Bomber #666 - The Outrageous Custom Modified B-17 with 16 .50 Caliber Machine Guns

this video is sponsored by magellan tv in 1943 a b-17 flying fortress laid low in a boneyard ready to be torn apart for scraps the aircraft came with a questionable reputation having suffered heavy damage during its warfare missions many believe this was due to its ominous tail number 41-2666 but the aircraft was salvaged by a group of nine so-called military renegades led by pilot jay ziemer renamed his old 666 and misfits put so many weapons on the aircraft that it looked almost comical and the plane became the most heavily armored bomber in the pacific during one dangerous operation over new guinea the heavily armored b-17 put all its weaponry to good use taking part in one of the most decorated missions in american military history old 666 lived a lonely life often flying alone such was the nature of roaming the sea with miles between islands and naval fleets learn more about this unique theater of war and the us's battle of japan in the magellan tv series world war ii in the pacific magellan tv is a new type of documentary streaming membership created by filmmakers that brings over 3000 documentaries to all of your devices without interruption visit tri-dot magellantv.com dark skies or click the link in the description below to get a free one-month trial check out the magellan tv series at world war ii in the pacific featuring three episodes chronicling the evolution of naval warfare amphibious assaults and finally the penultimate air campaign that would bring japan to its knees support dark skies and check out magellan tv with a one month free trial today more new programs continue to be added on a weekly basis click the link in the description below or visit tride.magellantv.com dark skies the eager beavers in august 1942 23 year old jay ziemer jr a reckless co-pilot who wanted to become a pilot in command was transferred to the 403rd bomb squadron 43rd bomb group to fly b-17 flying fortresses zieman then ran into his old friend the squadron's bombardier sergeant joe sarnoski during a combat mission in november of 1942 zimmer was forced to take over his first pilot after some crew members were injured the operation was a success and he was promoted to pilot in command because of his bravery and quick thinking zima also earned a silver star despite now being first pilot ziemer had no plane nor crew after convincing sergeant sarnosky to be his bombadier and navigator the two friends began to assemble the rest of the team the plan was to test their compatibility on several daring missions many crew members refused to fly with zimmer and szarnowski again after just one mission but some fellow rebels withstood the men's antics and ultimately rounded out the team the crew became known as the eager beavers as they frequently volunteered for missions as they became available [Music] the beavers still have no aircraft of their own due to the rowdiness and dislike of military discipline the group was at the bottom of the list when it came time to be assigned new aircraft they had no choice but to manage with whatever they could find [Music] old 666 in 1943 the 43rd bomb group relocated to port moresby new guinea as part of the 65th bomb squadron the perfect aircraft for the rowdy eager beavers awaited them at the new post jay ziemer stumbled upon an abandoned plane in a boneyard ready to be cannibalized for scraps this b-17 flying fortress also had a wild reputation of its own known as hard-block hattie the aircraft had suffered heavy damage during its previous missions many people believed its misfortune was due to its ominous tail number 41-2666 zimra managed to salvage the aircraft and had it shipped to port moresby for improvements the crew doubled the number of guns on the flying fortress from 10 to 19 substituted at single guns with twin ones increased their caliber from 30 to 50 and added a fixed gun atop the pilot station the eager beavers put so many weapons on the aircraft that it looked like an industrial porcupine at the time the b17 became the most heavily armed bomber in the pacific with its 1950 caliber machine guns because the aircraft's modifications took so long to finish it didn't get granted nose art or a nickname as his customary it's only identifying trait with its tail number so hard luck hattie became old 666 the crew quickly cleaned the aircraft as their own and zimmer's team continued to volunteer for challenging and dangerous assignments on a mission flying over papua new guinea old 666 sustained over 60 hits from an enemy anti-aircraft device still it was able to land safely and was quickly taken for repair the eager beavers earned a standing reputation for their daring deeds every member of the nine-man crew received silver stars and two of them earned distinguished flying crosses zima received a second silver star for a mission to weewok in may of 1943 and sanorski was promoted to second lieutenant the same month a daring opportunity [Music] on june 16th 1943 the eager beavers were getting ready for a risky photo mapping mission a solo b-17 flying fortress would map bougainvillea's west coast to support a planned invasion the upcoming fall the mission required a 22-minute study level flight over hostile territory to acquire clear photos of the area hours before the crew departed newly appointed captain jay ziemer received a phone call from an operations officer from the fifth bomber command they had just received intel of increased activity on a japanese airfield near buca island 67 miles north of bougainville and wanted zimmer to fly over the area too but zima refused he believed the mission was too dangerous and then his aircraft would become an easy target for enemy fire however when the