[ARC5] B-17 Crash Near Hartford CT

[Hubert Miller]

>From what I have read, there were a horrendous number of aircraft accidents during the WWII period. Of course, this reflected the high number of training flights, checkouts, 
war sorties, and so on. The submarine analogy is not bad. Take them out for a cruise, but any dive ( I think ) has its risk factor of catastrophic loss even in peacetime. Think about the
number of subs lost in peacetime. I believe I read earlier just this year that a missing French submarine had just been found, didn't return from cruise in 1956. 
This comment does not absolutely pertain to the question but is somewhat related.

I recall some years back, a fellow who had been a rear gunner on an TBF flying from the carrier Gambier Bay, told me while in the Philippines, someone took up a TBF for a check-out
flight of some kind. The pilot invited a Navy cook to come along to get some flying thrills. However, in the air, one wing fell off, and that was the end of that story. 
-Hue