http://www.wwiifoundation.org/students/wwii-aircraft-facts/
These numbers are simply amazing! I remember hearing an old WW2 vet telling me that when he went through pilot training they averaged something like a crash/fatality a week at his base. What an amazing generation of aviators!
Some of the ones that stood out.
They average 1,170 aircraft accidents per month—- nearly 40 a day.
Almost 1,000 Army planes disappeared en route from the US to foreign climes [SP?]
In a single 376 plane raid in August 1943, 60 B-17s were shot down. That was a 16 percent loss rate and meant 600 empty bunks in England
Some fighter pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than one hour in their assigned aircraft. (my note: a buddies grandfather had 8 hours in the B-17 before his first combat mission)
A high-time P-51 pilot had 30 hours in type. Many had fewer than five hours. Some had one hour. (my note: some fighter pilots flew their first combat mission with less total time than I had before I even set foot in a AF fighter)
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� in P-40s. He finished the war as a full colonel, commanding an 8th Air Force Group — at age 24