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fijdor 28th Jan 2011 19:42

Interesting aviation Stastistics from WW2
 
Copied and pasted here, the format may have shifted a little.

JD


Most Americans who were not adults during WWII have no understanding of the magnitude of it.
This listing of some of the aircraft facts gives a bit of insight to it.


276,00 aircraft manufactured in the US. 43,000 planes lost overseas, including 23,000 in combat. 14,000 lost in the continental U.S.


The US civilian population maintained a dedicated effort for four years, many working long hours seven days per week and often also volunteering for other work.

WWII was the largest human effort in history.


Statistics from Flight Journal magazine.

THE COST of DOING BUSINESS ----

The staggering cost of war.


THE PRICE OF VICTORY

B-17 $204,370. P-40 $44,892.
B-24 $215,516. P-47 $85,578.
B-25 $142,194. P-51 $51,572.
B-26 $192,426. C-47 $88,574.
B-29 $605,360. PT-17 $15,052.
P-38 $97,147. AT-6 $22,952.

ON AVERAGE 6600 American service men

died per MONTH, during WWII (about 220 a day).

PLANES A DAY WORLDWIDE

From Germany's invasion of Poland Sept. 1, 1939

and ending with Japan's surrender Sept. 2, 1945 --- 2,433 days.

From 1942 onward, America averaged 170 planes lost a day.
Nation Aircraft Average
USA 276,400 113
S Union 137,200 56
G Britain 108,500 45
Germany 109,000 45
Japan 76,300 31

How Many is a 1,000 planes?
B-17 production (12,731) wingtip to wingtip would extend 250 miles. 1,000 B-17s carried 2.5 million gallons of high octane fuel.

Lifting 10,000 airmen to deliver 2,000 tons of bombs.

THE NUMBERS GAME
9.7 billion gallons of gasoline consumed, 1942-1945.
107.8 million hours flown, 1943-1945.
459.7 billion rounds of aircraft ammo fired overseas, 1942-1945.
7.9 million bombs dropped overseas, 1943-1945.
2.3 million combat sorties, 1941-1945 (one sortie = one takeoff).
299,230 aircraft accepted, 1940-1945.
808,471 aircraft engines accepted, 1940-1945.
799,972 propellers accepted, 1940-1945.

WWII MOST-PRODUCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT
II-2 Stum0vik 36,183
Yak 1, 3, 7, 9 31,000+
Bf 109 30,480
Fw 190 29,001
Spit/Seafire 20,351
B-24/PB4Y 18,482
Thunderbolt 15,686
Mustang 15,875
Ju 88 15,000
Hurricane 14,533
P-40 13,738
B-17 12,731
Corsair 12,571
Hellcat 12,275
Pe-2 11,400
P-38 10,037
Zero 10,449
B-25 9,984
LaGG-5 9,920
Avenger 9,837
P-39 9,584
Oscar 5,919
Mosquito 7,780
Lancaster 7,377
He 111 6,508
Halifax 6,176
Bf 110 6,150
LaGG-7 5,753
B-29 3,970
Stirling 2,383

Sources:
Rene Francillon, Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific war; Cajus Bekker, The Luftwaffe Diaries; Ray Wagner, American Combat Planes; Wikipedia.

BALL PARK AVERAGE:
Chief of Staff to General, "Hmmm; 331 men killed and 308 aircraft destroyed. That's 11 people and 10 planes per day."
"Uh, yes, sir. It's still the ballpark average."
"I'd like to see an improvement in bomber losses, those really add up."
"Were working on it, General. But it's sad to think that 10 young men alive today will be dead tomorrow."
"You know that's the price of doing business. Now then, what about the overseas and combat losses?"

