Originally Posted by
tailendcharlie
20-year-olds were flying loaded B-17's in the dark of winter in formation for 4 hours to flak-ringed German cities defended by clouds of fighters. And back to a fog-shrouded base possibly with a damaged aircraft and wounded crew.
It can be done.
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.
this suggests that the price was very high indeed to get the job done even before combat. A price to high to pay for simply money.