Memphis Belle was the name given by the crew to one of the American Boeing B-17F bombers during World War II. The crew, under the command of Captain Robert Morgan, carried out 25 bombing missions over Germany and occupied France in the period from November 1942 to May 1943, during which - apart from basic tasks - they knocked down 8 enemy planes. It is worth adding that it was one of the first crews to accomplish such a feat in the history of the USAAF during World War II. After this feat, the crew and the plane were transported back to the USA, where they were used by a propaganda machine to sell war certificates. The machine and its crew also had two films about themselves, made in 1944 and 1990. After World War II, the machine was placed in the museum, and in 2005, the process of its revitalization began, which - with breaks - continued until 2018.
During World War II, the US Air Force, the USAAF (United States Army Air Force), was not an independent type of armed force and was formally under the command of the army. In the course of this conflict, they became the most powerful military aviation in the world, and at the time of the end of hostilities, they numbered about 2.25 million people! Due to the fact that the American aviation industry was one of the most modern and efficient in the world, the USAAF saw many successful, and sometimes great, aircraft models. It is worth remembering that in 1940-1945 it produced a total of approx. 295 thousand. machines, and therefore more than the aviation industry of Germany, Italy and Japan combined. Moreover, among these thousands of machines produced, one can point to the very successful P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt or P-51 Mustang fighters, B-25 Mitchell or B-26 Marauder tactical bombers, but also the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress strategic bombers. and the B-29 Super Fortress. The USAAF pilot training system can also be considered successful and well-thought-out, as it was able to provide the rapidly expanding air force with well-trained pilots. It is also worth remembering that, unlike the German aviation, the American crews and pilots were rotated and after serving a certain period of time, they most often returned to the country, to training units, passing their experiences on. This fact may explain why American fighter aces (such as Richard Bong or Thoma McGuire) had "only" dozens of kills compared to several hundred kills of German aces (such as Erich Hartmann or Gerhard Barkhorn).