According to the AAF Statistical Digest, in less than four years (December 1941- August 1945), the US Army Air Forces lost 14,903 pilots, aircrew and assorted personnel plus 13,873 airplanes --- inside the continental United States. They were the result of 52,651 aircraft accidents (6,039 involving fatalities) in 45 months.
Think about those numbers. They average 1,170 aircraft accidents per month---- nearly 40 a day. (Less than one accident in four resulted in totaled aircraft, however.)
Those colossal losses cost the Axis powers nothing; not as much as one 7.7 mm bullet.
It gets worse.....
Almost 1,000 Army planes disappeared en route from the US to foreign climes. But an eye-watering 43,581 aircraft were lost overseas including 22,948 on combat missions (18,418 against the Western Axis) and 20,633 attributed to non-combat causes overseas.
In August 1943, 60 B-17s were shot down among 376 losses. That was a 16 percent loss rate and meant 600 empty bunks in England. In 1942-43 it was statistically impossible for bomber crews to complete a 25-mission tour in Europe.
Pacific theatre losses were far less (4,530 in combat) owing to smaller forces committed. The worst B-29 mission, against Tokyo on May 25, 1945, cost 26 Superfortress, 5.6 percent of the 464 dispatched from the Marianas.
On average, 6,600 American servicemen died per month during WWII, about 220 a day. By the end of the war, over 40,000 airmen were killed in combat theatres and another 18,000 wounded. Some 12,000 missing men were declared dead, including a number "liberated" by the Soviets but never returned. More than 41,000 were captured, half of the 5,400 held by the Japanese died in captivity, compared with one-tenth in German hands. Total combat casualties were pegged at 121,867.
US manpower made up the deficit. The AAF's peak strength was reached in 1944 with 2,372,000 personnel, nearly twice the previous year's figure.
The losses were huge---but so were production totals. From 1941 through 1945, American industry delivered more than 276,000 military aircraft. That number was enough not only for US Army, Navy and Marine Corps, but for allies as diverse as Britain, Australia, China and Russia. In fact, from 1943 onward, America produced more planes than Britain and Russia combined. And more than Germany and Japan together 1941-45.
However, our enemies took massive losses. Through much of 1944, the Luftwaffe sustained uncontrolled hemorrhaging, reaching 25 percent of aircrews and 40 planes a month. And in late 1944 into 1945, nearly half the pilots in Japanese squadrons had flown fewer than 200 hours. The disparity of two years before had been completely reversed.

Experience Level:
Uncle Sam sent many of his sons to war with absolute minimums of training.
Some fighter pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than one hour in their assigned aircraft.
The 357th Fighter Group (often known as The Yoxford Boys) went to England in late 1943 having trained on P-39s.
The group never saw a Mustang until shortly before its first combat mission.
A high-time P-51 pilot had 30 hours in type. Many had fewer than five hours. Some had one hour.
With arrival of new aircraft, many combat units transitioned in combat.
The attitude was, "They all have a stick and a throttle. Go fly `em." When the famed 4th Fighter Group converted from P-47s to P-51s in February 1944, there was no time to stand down for an orderly transition.
The Group commander, Col. Donald Blakeslee, said, "You can learn to fly `51s on the way to the target.
(Note: Gone West HNL QB Brewster Morgan (Morgan's Corner up in Nuuanu off of Old Pali Road), a Honolulu boy and a member of the 4th Fighter Group, told me that they actually did stand down one day to transition from the P47 to the P51. They were pissed that the old groups still had the P47 [Brewster was with the Eagle Squadron in the Spitfire......later in the P47 when the US got into it in '42] and the newer groups coming over from the US all had P-51s.
Blakeslee finally convinced AF to let them convert by standing down just one day.
An interesting side note...Brewster was shot down over France in '44 and became a POW...his roommate?...Douglas Bader...top English ace with two wooden legs...Bader lost one of his legs when he bailed out and was captured.......the Germans asked the Brits to send him another leg......which they did).

A future P-47 ace said, "I was sent to England to die." He was not alone.
Some fighter pilots tucked their wheels in the well on their first combat mission with one previous flight in the aircraft.

Meanwhile, many bomber crews were still learning their trade:
of Jimmy Doolittle's 15 pilots on the April 1942 Tokyo raid, only five had won their wings before 1941.
All but one of the 16 copilots were less than a year out of flight school.

In WWII flying safety took a back seat to combat.
The AAF's worst accident rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51: a staggering 274 accidents per 100,000 flying hours.
Next worst were the P-39 at 245, the P-40 at 188, and the P-38 at 139. All were Allison powered.

Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive.
The B-17 and B-24 averaged 30 and 35 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, respectively- a horrific figure
considering that from 1980 to 2000 the Air Force's major mishap rate was less than 2.
The B-29 was even worse at 40; the world's most sophisticated, most capable and most expensive bomber was too urgently needed to stand down for mere safety reasons. The AAF set a reasonably high standard for B-29 pilots, but the desired figures were seldom attained.
The original cadre of the 58th Bomb Wing was to have 400 hours of multi-engine time, but there were not enough experienced pilots to meet the criterion.
Only ten percent had overseas experience.
Conversely, when a $2.1 billion B-2 crashed in 2008, the Air Force initiated a two-month "safety pause" rather than declare a "stand down", let alone grounding.
The B-29 was no better for maintenance.
Though the R3350 was known as a complicated, troublesome power-plant, no more than half the mechanics had previous experience with the Duplex Cyclone.
But they made it work.

Navigators:
Perhaps the greatest unsung success story of AAF training was Navigators. The Army graduated some 50,000 during the War. And many had never flown out of sight of land before leaving "Uncle Sugar" for a war zone. Yet the huge majority found their way across oceans and continents without getting lost or running out of fuel --- a stirring tribute to the AAF's educational establishments.

Cadet To Colonel:
It was possible for a flying cadet at the time of Pearl Harbor to finish the war with eagles on his shoulders.
That was the record of John D. Landers, a 21-year-old Texan, who was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1941.
He joined his combat squadron with 209 hours total flight time, including 2 ½ in P-40s.
He finished the war as a full colonel, commanding an 8th Air Force Group --- at age 24.
As the training pipeline filled up, however those low figures became exceptions.
By early 1944, the average AAF fighter pilot entering combat had logged at least 450 hours, usually including 250 hours in training.
At the same time, many captains and first lieutenants claimed over 600 hours.

FACT:
At its height in mid-1944, the Army Air Forces had 2.6 million people and nearly 80,000 aircraft of all types.
Today the US Air Force employs 327,000 active personnel (plus 170,000 civilians) with 5,500+ manned and perhaps 200 unmanned aircraft.
The 2009 figures represent about 12 percent of the manpower and 7 percent of the airplanes of the WWII peak.


IN SUMMATION:
Whether there will ever be another war is doubtful, as fighters and bombers have given way to helicopters and remotely-controlled drones over Afghanistan and Iraq. But within living memory, men left the earth in 1,000-plane formations and fought major battles five miles high, leaving a legacy that remains timeless.

chiglet 29th Jan 2011 00:02

Possibly out of contex

1,000 B-17s carried 2.5 million gallons of high octane fuel.
Lifting 10,000 airmen to deliver 2,000 tons of bombs
That is 5 men to deliver 1 [one] ton of bombs.

From Germany's invasion of Poland Sept. 1, 1939

and ending with Japan's surrender Sept. 2, 1945 --- 2,433 days.


From 1942 onward, America averaged 170 planes lost a day.
Nation Aircraft Average
USA 276,400 113
S Union 137,200 56
G Britain 108,500 45
Germany 109,000 45
Japan 76,300 31
What about the Soviet Union before 1942?
Ditto G Britain
How's about Italy?

StbdD 29th Jan 2011 02:33

Chiglet

While the post was obviously written from an American viewpoint it was still a massive amount of interesting information.

Rather than pick at it how about contributing? You obviously have an internet connection and presumably can find a library. How about YOU do the research to answer your questions and get back to us?

PBY 29th Jan 2011 04:22

The numbers are amazing. What a good business war is! That is the reason, why some governments like it so much. There is a great buck to be made.

411A 29th Jan 2011 05:10

The Ford bomber plant at Willow Run Michigan, which produced the B-24 bomber, employed 42,000 workers and, at the peak of production, produced a B-24 every 55 minutes.
There are only two B-24's that are still airworthy, and one was flying over my house...yesterday.

Bluey Snuttzov 29th Jan 2011 10:13

Very interesting numbers fijdor - thanks for posting it.


Most Americans who were not adults during WWII have no understanding of the magnitude of it.

