How many B-17s took off from Midway for the first air attack ?
After much preparation at the three Ukrainian airfields by advance elements of Headquarters , Eastern Command USAAF and Air Transport Command , the first shuttle mission ( " Frantic - Joe " ) was conducted by Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and their P-51 Mustang fighter escorts taking off from airfields around Foggia , Italy , raiding the railroad marshalling yards at Debrecen , Hungary , and then flying on to the Ukraine .