B-17 Flying Fortress

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both the other competitors and more than met the Air Corps' expectations. Although Boeing lost the contract due to the prototype's crash, the Air Corps was so impressed with Boeing's design that they ordered 13 B-17s. The B-17 Flying Fortress went on to enter full-scale production and was considered the first truly mass-produced large aircraft, eventually evolving through numerous design advancements.


Boeing B-17E
 The B-17 was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, civilian, and military targets. The United States Eighth Air Force based in England and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy complemented the RAF Bomber Command's nighttime area bombing in Operation Pointblank, to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord.[4] The B-17 also participated, to a lesser extent, in the War in the Pacific, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields.

 
From its pre-war inception, the USAAC (later USAAF) touted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a potent, high-flying, long-ranging bomber capable of unleashing great destruction, able to defend itself, and having the ability to return home despite extensive battle damage. It quickly took on mythic proportions.[5][6][7] Stories and photos of B-17s surviving battle damage widely circulated, increasing its iconic status.[8] Despite an inferior range and bombload compared to the more numerous B-24 Liberator,[9] a survey of Eighth Air Force crews showed a much higher rate of satisfaction in the B-17.[10] With a service ceiling greater than any of its Allied contemporaries, the B-17 established itself as a superb weapons system, dropping more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of the 1.5 million tonnes of bombs dropped on Germany by U.S. aircraft, 640,000 were dropped from B-17s.[11]

 

On 8 August 1934, the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) tendered a proposal for a multi-engined bomber to replace the Martin B-10. Requirements were that it would carry a "useful bombload" at an altitude of 10,000 ft (3 km) for ten hours with a top speed of at least 200 mph (320 km/h).[12][13] They also desired, but did not require, a range of 2,000 mi (3200 km) and a speed of 250 mph (400 km/h). The Air Corps were looking for a bomber capable of reinforcing the air forces in Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska.[14] The competition would be decided by a "fly-off" at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Boeing competed with the Douglas DB-1 and Martin Model 146 for the Air Corps contract.
Model 299 NX13372.

 


Nose turret with gun fitted to the prototype.
The prototype B-17, designated Model 299, was designed by a team of engineers led by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells and built at Boeing's own expense.[13] It combined features of the experimental Boeing XB-15 bomber with the Boeing 247 transport airplane.[12] The B-17 was armed with bombs (up to 4,800 lb/2,200 kg on two racks in the bomb bay behind the cockpit) and five 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns, and was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1690 radial engines each producing 750 hp (600 kW) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m).[13] The first flight of the Model 299 was on 28 July 1935, with Boeing chief test-pilot Leslie Tower at the controls.[1][15] Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times coined the name "Flying Fortress" when the Model 299 was rolled out, bristling with multiple machine gun installations.[16] Boeing was quick to see the value of the name and had it trademarked for use. On 20 August, the prototype flew from Seattle to Wright Field in nine hours and three minutes at an average speed of 235 mph (378 km/h), much faster than the competition.[13]

At the fly-off, the four-engine Boeing design displayed superior performance over the twin-engine DB-1 and Model 146, and then-Major
General Frank Maxwell Andrews of the GHQ Air Force believed that the long-range capabilities of four-engine large aircraft were more efficient than shorter-ranged twin-engined airplanes. His opinions were shared by the Air Corps procurement officers and, even before the competition was finished, they suggested buying 65 B-17s.[17]

 

Development continued on the Boeing Model 299, and on 30 October 1935, the Army Air Corps test-pilot, Major Ployer Peter Hill and Boeing employee Les Tower, took the Model 299 on a second evaluation flight. The crew forgot to disengage the airplane's "gust lock," a device that held the bomber's movable control surfaces in place while the plane was parked on the ground, and having taken off, the aircraft entered a steep climb, stalled, nosed over and crashed, killing Hill and Tower (other observers survived with injuries).[18][19] The crashed Model 299 could not finish the evaluation, and while the Air Corps was still enthusiastic about the aircraft's
Crashed Model 299.
potential, Army officials were daunted by the much greater expense per aircraft.[20][21] "The loss was not total, however, since the fuselage aft of the wing was intact, and the Wright Field Armament section was able to use it in subsequent gun mount development work, but Boeing's hopes for a substantial bomber contract were dashed."[22] Army Chief of Staff Malin Craig cancelled the order for 65 YB-17s, and ordered 133 of the twin-engine Douglas B-18 Bolo instead.[13][17]

 


Boeing Y1B-17 in flight.
Regardless, the USAAC had been impressed by the prototype's performance and, on 17 January 1936, the Air Corps ordered, through a legal loophole,[23] 13 YB-17s (after November 1936 designated Y1B-17 to denote its special F-1 funding) for service testing. The YB-17 incorporated a number of significant changes from the Model 299, including more powerful Wright R-1820-39 Cyclone engines replacing the original Pratt & Whitneys. Although the prototype was company owned and never received a military serial ("the B-17 designation itself did not appear officially until January 1936, nearly three months after the prototype crashed"),[22] the term "XB-17" was retroactively applied to the airframe and has entered the lexicon to describe the first Flying Fortress.

