Stable and easy to fly for a multi-engine aircraft, the ‘‘Fort’’ had the best safety record of any USAAF bomber of the era. The Army Air Forces accepted 12,692 Fortresses from 1940 to 1945, built by Boeing, Douglas, and Vega. Top speed was 287 mph at twenty-five thousand feet. Bomb bay capacity also was increased over the original model, reaching a total of 9,600 pounds for shorter-range missions. 50 caliber guns for its ten-man crew: pilot, copilot, navigator, bombardier, radioman, and five gunners including the flight engineer. With a remotely controlled two-gun turret under the nose, the G variant’s armament was increased to a dozen. Twenty-three B-17 groups were operational in England by June 1944.Ĭombat experience over Europe demonstrated a need for additional armament, leading to the B-17G. B-17s of the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces delivered 45.8 percent of the USAAF bomb tonnage against Germany while sustaining 47.1 percent of the bomber losses-4,688 destroyed in combat. A flight of B-17Es was caught in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 G models remained operational on VJ-Day. Army Air Forces, the B-17 was a first-to-last warrior. Limited Royal Air Force use began in April 1941, but Bomber Command doctrine did not match the Fortress’s potential. Subsequently most British B-17s were flown by RAF Coastal Command.įor the U.S. However, with four Wright radial engines, a four-thousand-pound bomb load, and a powerful battery of machine guns, the Flying Fortress seemed to live up to its name. Developed during the mid- to late 1930s, the B-17 entered service in 1938, but production was limited by peacetime budgets.
The Flying Fortress embodied the cherished American concept of precision daylight bombardment and was amongst the deadliest of World War 2 planes. Click here to see more articles in this category.
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