Lockheed-Vega B-17G Flying Fortress - Pima ASM, Tucson, AZ - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930's for the US 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-17's for further evaluation.

The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets. The US 8th Air Force based at Thorpe Abbotts airfield in England and the 15th 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.

On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multi-engined bomber to replace the Martin B-10. The Air Corps was looking for a bomber capable of reinforcing the air forces in Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska. Requirements were that it would carry a "useful bombload" at an altitude of 10,000ft/3km for 10 hours with a top speed of at least 200mph/320kph.

They also desired, but did not require, a range of 2,000mi/3,200km and a speed of 250mph/400kph. The competition for the Air Corps contract would be decided by a "fly-off" between Boeing's design, the Douglas DB-1 and the Martin Model 146 at Wright Field in Dayton, OH.

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. It combined features of the experimental Boeing XB-15 bomber with the Boeing 247 transport airplane. The B-17's armament consisted of up to 4,800lb/2,200kg of bombs on two racks in the bomb bay behind the cockpit, and five 30-cal/7.62mm machine guns, and it was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 "Hornet" radial engines each producing 750hp/600kW at 7,000ft/2,100m.

The first flight of the Model 299 was on 28 July 1935, with Boeing chief test-pilot Leslie Tower at the controls. 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. The most unique being the nose installation (see note for description and drawing) which allowed the single machine gun to be fired from about any frontal angle any approaching enemy fighter would take to attack the B-17.

Boeing also claimed in some of the early press releases that Model 299 was the first combat aircraft that could continue its mission if one of its four engines for what ever reason failed. Boeing was quick to see the value of the name and had it trademarked for use. On 20 August 1935, the prototype flew from Seattle to Wright Field in nine hours and three minutes at an average cruising speed of 252mph/406kph, much faster than the competition.

At the fly-off, the four-engine Boeing's performance was superior to those of the twin-engine DB-1 and Model 146. Then-Major General Frank Maxwell Andrews of the GHQ Air Force believed that the long-range capabilities of four-engine large aircraft were more effective than shorter-ranged twin-engined airplanes, and that the B-17 was better suited to their doctrine. His opinions were shared by the Air Corps procurement officers, and even before the competition had finished they suggested buying 65 B-17's.

Development continued on the Boeing Model 299, and on 30 October 1935, USAAC test-pilot Maj Ployer Peter Hill and Boeing employee Les Tower took the Model 299 on a second evaluation flight; however, the crew forgot to disengage the airplane's "gust lock," a device that held the bomber's movable control surfaces in place while the aircraft was parked on the ground. Having taken off, the aircraft entered a steep climb, stalled, nosed over and crashed, killing Hill and Tower (other observers survived with injuries).

The crashed Model 299 could not finish the evaluation, and while the USAAC was still enthusiastic about the aircraft's potential, Army officials were daunted by the much greater expense per aircraft (Douglas quoted a unit price of $58,200 based on a production order of 220 aircraft, compared with a price of $99,620 from Boeing), and as the competition could not be completed Boeing was legally disqualified from the consideration for the contract. Army Chief of Staff Malin Craig cancelled the order for 65 YB-17's, and ordered 133 of the twin-engine Douglas B-18 Bolo instead.

Regardless, the USAAC had been impressed by the prototype's performance, and on 17 January 1936, through a legal loophole, the USAAC ordered 13 YB-17's (designated Y1B-17 after November 1936 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), 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-17's were delivered to the 2nd BG at Langley Field, VA, for operational development and flight tests. One suggestion adopted was the use of a pre-flight checklist to avoid accidents such as that which befell the Model 299. In one of their first missions, three B-17's, directed by lead navigator Lt Curtis LeMay, were sent by General Andrews to "intercept" and photograph the Italian ocean liner Rex 610mi/980km off the Atlantic coast. The mission was successful and widely publicized. The 13th Y1B-17 was delivered to the Material Division at Wright Field, OH, to be used for flight testing.

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. The aircraft was delivered to the Army on 31 January 1939. Once service testing was complete, the Y1B-17's and Y1B-17A were redesignated B-17 and B-17A respectively to signify the change to operational status.

Opposition to the USAAC'S ambitions for the acquisition of more B-17's faded, and in late 1937, 10 more aircraft designated B-17B were ordered to equip two bombardment groups, one on each coast. Improved with larger flaps, rudder and Plexiglas nose, the B-17B's were delivered in five small batches between July 1939 and March 1940. In July 1940, a significant order for 512 B-17's was issued; however, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, fewer than 200 B-17's were in service with the Army.

A total of 155 B-17's of all variants were delivered between 11 January 1937 and 30 November 1941, but production quickly accelerated with the B-17 eventually setting the record for achieving the highest production rate for large aircraft. The aircraft went on to serve in every WW 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).

Of the 13 YB-17's ordered for service testing, 12 were used to develop heavy bombing techniques, and the 13th was used for flight testing. Experiments on this aircraft led to the use of a turbo-supercharger which would become standard on the B-17 line. A 14th aircraft, the YB-17A, originally destined for ground testing only and upgraded with the turbocharger, was re-designated B-17A after testing had finished.

To enhance performance at slower speeds, the B-17B was altered to include larger rudder and flaps. The B-17C changed from three bulged, oval shaped machine gun blisters to two flush, oval-shaped machine gun window openings and a single "bathtub" machine gun housing on the lower fuselage. Models A through D of the B-17 were designed defensively, while B-17E was the first model primarily focused on offensive warfare.