Between 1 March and 4 August 1937, 12 of the 13 Y1B-17s were delivered to the 2nd Bombardment Group at Langley Field in Virginia, and used for operational development and flight test.[12] One suggestion adopted was the use of a checklist, to avoid accidents such as the Model 299's.[23][24] In one of their first missions, three B-17s, directed by lead navigator Lieutenant Curtis LeMay, were sent by General Andrews to "intercept" the Italian ocean liner Rex 610 mi (980 km) off the Atlantic coast and take photographs. The successful mission was widely publicized.[25][26] The 13th Y1B-17 was delivered to the Material Division at Wright Field, Ohio, to be used for flight testing.[27]

 

A 14th Y1B-17 (37-369), originally constructed for ground testing of the airframe's strength, was upgraded and fitted with exhaust-driven turbochargers. Scheduled to fly in 1937, it encountered problems with the turbochargers and its first flight was delayed until 29 April 1938.[28] Modifications cost Boeing US$100,000 and took until spring 1939 to complete, but resulted in an increased service ceiling and maximum speed.[29] The aircraft was delivered to the Army on 31 January 1939 and was redesignated B-17A to signify the first operational variant.[30]

In late 1937, the Air Corps ordered ten more aircraft, designated B-17B and, soon after, another 29, none of which could be funded until
B-17Bs at March Field, California,
prior to attack on Pearl Harbor.
mid-1939.[29] Improved with larger flaps, rudder and Plexiglas nose, the B-17Bs were delivered in five small batches between July 1939 and March 1940. They equipped two bombardment groups, one on each U.S. coast.[31][32]

Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, fewer than 200 B-17s were in service with the Army,[23][33] but production quickly accelerated, and the B-17 became the first truly mass-produced large aircraft.[34][35] The aircraft went on to serve in every World War II combat zone, and by the time production ended in May 1945, 12,731 aircraft had been built by Boeing, Douglas and Vega (a subsidiary of Lockheed).[36]

The B-17 was a versatile aircraft, serving in dozens of USAAF units in theaters of combat throughout World War II, and in non-bomber roles for the RAF. Its main use was in Europe, where its shorter range and smaller bombload relative to other aircraft available did not hamper it as much as in the Pacific Theater. Peak USAAF inventory (in August 1944) was 4,574 worldwide.[37]

 

 Argentina

 Bolivia

 Brazil

 Canada

 Colombia

 Denmark

 Dominican Republic

 France

 Germany

 Iran

 Israel

 Japan

 Mexico

 Nicaragua

 Peru

 Portugal

 South Africa

 Soviet Union

 Sweden

 United Kingdom

 United States

 
Military operators of the B-17.



Civil operators of the B-17.

The B-17 Flying Fortress has become, for many reasons, an icon of American power and a symbol of its Air Force. It achieved a lasting fame in the general public, which has eluded most other bomber aircraft.[8]

 


The B-17's capacity to repel
enemy attacks and still inflict
heavy damage to the German war
machine and production centers
is imaginatively rendered in this
caricature.
During the 1930s, the USAAC, as articulated by then-Major General Frank Maxwell Andrews and the Air Corps Tactical School, touted the bomber as a strategic weapon.[92] General Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the Air Corps, recommended the development of bigger aircraft with better performance and the Tactical School agreed completely.[93] The B-17 was exactly what the Air Corps was looking for; it was a high-flying, long-ranging potent bomber capable of defending itself.

When the Model 299 was rolled out on 28 July 1935, bristling with multiple machine gun installations, Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times coined the name "Flying Fortress" with his comment "Why, it's a flying fortress!".[9] Boeing was quick to see the value of the name and had it trademarked for use.

