Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress | |
|USA |
|[pic] |
|The Boeing B-17 „Flying Fortress“ |
One of the United States’ two standard heavy bombers until the introduction
of the B-29 Superfortress, the B-17 was flown by the United States Army Air
Force throughout the American participation in the Second World War. Wing
to wing with B-24 Liberators, B-17s were used by the US Eighth Air Force
based in the UK, to bombard German targets in Europe during daylight hours
a method which resulted initially in very heavy losses.
The Flying Fortress was designed for a competition, announced in 1934, to
find a modern replacement for the assorted Keystone biplane bombers then in
service. The prototype first flew on July 28,1935, and went on to win the
competition. Boeing then built a few preproduction YlB-17s (later
redesignated B-17As), followed by 39 B-17Bs which entered service in the
late thirties. Money was short, and by the autumn of 1939 only 30 Flying
Fortresses were fully operational. As the US was not then fighting in
Europe it did not seem to matter although, as it became clearer that
involvement was inevitable, orders were increased. Furthermore, a small
number of B-17Cs delivered to the RAF as Fortress Is quickly showed that
defensive armament was inadequate.
|[pic] |
|One of 235 B-17G-45’s built by Boeing at|
|Seattle. |
In September of 1941, a new Fortress appeared with an extensively modified
empennage. Gone was the pert fin and rudder riding precariously behind the
stabilizer. Instead, a broad yet graceful dorsal fin rose from amidships
and enveloped a deadly stinger of twin .50-cal. machine guns. A remote
controlled belly turret held two more .50s. This was the B-17E, of which
112 were built. Four hundred more followed but with a manned Sperry ball
turret replacing the remote system. The B-17E was lengthened to 73 feet 10
inches to accommodate the new defensive tail position. Top speed was 317
mph, cruising at over 200 mph with 4,000 pounds of bombs.
The Pearl Harbor attack of December 7,1941 finally brought the United
States into the war and production of the B-17 rapidly increased. By July
1942 the US began forming the Eighth Air Force in Britain, equipped with B-
17Es. The ‘E’ represented an important improvement over the earlier B-17s,
in that it had a tail turret, so eliminating a previous defensive blind
spot. On August 17,1942 United States B-17s carried out a bombing raid on
the railway yards at Rouen in France. The real offensive, however, started
on January 27,1943, when B-17s of the USAAF made their first attack on
Germany. Initially, casualties were very high because they attacked during
daylight hours to achieve greater accuracy and because proper formation
flying (to enable a group of airplanes to defend each other with crossfire)
had not yet been formulated. Delivery of the B-17G (the major production
version) helped. The ‘G’ was the first variant to have a gun turret under
the nose, so increasing the armament to 13 guns.
Production of the similar B-17F was undertaken by Douglas and Vega, a
subsidiary of the Lockheed Aircraft Corp., was taking its toll in speed.
The B-17F, though now armed with eleven .50-cal. guns, could only reach 299
mph, but landing speed was up to 90 mph! Service ceiling was 37,500 feet
and range 2,880 miles. It took twenty-five and a half minutes to climb to
20,000 feet. Three thousand, four hundred B-17Fs were produced by the three
companies.
By September 1943, the Flying Fortress showed its final shape. During
firepower tests on the XB-40, a modified B-17F, the advantage of a chin
turret was clearly proven and a new series, labeled B-17G, sported this
nasal appendage. The Bendix turret held two .50-cal. guns and this model
had a total of twelve of these weapons with 6,380 rounds of ammunition. In
all, there were 8,680 B-17Gs built by Boeing, Vega, and Douglas to make
this the largest production variation. Following the first Model 299, the
Air Corps purchased 12,725 B-17 type aircraft.
|[pic] |
|A Douglas built B-17G-30, from Long |
|Beach California. Lockheed also |
|manufactured Flying Fortresses for the |
|Air Corps. |
On 19 July 1943 US B-17s and B-24 Liberators carried out the first bombing
raid on Rome; and US bombing in Europe reached its high point in February
1945 with a 1,000-bomber raid on Berlin, escorted by 400 fighters, and the
Dresden raid (alongside the Royal Air Force) which caused a massive fire
storm to sweep the city.
Meanwhile, B-17s were also helping to win the war against Japan, although
by mid-1943 the larger B-29 had begun to take over the major strategic