This listing of some of the aircraft facts gives a bit of insight to it.
More than a bit fijdor but as usual little or no mention of the efforts and sacrifices of friends and Allies.


WWII MOST-PRODUCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT
No Ju-87 on the list?
AFAIK some 5-6,000 were built and their effect was quite significant during the Blitzkrieg years before America joined the air war.

In fact it was not until 27 Feb 1943 that USAAF bomber aircraft made their first raid on Germany.



By the end of the war, over 40,000 airmen were killed in combat theatres
In comparison RAF Bomber Command in Europe alone suffered 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4% death rate) 72% were British, 18% were Canadian, 7% were Australian and 3% were New Zealanders.


More than 41,000 were captured, half of the 5,400 held by the Japanese died in captivity,
Hmmm - quite possible. The Japanese treated everybody worse than animals and no doubt aircrew got additional special treatment. However for US servicemen overall the most ofted cited figures are in the region of 30-40%. Still appalling.:yuk:


compared with one-tenth in German hands.
This is wildly incorrect - it was more like 1%.

diesel addict 29th Jan 2011 16:53

According to Bruce Robertson ( Spitfire - The story of a famous fighter )

Spitfires 20 334
Seafires 2408

Total 22742

Brewster Buffalo 30th Jan 2011 20:14

Just as impressive was the ability of the USA to expand its aircraft production from 2,195 in 1939 to 96,318 in 1944. In 1941 prouction was over three times that of the previous year.

Surprisingly the UK out produced Germany in miltary aircraft in 1940, 1941 and 1942.

aviate1138 30th Jan 2011 20:20

Any idea what the stats for the Mosquito were in terms of losses in war and training?

Flying Lawyer 31st Jan 2011 23:41

Ford Motor Co WW2 bomber plant video
 
Apologies if this video has been posted before.

Months before Pearl Harbour, with the war in Europe escalating, Henry Ford was determined that he could mass produce bombers just as he had cars. He built the Willow Run assembly plant (the world's largest building under one roof) and proved it.
One B-24 came off the assembly line every 55 minutes!

Willow Run airplane plant

411A

There are only two B-24's that are still airworthy, and one was flying over my house...yesterday.
The Confederate Air Force (or whatever it's called now) has one. They used to offer ½ hour rides at a reasonable cost. I don't know if they still do.

FL

PLovett 1st Feb 2011 04:29

I also seem to recall that training losses for the USAAF (or perhaps that was for the RAF) were greater than operational losses.

It was this alone that led to the decision that there had to be a better way to train aircrew in the future as such losses could not be tolerated in peace time.

MarkerInbound 1st Feb 2011 19:23

The often quoted number of a B-24 an hour is mainly war time propaganda. Charles Sorensen, a VP at Ford and Director of Production, came up with the idea. In 1942 less than 100 B-24s came off the assembly line at YIP. Ship #1 took 8 months. The factory did make a bunch of "knock down" sets of parts for other factories in the US. In 1943 1272 B-24s were completed at YIP. In April of 1944 with most of the production bugs worked out, the production schedule was increased to 455 planes in 450 hours, a plane every 59 and a half minutes (25 working days x 2 nine hour shifts) as a PR stunt. For most of 1944 the goal was 275 planes a month which was raised to 308 for the month of November. Production ended on 28 June 1945.

All data from the book "Willow Run" by Warren Kidder quoting plant records.

BEagle 1st Feb 2011 19:55

411A - were the B-24's bomb doors open? :p

Notwithstanding the figures and dates, could I just say "Thank-you" to all those mentioned as lost.

And all because Hitler couldn't just stop at Volkswagens and Autobahns...:hmm:

DHfan 2nd Feb 2011 17:29

"Any idea what the stats for the Mosquito were in terms of losses in war and training?"

No idea in training but I seem to recall around 2% on operations.

Brewster Buffalo 2nd Feb 2011 20:11


I also seem to recall that training losses for the USAAF (or perhaps that was for the RAF) were greater than operational losses.
I'd heard that but it was RAF losses in WW1. The only WW2 fact I have is that out of the 55,000 bomber command losses some 8,000 were in training etc which seems to support my WW1 theory.


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