I was just looking through the forums and thought about airplanes not in the sim so i was thinking and thought we should have the fighter destroyer B-17. I cant remember the designation but the variant didnt carry bombs, had 2 top turrets, the waists had dual .50s,and it was the first to introduce the chin turret. So to escort B-17s to Berlin in B-17s could be done.
Hi'
The designation was YB-40 and 8th AF operated a few. It was a flop, as it was heavy'er than the standard B-17 and had problems keeping up with the formations , especially on the home leg.
Happy Landings
ColaBen
+100000000 for the YB-40
+1000 for "Old 666"
BTW, the YB-40 that shot the captured P-38 down had the German pilot's girlfriend painted on it. We knew it was his girlfriend because it was painted on the P-38, and the pilot of a B-17 had a conversation with him before he was shot down. The YB-40 pilot started talking about her and was talking about what they would "do" together after a mission. Just to entice the poor fool.
That P-38 was captured by the Italians and flown by a pilot by the name of Captain Guido Rossi. Here's the story:
"In one of the most unusual cases of revenge recorded by either side in the war, US Army Air Force Lt. Harold Fisher plotted to locate and shoot down the Italian pilot who shot him down in 1943 using a decoy American P-38 Lightning fighter.
The US plane was being used by the Italians in very much the same way the German KG 200 units captured Allied aircraft to infiltrate Allied formations and then shoot down as many as possible. Captured intact when a US pilot mistakenly landed at an Italian airfield, the now Italian used P-38 would approach stragglers from US formations offering to provide fighter protection. When close enough, and at minimal range, the bombers were such easy prey. Such happened to Fisher over the Mediterranean. Fisher and crew survived, and were rescued.
The incident so infuriated Fisher that he managed to convince his commanders to try and shoot the P-38 down. Allied pilots were noticeably leery of any P-38's now, and losses were mounting. Lt. Fisher managed to borrow an experimental B-17 equipped with additional armament and armor. The 'YB-40 Escort' was a B-17 with extra turrets, guns, ammo, and armor plating designed to provide escort for pure bomber B-17's. Mounting 16 .50 caliber machine guns, it proves too slow to keep up with standard bombers, but would be perfect in this mission. Fisher planned to use himself as bait for the decoy P-38.
Fisher had learned the name of his English speaking nemesis, Captain Guido Rossi, and the fact that Rossi
There were a total of 21 YB-40s built/converted. The original prototype and 20 more which were Vega-built B-17Fs converted by Douglas. There were also 4 TB-40s, though I'm not certain what differences there were from the YB-40.
From Joe Baugher's excellent pages:
XB-40: Conversion of B-17F-1-BO 41-24342
YB-40: Conversions of B-17F-10-VE 42-5732/5744, B-17F-30-VE 42-5871, and B-17F-35-VEs 42-5920, 5921, 5923, 5924, 5925, and 5927.
TB-40: Conversions of B-17F-25-VEs 42-5833 and 5834, B-17F-30-VE 42-5872, and B-17F-35-VE 42-5926.
Great story, I sent it to all my friends.