 

After the initial B-17s were delivered to the Air Corps 2nd Bombardment Group, they were used on promotional flights emphasizing its great range and navigational precision. In January 1938, group commander Colonel Robert Olds flew a YB-17 from the east to west coast, setting a transcontinental record of 13 hours 27 minutes. He also broke the west-to-east coast record on the return trip, averaging 245 mph (394 km/h) in 11 hours 1 minute.[94] Six bombers of the 2nd Bombardment group took off from Langley Field on 15 February 1938 as part of a good will flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Covering 12,000 miles (19,000 km) they returned on 27 February.[76] In a well publicized mission on May 12 of the same year, three B-17s, "intercepted" and took photographs of the Italian ocean liner SS Rex 610 miles (980 km) off the Atlantic coast.[95]

The Flying Fortress found a place in the public psyche as well. In 1943, Consolidated Aircraft commissioned a poll to see “to what degree the public is familiar with the names of the Liberator and the Flying Fortress.”
Over Germany, B-17 Flying
Fortresses from the 398th
Bombardment Group fly a
bombing run to Neumünster,
Germany, on 13 April 1945.
Of 2,500 men in cities where Consolidated ads had been run in newspapers, only 73% had heard of the B-24 Liberator, while 90% knew of the B-17.[8]

Hollywood featured the airplane in its movies, such as Twelve O'Clock High, with Gregory Peck.[96] This film was made with the full cooperation of the United States Air Force and made use of actual combat footage. In 1964, the movie was made into a television show of the same name, and ran for three years. The B-17 also appeared in the 1938 movie Test Pilot with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, with Clark Gable in Command Decision in 1948, and in Memphis Belle with Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane and Harry Connick, Jr. in 1990.

 


B-17G-80BO 43-38172 8th AF
398th BG 601st BS damaged on
a bombing mission over Cologne,
Germany on 15 October 1944.
Pilot 1st Lt. Lawrence De Lancey
brought the wounded Fortress
back to Nuthampstead, UK, where
the photo was taken. Notice the
upwards effect of the anti-aircraft
shell; the bombardier S/Sgt.
George E. Abbott was killed.
During the war, the largest offensive bombing force, the Eighth Air Force, was run by officers who openly preferred the B-17. Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle wrote about his preference for equipping the Eighth with B-17s, citing the logistical advantage in keeping fielded forces down to a minimum number of aircraft types with their unique servicing and spares. For this reason, he wanted B-17 bombers and P-51 fighters for the Eighth. His views were supported by Eighth Air Force statisticians, whose studies purportedly showed that Fortresses had utility and survivability much greater than that of the B-24.[8]

Loved by its crews for bringing them home despite extensive battle damage, its durability, especially in belly-landings and ditchings, quickly took on mythical proportions.[97][98][7] Stories and photos of B-17s surviving battle damage widely circulated, boosting its iconic status.[8] Despite an inferior performance and bombload compared to the more numerous B-24 Liberator,[9] a survey of Eighth Air Force crews showed a much higher rate of satisfaction in the B-17.[10]

The most famous B-17, the Memphis Belle, toured the U.S. with its crew to reinforce national morale (and to sell War Bonds), and starred in a USAAF documentary, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress.[99]

 

After the war ended, most B-17s were scrapped, but the U.S. Air Force did keep some B-17s for VIP transports and drone directors. The United States Navy and U.S. Coast Guard obtained thirty B-17s beginning in 1945 for over-water patrols as PB-1Gs, an air rescue aircraft similar to USAF B-17Hs, and PB-1Ws, a patrol aircraft with early warning radar installations aboard. The war ended before any PB-1Ws were operational and defensive armament was subsequently deleted. The Coast Guard retired the last PB-1G, BuNo 77254, in October 1959, making it the last U.S. military Flying Fortress in operation.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the surviving Fortresses had to earn their keep, as operation of a four-engine aircraft was costly, and the Warbirds preservation movement had not yet begun. The preservation of the remaining Fortresses gained steam when firebomber B-17s began to come on the market in the 1970s.

 

 


B-17G Shoo Shoo Baby.

 

Medal of Honor awards

Many B-17 crew members received military honors and 17 received the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States:[34]
Maynard H. Smith receiving Medal
of Honor from War Secretary,
Henry L. Stimson.

 

Other military achievements or events

Allison C. Brooks (1917–2006): Was awarded numerous military decorations, and was ultimately promoted to the rank of Major General and served in active duty until 1971.

