An American film about bombers

It's Memphis beauty.

An input in Baidu: the movie American World War II bomber Memphis.

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B- 17 the beauty of Memphis

Open classification: military, weapons, bombers, military aircraft

The most famous B- 17 "Flying Fortress" bomber in World War II was Memphis, which carried out 25 bombing missions over Germany, during which 9 engines, two main wings on both sides, two vertical tails and two main wheels on both sides were replaced. She is a star in Hollywood movies, newsreels, newspapers, books and textbooks. This historic plane is carefully cared for by the United States Air Force Museum at Wright Peterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Memphis Beauty is now on public display in Memphis, Tennessee. On July 7th 1946, he retired and didn't fly. You may have seen the beauty number used in the air show, but it's just another B- 17 painted as the beauty number.

This is not just a plane, behind her are a group of brave people who flew, fought and died over the Third Reich, and we should always remember them. She and her crew want to be part of the air combat in Europe. In order to weaken the powerful enemy's ability to wage war, more than 52000 bombers were used to bomb Germany. How many kinds of American bombers are there? The most common ones are B- 17 flying fortress, B-24 liberator and B-29 super fortress. We can't compare the advantages and disadvantages of these planes, because each model has a very specific design purpose. They are all great planes, and the crew members are lovely and respectable.

1943 65438+1On October 23rd, in the sky full of anti-aircraft guns, the Memphis Beauty was fighting for its life. Below is a U-shaped submarine base in the French occupied area. The Boeing B- 17F of the US Army Air Force is destined to become the most famous "flying fortress" in history. In the flying formation near the Laurian submarine base, she is one of the four fleets aiming at the submarine dock. In order to get close to their goal, Captain Robert K Morgan and the other crew members of the "Beauty" must first break through the screen of the German fighter plane and then pass through the thick anti-aircraft barrage. Their basic task is simple and clear: keep stable, do not make any evasive maneuvers before dropping bombs, and finally "drop bombs", and then the bombers can return to the Eighth Army Base in Bassingbourne, England. However, they had to pass those fighters. "Because we were the smallest of the four fleets, they concentrated on attacking us," Morgan recalled. "For 22 minutes, they made us feel like we were in hell."

A Fw 190 attacks beautiful women from the front. "One of us has to get out of the way," Morgan said. "The usual way is to dive, but I can't, because another fleet is below us, so I pulled it up directly. The shell that originally hit our nose hit our tail. " After the impromptu jump, Morgan didn't immediately realize what had happened. He thought he might have avoided a disaster until he heard the report from the tail gunner. Sergeant John Quinlan shouted by phone: "Sir, the tail was hit and the whole rear section was knocked off! It's burning! The entire tail is leaving the plane! " After an eternity, Quinlan's voice came again: "Sir, it's still burning, and another piece has fallen!" " "Morgan decided to dive to put out the fire, and the height dropped by two or three thousand feet before being leveled. The people in the cabin are upset, and their minds are full of thoughts such as plane crash and skydiving. There was another moment of silence, and then the gunner's voice seemed to be much calmer: "Sir, the fire is out." Morgan later said, "This is the most wonderful music I have ever heard. "The pilot rose from his seat to see what had happened." It looks as if we have no tail at all. I went back to the cockpit and flew back to the base two hours later. It was a difficult flight, and it was even harder for her to land. The elevator was damaged so badly that the operating mechanism got stuck. But we finally landed safely. "Later, the crew of" Beauty "summed up Morgan's flying skills and said," He is an excellent pilot. He can always take us back. According to Sergeant Quinlan, "I have watched him make the plane accomplish the impossible task countless times. "

In 12750 B- 17, "Memphis Beauty" is famous as the first bomber of the Eighth Army who completed 25 combat missions in Europe and no one died. 1September, 1942, The Beauty cast set their sights on their brand-new B- 17F- 10-BO in Bangor, Maine for the first time. Captain and pilot Robert K Morgan has just started a romance with Margaret Polk. She is from Memphis, Tennessee, and her sister is married to the military doctor of 9 1 Bomber Group. In order to impress this beautiful girl, Morgan tried his best: if a 4,800-horsepower Wright whirlwind passes by from time to time and takes away the tiles on her roof, which girl can stay awake? Most girls are happy to date boys with cars, while the boys in Margelite have B- 17! So when the crew named their plane, Morgan wouldn't miss this opportunity to show his love to his "dear Polci". He thinks Memphis Beauty sounds very good. Of course, other people also have their own ideas, but Morgan persuaded one of them to vote for him. In the end, "Beauty" got two votes and other names got one vote each. This is another victory of American democracy, so a "beauty" wearing a swimsuit was painted on the side of the bomber nose. This famous nose decoration painting was originally created by George Patty for Gentleman magazine. After contacting him, Colonel Morgan got permission to copy this hot beauty, and then Corporal Tony Star drew a picture on her nose. Morgan flew to Memphis with "Beauty" to complete her running-in flight, where she was officially named and Margelite Polk was invited as a guest (she will receive a proposal ring later). Then "Memphis Beauty" crossed the Atlantic Ocean and went to the base of 9 1 bomber group in Bassingbourne.