eager beavers flew over bugan via as planned there was not enough light to provide the necessary exposure for their camera's infrared filters zima reached for his inner phone and laid out their options for the crew they could turn northwest and fell in time over a safe zone or they could head north and perform the boca recognition the crew unanimously supported their captain as top target gunner and eager beaver member johnny evil explained quote we thought so much of captain zeemer and had such trust in him and his ability that we didn't give a damn where we went just so long as he wanted to go there anything okay by him was okay by us captain zeemer adjusted course and headed to buca island ready to take on the most dangerous mission yet attack on buca island as the eager beavers flew over buka island on their last minute mapping mission they crossed over 600 miles of japanese-controlled territory the crew took photos to identify japanese army strength and possible attack locations for the allies upcoming invasion with only 20 minutes left to finish the crew was intercepted by japanese mitsubishi a6m0 aircraft in a coordinated attack five of them enclosed the old 666 from below two others approached from the rear and three were spread across the front the coordination behind the attack did not allow zemer to execute his preferred defense tactic in which he would put the b-17 inside the enemy's line of fire attacking from the front the maneuver would expose the aircraft's belly to the other japanese aircraft after attempting to hit the old 666's tail the zeros attacked the aircraft's nose it was common knowledge that b17s were not heavily armed so the japanese pilots were surprised to find the aircraft's high caliber twin machine gun turrets sticking out of the airframe the old 666 would not give up without a fight as the eager beavers countered attacked they heavily damaged the lead fighter which returned to base captain zeemer hit a zero with the b-17's nose-mounted gun and sanorsky downed another one with one of the 19 sets of guns in retaliation the zero shot 20-millimeter cannon shells at them tearing through the old 666's cockpit zima was hit and an exploding cannon in the front compartment knocked zernorski off heavily injured the bombardier still dragged himself back to his station and downed another japanese zero before succumbing to his wounds another aircraft from a second japanese wave hit the old 666's cockpit again destroying their oxygen tanks zimra pushed the aircraft into a steep dive to six thousand feet so his crew could breathe the eager beavers continued to engage the japanese zeroes without oxygen support and heavily damaged instrument panels determined to return with the valuable photos an injured zima refused to relinquish control of his beloved old 666 and continued to fly it while in excruciating pain assuming that the old 666's forward guns were now inoperable the japanese heroes lined up on both sides of the plane and attacked the aircraft from the front ziemer decided to go for the maneuver that he had been unable to perform during the first attack the pilot banked haaren inside each of the approaching aircraft's firing angles avoiding the enemy fire and giving his rear gunners unrestricted access to the zeros as they passed by them the tactic worked and after 40 minutes the americans outran the japanese aircraft and headed straight for their base on the way back captain zeemer lost consciousness from his wounds six out of the nine eager beavers were wounded or perished during the mission and those who were conscious did what they could to keep the old 666 in the air the bravest crew in history when the old 666 landed in the new guinea base eight hours after departing its fuselage was riddled with holes and zimra was barely alive at the hospital doctors determined that he had lost almost half the blood in his body he was hospitalized for several months but eventually recovered from his injuries two weeks after the old 666's fateful mission allied forces launched operation cartwheel and offensive in papua new guinea the operation was a success and top military planners gave high credit to the maps and charts developed from the photographs taken by the eager beavers for their valor and one of the most prolonged sustained attacks by enemy fighters in history pilot jay zimmer and joe sarnoski were awarded the medal of honor the seven other crew men jt britain william vaughan herbert pugh forrest dillman johnny able ruby johnston and george kendrick were awarded the distinguished service cross although official japanese reports reduced the number of fighters that attacked the old 666 crew to seven siemens personal memoirs confirmed that almost two dozen fighters participated in the attack [Music] this medal of honor citation reads quote while photographing the bucca erdrome his crew observed about 20 enemy fighters on the field many of them taking off in this voluntary action nature zemer with superb skill resolution and courage accomplished a mission of great value the eager beavers still remain the most highly decorated combat aircrew in american military service you

Channel: Dark Skies

Views: 410,115

Rating: 4.9106207 out of 5

Keywords: ww2, wwii, pacific, b-17, aviation, dark skies, darkdocs, dark docs, history, history channel, old 666, short documentary, aviation channel, documentary, docu, explainer, aircraft, airplane, history documentary, military, pacific war, world war ii, aviation industry, indicent, edutainment, air force, us air force, usaf, air corps

Id: rEXdcr_8U3s

Length: 10min 28sec (628 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 23 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/Spaceman1965]

The CO of the plane was a true leader.