The B-17E was an extensive revision of the Model 299 design: The fuselage was extended by 10ft/3.0m; a much larger rear fuselage, vertical tail fin, rudder, and horizontal stabilizer were added to the design; a gunner's position was added in the new tail; and an improved nose and glass combing added, resulting in a 20% increase in aircraft weight. The B-17's engines were upgraded to more powerful versions multiple times throughout its production, and similarly, the machine gun locations were increased to enhance their aircraft's combat effectiveness.

By the time the definitive B-17G appeared, the number of guns had been increased from 7 to 13, the designs of the gun stations were finalized, and other adjustments were completed. The B-17G was the final version, incorporating all changes made to its predecessor, the B-17F, and in total 8,680 were built, the last one (by Lockheed) on July 28 1945.

Two versions of the B-17 were flown under different designations, the XB-38 Flying Fortress and the YB-40 Flying Fortress. The XB-38 was an engine test-bed for Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engines, should the Wright engines normally used on the B-17 become unavailable. The only prototype XB-38 to fly crashed on its ninth flight and the type was abandoned, the V-1710 being kept for fighters.

The YB-40 was a heavily armed modification of the standard B-17 used before the P-51 Mustang, an effective long-range fighter, became available to act as escort. Additional armament included an additional dorsal turret in the radio room, a chin turret (which became standard with the B-17G) and twin 50-cal guns in the waist positions. The ammunition load was over 11,000 rounds, making the YB-40 well over 10,000lb/4,500kg heavier than a fully loaded B-17F. The YB-40's with their numerous heavy modifications had trouble keeping up with the lighter bombers once they had dropped their bombs, and so the project was abandoned and finally phased out in July 1943.

Late in WW II, at least 25 B-17's were fitted with radio controls and television cameras, loaded with 20,000lb/9,100kg of high-explosives and dubbed BQ-7 "Aphrodite missiles" for Operation Aphrodite. The operation, which involved remotely flying Aphrodite drones onto their targets by accompanying CQ-17 "mothership" control aircraft, was approved on June 26, 1944, but due to an unexplained mid-air explosion
over the Blyth estuary of a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, part of the US Navy's contribution as "Project Anvil", en route for Heligoland piloted by Lt Joseph P Kennedy Jr, future US president John F Kennedy's elder brother, the Aphrodite project was scrapped in early 1945.

The 19th BG had deployed to Clark Field in the Philippines a few weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as the first of a planned heavy bomber buildup in the Pacific. Half of the group's airplanes were wiped out on 8 December 1941 when they were caught on the ground during refueling and rearming for a planned attack on Japanese airfields on Formosa. The small force of B-17's operated against the Japanese invasion force until they were withdrawn to Darwin.

In July 1942, the first B-17's were sent to England to join 8th Air Force. Later that year two groups moved to Algeria to join 12th Air Force for operations in North Africa. The B-17's were primarily involved in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign against German targets ranging from U-boat pens, docks, warehouses and airfields to industrial targets such as aircraft factories. In the campaign against German aircraft forces in preparation for the invasion of France, B-17 and B-24 Liberator raids were directed against German aircraft production while their presence drew the Luftwaffe fighters into battle with Allied fighters.

Early models proved to be unsuitable for combat use over Europe and it was the B-17E that was first successfully used by the USAAF. The defense expected from bombers operating in close formation alone did not prove effective and the bombers needed fighter escorts to operate successfully.

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-17's 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 US aircraft in WW II. Of the 1.5 million metric tons of bombs dropped on Germany by US aircraft, 640,000 tons were dropped by B-17's.

The Luftwaffe, the Soviets and the Japanese captured or recovered and repaired B-17's to study the aircraft and develop offensive tactics against it.

Many B-17G's were converted for cargo hauling, engine testing, reconnaissance, drones and drone control missions. Initially designated B-17H, a number of B-17G's were converted for search-and-rescue duties, later to be redesignated SB-17G. The Navy used B-17's in the airborne early warning role designated PB-1W. The US Coast Guard used the airframe for air-sea rescue, iceberg patrol and photo mapping duties as PB-1G.

On 28 May 1962, N809Z, piloted by Connie Seigrist and Douglas Price, flew Maj James Smith, USAF, and Lt Leonard A LeSchack, USNR, to the abandoned Soviet arctic ice station NP 8, as Operation Coldfeet. After parachuting from the B-17, Smith and LeSchack searched the station for several days. On 1 June, Seigrist and Price returned and picked up Smith and LeSchack using a Fulton Skyhook system installed on the B-17. In 1965, N809Z was used to perform a Skyhook pick up in the James Bond movie Thunderball. This aircraft, now restored to its original B-17G configuration, is on display in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR.

As of September 2011, 13 airframes remain airworthy, with dozens more in storage or on static display.

Source: Wikipedia

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Lockheed-Vega B-17G Flying Fortress Tail Number: (S/N): s/n 44-85828 Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Located in the 390th BG Hangar at Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ inside / outside: inside Other Information:: Pima Air & Space Museum 6000 E Valencia Rd Tucson, Arizona 85756 Phone 520-574-0462 Open 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Daily Last admittance at 4:00 PM $15.50-Adults $12.50-Pima Co Residents $12.75-Seniors $ 9.00-Children FREE---Children 6 & under $ 7.00-AMARG $13.50-Group Rate Access restrictions: None

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