In the first three months of the attack of Beauty from Bassingbourne, 80% of her bombers were shot down. Morgan has a cruel and vivid explanation of what such a devastating loss means to the survivors: "Eighty percent of the loss means that you have breakfast with ten people and only two people are left at dinner." But the morale in the base is not bad, mostly because of the number "25". Boys can rest when they know that they have completed 25 tasks. When they have a goal and know that there is a rest place ahead, their mood will be better. Of course, good living and accommodation conditions also helped, which was much better than the later Pacific war zone. The Germans thought that huge losses would stop the allied bombing during the day, but the allies persisted.

Beauty took part in some of the most dangerous air strikes in the war, when the German Air Force still had overwhelming air superiority. She was hit by bullets, blown up by anti-aircraft guns, and an engine was damaged five times. However, the legendary plane insisted on fighting, and the longest rest time was five days, or because the wing spare parts were delayed.

In 25 combat missions, the gunner of "Beauty" was lucky enough to destroy 8 enemy fighters, and they may also shoot down 5 others and injure at least a dozen. She dropped more than 60 tons of bombs over France, Germany and Belgium, attacking supply stations, railway marshalling yards, aircraft factories and various military bases. The Fokker-Woolf factory in Bremen, the shiplocks in Saint Nazaire and Brost, the wharf and shipbuilding facilities in Port William, the railway marshalling yard in Rouen, the submarine wharf and power station in Laurian and the aircraft factory in Antwerp were all bombed with surprising accuracy. Looking back on these days, Morgan can't remember any light tasks or light journeys.

The anti-aircraft guns in San Nazar are impressive. In Britain, people call Saint Nazar "the city of anti-aircraft guns". It's hard to see the ground clearly with so much gunfire. The crew saw with their own eyes that two or three enemy planes were hit by their own gunfire. At an altitude of 65,438+0,000 feet, the pilot Charles Leighton admitted that he was scared this time. He watched the anti-aircraft guns behind the plane explode one after another outside the window, and the more he watched it, the more shocked he became until the order to drop the bomb diverted his attention. It's only about 1 minute, but it seems that 15 years have passed.

1on March 3, 943, the air raid in Ham was hit by bad weather. When the fleet of "Beauty" rushed out of the dense fog, it was found that all other planes had disappeared, leaving only their 16 B- 17. Later, it was learned that other planes turned to secondary targets (multiple targets will be selected before the allied bombing operation, and if the first target does not meet the bombing conditions, it will turn to secondary targets). During the 20 minutes of 1 hour, they were attacked by about 100 soldiers in turn. The scene is quite spectacular. 16 it is very lucky that the plane can return to 12.

The most thrilling mission of "Beauty" was to air raid enemy facilities in Romilly-Haute Seine province. Since crossing the coast, the formation has been surrounded by enemy planes. Morgan wrote in the mission report: "At first, a squadron attacked us, and then one after another. We were shot on the way to the target, over the target and on the way back. Some Germans finished their attack, landed to refuel and replenish ammunition, and then took off again to attack us. There are still 1 hour and 58 minutes, and they have been biting us. I have never seen so many attacks in my life. " The diary kept by the navigator Leiden provides additional details: "On the way to Romilly, we passed Rouen, where we were attacked by about 25 German soldiers. They came from the front, so I fired a lot. Bob said I hit one, but I hit it too fast and didn't pay attention. I fired more than 700 bullets. I saw two B-17s falling in front of us. When they (enemy planes) fire from your front, it seems that the whole plane is exploding. " Morgan's report said: "We hit the hangar and the armory, destroyed the 100 German fighter plane on the ground, and hit a German officer's canteen at lunchtime. Later, I heard that I also bombed a wine cellar full of cognac. " This time, the "Beauty" stayed in enemy airspace for two and a half hours and was attacked by about 300 enemy planes before and after. When it returned to the base, it was almost out of ammunition and food. Miraculously, the US didn't even have a bullet hole.

