B-17 World War II WWII Bomber Airplane Crashes Near Chicago

[Aug84able]

Rest easy old girl..

[CaptainFantastic777]

Oh...that's painful to watch.

[mundicmanic]

damn luftwaffe !!!

[Binotto]

two ME109 cause this.................

[SuperSixMinecraft]

It's a shame something this old and wonderful had to go to waste.

[TheMuffdivr]

Well I'm sure your 'ol man got plenty of views of those ME-109's comin" up on him and I can guarantee you that it wasn't like it was portrayed in the old series "12 o'clock High". My 'ol man flew one of those ME-109G-14's and you know what murphy, he didn't talk a whole lot about it either. At least both of 'em made it back home alive.

[TheWorrier24]

is this real?

[Aenonar]

@TheWorrier24 Unfortunately... An engine caught fire mid flight, they managed to land on a field but couldn't put out the fire

[FiveCentsPlease]

@Aenonar

Not an engine fire, but further back inside the wing where the fuel pumps are located.

[SithLordmatthew]

After we took off and mind you they take 10 people up at a clip at 420 dollars each and there are no seats. Once airborne you are allowed to roam free Id say the scariest part of the plane is the nose under the pilot cab. Something about 65 year old plexy glass just doesn't feel safe to put your weight on when your 2000 feet up. The other thing I hated was the walls they are paper thin they move as you touch them or lean on them. They are no fortress arrows will go through them real eye opener

[SithLordmatthew]

When I took a ride In one we got to the airport early and were drafted to help get the engines ready. We had to push the props around 3 full revolutions just a 1/4 turn will kick your ass. The resistance is incredible when we finished there was about a gallon of oil under each engine. When we got inside we instantly noted the film the Memphis bell was bs when the rear wheel is up you can not get to the tail gunner so could not have happened. That little rear wheel is close to 4 feet tall.

[SergantRC]

tht is big for a p-51

[sjeeke4671]

@Cjfoley96 the Memphis Belle is in fact the Sally B out of Duxfort, it was renamed for the movie...

[vocelka]

today this burned junk is near pallwaukee airprt,,i see myself

[vocelka]

i see somany times this machine in pallwaukee airport

[rouseg54]

`Frying` Fortress!

[MrTomTom10OPM]

@TRAPBOULTERNAS

not realy, there are only 2 airworthy B-17 that fly world wide.

Sally B, from Duxfort England

Pink Lady, from Paris France

I know that there are more b/17 that still fly in the USA, but the real numer is world wide.

still they should preserve some. But i think the beauty of these planes is not on the ground, its in the air. ;)

[SithLordmatthew]

@MrTomTom10OPM I flew in one about 3.5 years ago In CT when the bombers made their rounds though all the small airports in New England. The group had 3 planes with them a B-17 with about a 120 missions on it and B-24 with close to 150 missions on it and a 2 engine B-25. Side by side there is no comparison the B-24 is better but the 17 has such a history I had to fly in that. Now the same group flies a 2 seat mustang a 2 seat ME262 and a F4 Phantom

[mcculloch77a]

lucky people

[Cjfoley96]

I have been inside of the memphis belle so i doubt this is it. The Memphios belle has a olive drab paint job.

[Noskillah]

Were this memphis belle ?

[roadsweeper1]

@Noskillah No it was the Liberty Bell, a B17G

[wearhint]

dang....i just bought the damn thing....i knew i should have taken some piloting lessons before buying a very old and rear airplane to start off.......uh well i'll go buy a C13 the worlds largest plane ever created!

[onearthonelegion]

NEWS CHRONICLE: HITLER DEAD

[michaelpilot1000]

It is past time to ground these WW2 aircraft. They were never designed or built to be flying 70 years or more into the future.

Preserve them in museums for the future generations.

This arrogant hanging onto WW2 is costing historical preservation.

[TheJSarge]

Man it breaks the heart to see this

[MrBornhead]

that was expensive crash shed a fucking tear.

[TRAPBOULTERNAS]

less than 12 flying B17s left, and to think, they produced many of these fabulous machines everyday in the 40's.

[michaelpilot1000]

@TRAPBOULTERNAS

Vote for the remainder to be grounded before they are all gone.

Preserve them in a museum. Not a metal scrap yard!

[slammerf16]

any landing you walk away from......

[mr1000rx]

should buff right out.

[ICU2P]

and the nazi parties.. partied once again..

[drstevenrey]

What-a-ya-mean killed a lot of people? Killed a lot of enemies! And that is a good thing.