  • Captain Werner G. Goering: American-born nephew of the Nazi Commander of the Luftwaffe in World War II, Hermann Göring.[115]
  • Immanuel J. Klette (1918–1988): Second-generation German-American whose 91 combat missions were the most flown by any Eighth Air Force pilot in World War II.[116]
  • Colin Kelly (1915–1941): Pilot of the first U.S. B-17 lost in action.[117]
  • Col Frank Kurtz (1911–1996): The USAAF's most decorated pilot of World War II; Commander of the 463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force, Celone Field, Foggia, Italy; Clark Field Philippines attack survivor; Olympic bronze medalist in diving (1932), 1944–1945; father of actress Swoosie Kurtz.
  • Gen Curtis LeMay (1906–1990): Became head of the Strategic Air Command and head of the USAF.
  • Lt Col Nancy Love (1914–1976) and Betty (Huyler) Gillies (1908–1998): The first women to be certified to fly the B-17, in 1943.[118]
  • Col Robert K. Morgan (1918–2004): Pilot of Memphis Belle.
  • Lt Col Robert Rosenthal (1917–2007): Commanded the only surviving B-17, "Rosie's Riveters", of a US 8th Air Force raid by the 100th Bomb Group on Münster in 1943, earned sixteen medals for gallantry (including one each from Britain and France), and led the raid on Berlin on February 3, 1945 that is likely to have ended the life of Roland Freisler, the Third Reich's infamous "hanging judge".
  • Brig Gen Paul Tibbets (1915–2007): Flew with the 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy) with both the 8th Air Force in England and the 12th Air Force in North Africa; later pilot of the B-29 Enola Gay dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
  • Robert Webb (1922–2002): One of the youngest bomber pilots in the U.S. Army Air Forces, received the Distinguished Flying Cross with seven Oak Leaf Clusters.
  • 1st Lt Eugene Emond (1921–1998): Lead Pilot for Man O War II Horsepower Limited received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, American Theater Ribbon and Victory Ribbon. Was part of D-Day and witnessed one of the first German jets when a ME-262 flew through his formation over Germany: One of the youngest bomber pilots in the U.S. Army Air Forces .
Forrest L. Vosler receiving Medal
of Honor from President
Roosevelt..



L-R, Nancy Love, pilot and Betty
(Huyler) Gillies, co-pilot, the first
women to fly the Boeing B-17
Flying Fortress heavy bomber.

 

Civilian achievements or events

Martin Caidin (1927–1997): Author of Cyborg, the story that formed the basis of The Six Million Dollar Man and the saga of the last transatlantic formation flight of B-17s ever made, Everything But the Flak.

  • Clark Gable (1901–1960): Academy Award-winning film actor, five missions as waist gunner with several groups from May to September 1943, including the B-17 Eight Ball of the 359th Bomb Squadron (351st Bomb Group).
  • Tom Landry (1924–2000): American football player and coach, flew 30 missions over Europe in 1944–45 as a B-17 pilot with the 493rd Bomb Group, surviving a crash landing in Czechoslovakia. (His older brother Robert died in a B-17 crash)[119]
Clark Gable with 8th AF B-17F
with pre-Cheyenne tail position,
in Britain, 1943.
  • Norman Lear: Radio operator, with the 463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force, Celone Field, Foggia, Italy; television producer of American sitcoms Sanford and Son, Maude and All in the Family, among others.
  • Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991): Creator of Star Trek; flew B-17s for the 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group (H), in the Pacific theater.[120]
  • Robert Rosenthal (1917–2007): Assistant to the U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, where he interrogated Hermann Göring, pilot with the 100th Bomb Group.
  • Brigadier General Robert Lee Scott, Jr. (1908–2006): Best known for his autobiography God is My Co-Pilot, about his exploits in World War II with the Flying Tigers and the United States Army Air Forces in China and Burma.
  • James Stewart (1908–1997): Academy Award-winning film actor, instructed in B-17s before flying 20 combat missions in B-24s with the 8th Air Force, England; retired from Air Force Reserve as a Brigadier General.[121]
  • Bert Stiles (1920–1944): 91st Bomb Group co-pilot from March to October 1944, short-story author, killed in action flying a P-51 on a second tour.
  • Smokey Yunick (1923–2001): Award-winning motorsports car designer and premier NASCAR crew chief flew 50 missions as a B-17 pilot with the 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the 15th Air Force, out of Amendola Airfield, Foggia, Italy.[122]

B-17 Flying Fortress variants

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

Liberty Foundation Home of the B-17G Liberty Belle

The source of this article is Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

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Photo of Memphis Belle B-17 Flying Fortress at Andrew's Air Force Base in Maryland. The Memphis Belle completed 25 missions over Germany during WWII.

B-17 Flying Fortress Facts
Role: Strategic bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Boeing
First flight: 28 July 1935[1]
Introduction: April 1938
Retired: 1968 (Brazilian Air Force)
Primary users: United States Army Air Force
Royal Air Force
Produced: 1936–1945
Number built: 12,731[2]
Unit cost: US$238,329[3]
Variants: XB-38; YB-40;
C-108; 307
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