After completing the 25th and last mission over Europe, the "Beauty" set off for another mission-returning to the United States for a public relations parade. During the three-month "mission" in the summer of 1943, the crew visited 3 1 cities, including Washington, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Wichita and Mobile. Crew members are regarded as heroes every time they appear in mass gatherings and aircraft factories. In the victory parade across the United States, this famous plane had only one passenger of the opposite sex, which was the mascot of the plane "Stuka". This Scottish beagle that boarded the plane in Britain was bought by co-pilot James Warness in a pet shop in London. It accompanied the crew to every cruise destination. This is everyone's favorite. I eat sliced meat almost every day.

Although General Henry H "Harper" Arnold allowed Morgan to fly as low as he wanted, it was almost certain that the general didn't want the bomber to fly over the roof, as the "Beauty" did when it crossed the United States. When Morgan flew the beauty back to his hometown of Ashville, North Carolina, he made the huge plane fly very low, almost brushing the roof of the city center. His target seems to be the city hall and the court. There is some space between the two buildings, but it is definitely not enough for a B- 17 with a wingspan of 0/03 feet to pass through. Just before "Beauty" was about to crash, Morgan told her to lean sideways and run vertically through the gap. The frightened audience on the ground muttered that whoever was flying the plane should be tried by a military court.

In Memphis, the second stop of the trip, Morgan gave another wonderful performance. Someone mentioned the military court again, this time it was a senior officer. A reporter in Memphis wrote: "He has a special reason to stay here. There is a girl he loves waiting in the ground. He wants to marry this girl. A proud young man always wants to show off in front of his girl. " Morgan and Polk didn't get married in the end, but they remained lifelong friends after their love ended. And "beauty", she will end her life in this city named after her.

After completing the public relations cruise, the "Beauty" was assigned to a training headquarters for a period of time. 1945, she was sent to altus airplane cemetery in Oklahoma, waiting to be dismantled. A reporter found her, wrote a report about her plight, and contacted the mayor of Memphis, so the mayor bought "Beauty" for $340. At one time, the famous B- 17 was placed on a concrete chair outside the armory of Memphis National Guard, and was later moved to Memphis International Airport for public display, without any protective measures for many years.

The fate of "Beauty" took a turn for the better in May. 1986. Hugh Downes, the host of ABC News 20/20, flew to Memphis to make a special report on Beauty. Downes himself was a pilot in World War II. He interviewed Morgan and Colonel Richard Apps Dom, curator of the Dayton Air Force Museum. Apps Dom issued an ultimatum to Memphis: If they continue to let beautiful women live like beggars, the Air Force will demand their return. After the program was broadcast, Frank D'Onofrio, president of Memphis Beauty Memorial Association, found some new members. Ward Archer Jr., an advertiser in Memphis, is one of the most enthusiastic people. He launched a fund-raising campaign to "save beauty". Memphis City Government, Boeing Company, local enterprises and thousands of citizens donated money, and * * * raised $552,000 in six months.

1987 In May, Memphis celebrated the return of "Memphis Beauty" on Mud Island. Thousands of citizens gathered on the island to watch the largest B- 17 formation roaring across the sky after World War II. Polk, Morgan, Deno Friob and Archer appeared in the stands, and the other crew members present were pilot Charles Leiden; Co-pilot James Warnes; Keshi Amo "Tony" Nasto and Clarence E "Bill" Winchell; Radio operator Robert J. Hansen. This is a memorable day. Beauty has gone home. After the renovation, she will start a new journey in public.

"Beauty" task list

1942

1.165438+1October 7th, Brewster, France.

2.165438+1October 9 St. Nazareth, France

3. 165438+ 10/0/7 Saint Nazareth, France

4.65438+February 6th Lille, France

5.65438+February 20th, Romilly-Haute Seine.

1943

6.65438+1October 3rd, Saint Nazaire, France.

7.65438+1October 13 Lille, France

8.65438+1October 23rd, Laurian.

Emden, 4 February.

10.2 14, Hamm, Germany

11.February 16, St. Nazareth, France

12.26, Port William, Germany

1March 27th, Brost.

14.3.6, Laurian.

15.3 12, Rouen, France

16.3 13, Abbeville, France

17.22 March, Port William, Germany

18.28 March, Rouen, France

19.4.5, Antwerp, Belgium

April 16, Laurian.

21.April 17, Bremen, Germany

22.May 1 Saint Nazaire, France

23. Antwerp, Belgium, 4 May

May 24 15 Port William, Germany

May 17, Laurian.