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B17 Flying Fortress taxing
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B17 Flying Fortress
Flying Fortress bombers were the mainstay of the USAAF bomber force during the second world war. Eighth Air Force aircraft flew sorties over German occupied Europe from bases in England, while over in the Pacific theatre they were hitting Japanese targets.
The design started life from a requirement for an anti-shipping bomber in 1934, the prototype for which flew in mid July 1935. The first major production version was the B-17E in 1941 these introduced the large ventral fin and increased the defensive armament to 13 guns, 512 of this mark were manufactured.
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Having a range of 1,300 miles with a 6000 lb bombload the Fort could fly over German soil from it's English bases. The Eighth Air Force coordinated it's strikes against Europe with RAF bomber command. The B17s flew mainly daylight missions while the
RAF flying Avro Lancasters and Handley Page Halifax bombers amongst others flew mainly night missions. Combined the striking power was devastating against German held targets.
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B17 Flying Fortress taking off
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B17 Flying Fortress in it's element
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Top speed for later B17 variants was around 300 mph. Providing the power were four 9 cylinder Wright Cyclone radials each developing 1,200 horse power. Ceiling was 37,500 ft but performance suffered at such a high altitude.
Later versions included the B17F and B17G the latter being the last production version. These two variants were built by Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed factories. B17F production was 3,405 while total number of B17G Fortress's came to 8,680.
Out of the thousands of Flying Fortress aircraft manufactured the number still airworthy today is tiny. One notable example being the Sally B.
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| Boeing B17F Flying Fortress |
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| Engine | 4x Wright 9cyl Cyclone R-1820-97 Radials
1,200 hp each engine |
Top Speed | 300 mph at medium altitude |
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| Weight | 55,000 lb |
Wingspan | 103 ft 9" |
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| Length | 74 ft 9" |
Weapons | 8x 0.5 inch Browning mg
1x 0.303 inch Browning mg
plus
up to 20,000 lb bombs both internal and external |
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| Country | USA |
Crew | 9
pilot, co-pilot, navigator, nose gunner, tail gunner, underbelly gunner, top turret gunner, side gunners |
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