On May 17, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, one of a group of American bombers based in Britain, becomes one of the first B-17 crews to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the United States.
Of the 12,750 B-17s produced, Memphis Belle is famous for being the first Eighth Air Force bomber to complete 25 combat missions over occupied Europe without a crewman being killed and returning to the United States. In Belleâs first three months of sorties from Bassingbourn, 80 percent of the bomb group she was part of was shot down. Morgan has a grim and graphic explanation of what those devastating losses meant to the surviving crews: âEighty-percent losses means you have breakfast with 10 men and dinner with only two of them.â During public appearances he is frequently asked, âWerenât you scared to death?â âScared is not the word,â he generally answers. âYou had apprehension and concern. You were so busy. Each of the 10 guys had a job to do. We didnât have time to get scared.â He adds: âIf you want just one word on how we were able to go through the hell over Europe 25 times and get back without a casualty, Iâll give it to you. It is teamwork. Until you have been on a Flying Fortress in combat, you canât know how essential that is.â
Morgan went on to fly B-29 bombers over Japan.
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