[RHGaming11]

its fake there model people and a rc plane

[4allreviews]

nacht der untoten :D

[tiborvivi]

I am happy. Another war-crime committing trash gone to south. It has killed thousands of civilians in europe. ALL of them should be burned.

[phsycospacezilla]

@tiborvivi if were destroying them then we'll have to destroy all vintage instruments of war, if we do that then what kind of respect are we showing our history?

[phsycospacezilla]

@tiborvivi nevermind, you're a nazi.

find it funny you call allied bombings a war crime, think you'll find you lot are guilty of a few yourself.

[FiveCentsPlease]

@tiborvivi

This plane never flew in combat and was surplus.

[Jerbod2]

@tiborvivi Either your german or your just ignorant - they rather saved lives by ending the war...

[tiborvivi]

@Jerbod2 None. Not German and not ignorant neither. War-hater.

[Jerbod2]

@tiborvivi Dude you are the one who was saying these planes should be brought down because they killed lots of people in the war [That makes you the war hater]

That plane with many others made the war end quicker because they killed people which would have killed many more - factories were demolished which made for less ammunition for the germans. You are switching roles, I am not buying it.

[jackzero99]

@Jerbod2 If you're a real war-hater then you should be glad the B-17 helped defeat the Germans and end the war. You're just an ignorant child with no understanding of history. 

[Jerbod2]

@jackzero99 Dude are you blind?

I am the one who said this is a beautiful piece of machinery - you are the one who said they should be burned because they killed lots of people, not me!

That makes you the war hater for hating on the planes killing people, not me.

Now learn to read and grow up kid.

[pranker121]

they should just leave it there... it would be a great paintball arena!

[MrJp990]

@pranker121 Paintball?! This was an aircraft built for war, brought down by something, it deserves more respect then being turned into a paintball arena or scrap...

[Thunderwolf666]

The B-17, along with the B-29 and the Avro Lancaster, are some of the most distinctive and memorable planes which ever flew.

[TheDARIEN54321]

I saw B-17 fly over my house today for an airshow. it was very low, and it was very beautiful if i do say so myself.

[AmericanAviator]

Better to die what you were meant to do as opposed to rusting away in a muesuem.

[leakyvalve]

that's good the crew made it out alive. too bad about the bomber going up in smoke it's one of my favorite planes. D'=

[4ucarlosmurphy]

My father was a tail gunner in WW2, flew many missions over Europe.

He never talked about it.

[admiralPs]

@4ucarlosmurphy wow, would love to hear about it

brave guy

[nick21sammy]

@4ucarlosmurphy my uncle was lower turret gunner on B-29s in the pacific. he told me very little. just the blazing fires in Tokyo and japanese pilots ramming their planes into the bombers

[unapro3]

@4ucarlosmurphy then who told you??

[hather3]

@unapro3 his mom maybe?

[Gauchoo1234]

@4ucarlosmurphy Why not? There should be some amazing histories!

[64BuzzKillington]

@4ucarlosmurphy that had to be a sick situation to be in every time you flew. I can imagine fighter planes blazing up behind you shooting bullets as big as quarter rolls at you

Im sure there was a good reason he didnt talk about it

[rock619099]

@4ucarlosmurphy *Salutes*

[speed150mph]

Ive heard many stories where B-17s flew damaged. the one that comes to mind is this book i read of a Canadian pilot flying an RAF B-17. He was attacked on a mission in germany, his number 3 engine was set on fire the props failed to feather, the engine had many overspeeds from the air on the prop. this plane flew all the way from germany to britain with that fire, and landed. it crashed into a parked plane do to a shot tire, but it landed. im sure the belle could have made it to the airport

[RFKFANTS67]

what a waste:{

[hayydn1]

the b-17 is amaricars flying fortress

[Nicbalcarpic]

what a pity

[nolifemerc]

hmmm makes u wonder ... maybe old ladies shouldnt fly.

[natecat33]

umm wheres the rest of the airplane?

[freeman444]

poor B-17 :(

[BikerRussell]

This hurts my balls seeing.

[UnderMediKated]

Personal experience with the plane a few years ago. RIP...

[whyin0]

is the fireman high?!

[RuralBoy95]

Sad day for the aviation world!

[Prapatui]

@RuralBoy95

so true =(

[ThePanzerWarMachine]

Rest in Piece beuatiful lady...

[jwjcook11]

Please don't tell me they only sent out a frigging brush truck to put out the liberty belle fire!!!! That's an embarrassment!!

[FiveCentsPlease]

@jwjcook11

It's a shame the plane was lost. But to the firemens' credit, they couldn't risk getting their equipment stuck in the mud in case they were called to another life-saving situation elsewhere. There was no life-saving emergency with this plane.

