Coloring her done
One reason I chose to do “My Devotion” was to build a sort of anti-Memphis Belle. Not that I have anything against the Belle, it’s very fortunate to have survived, without it there’d be no real wartime Fort left around. Sure, there’s “Shoo, Shoo, Shoo Baby,” but it was barely recognizable as a B-17 when the Air Force Museum got their hands on it, and it’s a “G” model. The B-17G did see a lot of action, but they were a bit late to the party. The Belle was kind’a early to the party. Just as things were getting rough, they made their 25 missions. It was a huge thing at the time and lifesaver for the crew and the Belle itself, leading to the only preserved B-17F in the world. Many other individual crewmen and complete crews made their 25 missions shortly afterward, but their Forts soldiered on.
The Luftwaffe, faced with determined attacks by 8th Air Force, analyzed the Fortresses and began to make determined head-on attacks, taking advantage of the weakest point on the B-17. Boeing failed to grasp the danger, but the crews took the task in hand and shoehorned .50 cal guns into that beautiful, sleek plexiglass nose. And that’s why I chose to do an ant-Belle of sorts and highlight the slugfest between the Army Air Force’s daylight campaign and the German’s desperate attempts at stopping them.
Also, note the dozen or so kills awarded to “My Devotion’s´ crew. The 8th Air Force agreed to go with the RAF’s kill accreditation system so the kill markings on “My Devotion” were earned the hard way. And Curtis LeMay’s Combat Box formation system made it where any aircraft that penetrated a bomber box would face no less than 100 .50 cal guns, one round from those guns could put a hole in the crankcase the size of your fist. It took big cajones to fly into a formation of B-17s. In brief, the Luftwaffe upped the game with armor, heavier guns, rockets, aerial mines, they even employed night fighters. It came to the point that bomber killers needed an escort once the Mustangs entered the fray. I’m probably preaching to the choir, but I wanted to make my case for the jury-rigged B-17Fs
So, here’s “My Devotion” the finale:
11 attached images. Click to enlarge.
