10/16/2010
Warbirdfare
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s 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 competitors and more than met the Air Corps' expectations. Although Boeing lost the contract because the prototype crashed, the Air Corps was so impressed with Boeing's design that they ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances.
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 and military targets. The United States Eighth Air Force based at Thorpe Abbotts airfield 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. 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-range bomber that was able to defend itself, and to return home despite extensive battle damage. It quickly took on mythic proportions, and widely circulated stories and photos of B-17s surviving battle damage increased its iconic status. With a service ceiling greater than any of its Allied contemporaries, the B-17 established itself as an effective weapons system, dropping more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of the 1.5 million metric tons of bombs dropped on Germany by U.S. aircraft, 640,000 tons were dropped from B-17s.
General characteristics
- Crew: 10
- Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m)
- Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in (31.62 m)
- Height: 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
- Wing area: 1,420 sq ft (131.92 m2)
- Airfoil: NACA 0018 / NACA 0010
- Aspect ratio: 7.57
- Empty weight: 36,135 lb (16,391 kg)
- Loaded weight: 54,000 lb (24,500 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 65,500 lb (29,700 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 287 mph (249 kn, 462 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 182 mph (158 kn, 293 km/h)
- Range: 2,000 mi (1,738 nmi, 3,219 km) with 2,700 kg (6,000 lb) bombload
- Service ceiling: 35,600 ft (10,850 m)
- Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
- Wing loading: 38.0 lb/sq ft (185.7 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.089 hp/lb (150 W/kg)
Armament
- 13 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns
- Short range missions (<400 mi): 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)
- Long range missions (≈800 mi): 4,500 lb (2,000 kg)
- Overload: 17,600 lb (7,800 kg)
** Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - Warbird Fare
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