[Reconseal4050]

Hitler shot it down!

[davvvvo]

beeseventeen bauber

[robertgift]

Cause?

[TheJefrey24]

haha, I remember seeing this on the news, the 7 crew members in the B-17 got out safely.

[tjampe]

At least she didn't fade away in a museum, she did what aircrafts are built to do Flying. And she died flying!

[Balto2WolfQuest]

@tjampe You got that off another video. I agree with you tho.

[powerfuldippy]

wow u almost forget history until it makes and emergency landing in your field

[ssslawek]

It looks like plane that hit the pentagon. Oh wait it doesnt at all.

[ssslawek]

@ssslawek you right, it also look like plain that crashed in Pensylvania on 911. Oh wait it doesnt at all.

[Zooni2]

What a shame. One more lost relic of the past.

[gekiryudojo]

Glad they all survived! :)

[PIlotrcm]

Wow, what a waste...great job

The ultimate weekend warrior

[beatbank1]

Dont bother putting out the fire, plenty of these planes available!

[KrasHHH001]

lol.

When did the Germans take Chicago?

[TheDarksock]

B-17's are awesome; there are so few left. This is a loss but at least it wasn't a tragedy. These old birds brought a lot of our guys home; the Belle took car of her people too, right up to the end.

[Jerbod2]

@TheDarksock One of them crashed like 300 metres from our home - back in 1945 of course. When it was about to crash someone inside has pulled the plane up making it not crash on our home, instead in an open field which it remained till a few years ago, we got alot of the wreckage - some bones were found and returned to America. The messerschmitt that took it down did crash because of the B-17 shooting back and was dug up aswell by the same people. B-17's are life savers! Cheers!

[jrlaw98]

THIS WAS NOT A CRASH! IT WAS A VERY GOOD EMERGENCY LANDING. If one were to look at the photos taken by the crew, one will see it up on the landing gear with one engine on fire. Why does this always happen? Give the pilot credit for a great emergency landing with no injuries.

[NeuroManson]

I saw Liberty Belle flying from its last stint on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle around the first or second of May, en route to its next showing, flying south over Kent East Hill (was a good thing I was walking home from the smoke shop). Which gives me the dubious honor of being one of the last people to see it flying. Never saw a B-17 in flight before in person, but it was an amazing thing to see nonetheless.

[bars4fd]

@NeuroManson I actually went up in it with my 6 yr old daughter on May 1st. It was her first airplane ride! I was blown away when I found out just today that this happened. I guess we were extremely lucky to have flown it on one of its last flights!!

[c140pilot]

This plane DID NOT CRASH but made a nice emergency landing in a bean field because it had an engine fire. Everybody got off safely, and then it burned to the ground because the fire department could not get to it. This headline is your typical misleading type of hype.

[ManicPoetRyRy]

Sad such a beautiful bird

[solidsnake670]

What A Sad End To Such A Beautiful Aircraft.

[reino757]

Could have been saved actually... had the Local FD deemed it "safe" to bring vehicles on the corn field! Chief Pilot wrote up a summary of events a few days ago., SAD

[mauythaitilidie]

I had the oppertunity to ride in this bueatiful bird a year ago, almost to the date. I had no idea this had happened until I was finally uploading some videos of our flight. This blew me away! RIP Liberty Belle very sad.

[420choky]

mice ate a wire

[samkirbie2010]

i live RIGHT by that cornfield. the smoke was EVERYWHERE/: we hadd to keep watch justt incase a the fire spreadd throughout the cornfieldd & we had to evacuate. scariest sound in the worldd was hearing this thing go downn/:

[evillhillbilly]

It would be a great thing if all parties could come together and with outside support build a clear dome over this site leave it undisturbed except for hazds.. and it be declared a monuement to The United States of America. Think about it. and pass it along.

[Danny022479]

Thats for Germany and Japan!!!

[eloyex]

what a shame .......... so few now !!!

[Jose88w]

Nows theres only 10 that are in flying condition! This sucks man!

PRESERVE OUR HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CWEX73]

No they should not be in museums. There it is lifeless and cold, flying is when it is doing what it was meant to do. You get to see it, hear it and feel it. Besides modern airliners crash also, and the crew here did a fantastic job getting her down and all made it out alive.....that is what is important.

[Dzoni73]

well why are they flying with vintage airplane in the first place? shouldn't things like this be in museums ?

[tnriforgiate]

i saw it and everyone is ok

[heinzdziurowitz]

Very sad, so few of these planes left.

[haritos20]

That's a damn shame...

[ZACKSKATER726317]

oh

[ZACKSKATER726317]

.,,