Originally Posted by
CUTiger78
Both the B-17 & B-24 HAD a flight engineer. Maybe they didn't REQUIRE an FE, but the Army Air Corps sure put one on as a required crewmember.
Nope!!! The AAF
DID NOT train Flight Engineers per say., rather he was chosen as
most qualified by the captain.Here is what the the 1943 303 Bomb Group B-17 manual says about Flight Engineers:
Duties and Responsibilities of
THE ENGINEER
Size up the man who is to be your engineer. This man is supposed to know more about the airplane you are to fly than any other member of the crew.
He has been trained in the Air Forces' highly specialized technical schools. Probably he has served some time as a crew chief. Nevertheless, there may be some inevitable blank spots in his training which you, as a pilot and airplane commander, may be able to fill in.
Think back on your own training. In many courses of instruction, you had a lot of things thrown at you from right and left. You had to concentrate on how to fly; and where your equipment was concerned you learned to rely more and more on the enlisted personnel, particularly the crew chief and the engineer, to advise you about things that were not taught to you because of lack of time and the arrangement of the training program.
Both pilot and engineer have a responsibility to work closely together to supplement and fill in the blank spots in each other's education. To be a qualified combat engineer a man must know his airplane, his engines, and his armament equipment thoroughly. This is a big responsibility: the lives of the entire crew, the safety of the equipment, the success of the mission depend upon it squarely.
He must work closely with the copilot, checking engine operation, fuel consumption, and the operation of all equipment. He must be able to work with the bombardier, and know how to cock, lock, and load the bomb racks. It is up to you, the airplane commander, to see that he is familiar with these duties, and, if he is hazy concerning them, to have the bombardier give him special help and instruction.
He must be thoroughly familiar with the armament equipment, and know how to strip, clean, and re-assemble the guns.
He should have a general knowledge of radio equipment, and be able to assist in tuning transmitters and receivers.
Your engineer should be your chief source of information concerning the airplane. He should know more about the equipment than any other crew member -- yourself included.
You, in turn, are his source of information concerning flying. Bear this in mind in all your discussions with the engineer. The more complete you can make his knowledge of the reasons behind every function of the equipment, the more valuable he will be as a member of the crew. Who knows? Someday that little bit of extra knowledge in the engineer's mind may save the day in some emergency.
Generally, in emergencies, the engineer will be the man to whom you turn first. Build up his pride, his confidence, his knowledge. Know him personally; check on the extent of his knowledge. Make him a man upon whom you can rely.