B-17 in WW II - maintenance

Just as important as the pilots and the rest of the crew were the maintenance crews on the ground who often worked by night to get the B-17 under their care ready for the next bombing run. Theirs was a labor love. There were times when parts were in short supply, especially early in the War. This necessitated the need to cannibalize B-17s that were no longer airworthy for parts.

Even B-17's that were temporarily out of service waiting for parts to arrive were at risk of being cannibalized. Early in the war in the pacific theater, a B-17 was out of service for one month waiting for a new engine. It was at least a month before a replacement engine arrived. During this time, parts were taken off this plane and used to keep other B-17's flying. The situation got so bad that the crew chief in charge of this particular B-17 had permission to guard the plane with a gun. The new engine eventually arrived (Freeman 1977 65-6).

Roger Freeman has a chapter where George Cuda, a flight chief with the 600th Bomb Squadron. He oversaw the maintenance operations of the B-17s in his squadron. Cuda describes the special relationship that a mechanic had with his B-17"

"Crew chiefs became very attached to their B-17s and there was quite a competition as to who would knock up the most missions without an abort for mechanical reasons. Some wouldn't take any leave because they didn't trust others looking after their plane The boys took it pretty hard if the lost a B-17 they had nurse for a good number of missions. When you almost lived night and day with your plane it was more than just a machine to you. I remember one of my crew chiefs, Joe Goeller, had a Fort that went 5 missions before being lost after a raid on Merseburg. He nearly cried when that B-17 crashed. Freeman 1977 163)"

Next up:

April 8: Some don't make it back
April 11: other military service and post WW II

Reference:

Roger A. Freeman. 1977. B-17 Fortress at War. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons