To put it into further perspective, they lost more men than the Marines. Before the 25-mission rule went into effect the flyers knew it was just a matter of time before their number came up. Yet they kept at it. They kept bombing in the day in spite of the warnings of the British because in their way of thinking daylight bombing offered the best chance of success. While I served, I was fortunate enough to speak with several flyers who served with the 8th and they were all humble guys who just did a job that needed doing. Most are gone now, but if you are ever fortunate enough to meet one, give him your thanks. Those men, and their brothers and sisters in arms from all allied branches and nations truly did save western civilization.
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