Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

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The B-17 Flying Fortress was the first truly modern heavy bomber and is still one of the most recognized airplanes ever built. It gained its greatest fame for daylight strategic bombings of German industrial targets during World War II.


The prototype of the B-17 first flew on July 28, 1935. Few B-17s were in service when the United States entered World War II on December 7, 1941, but production quickly accelerated. The aircraft served in every WWII combat zone. Production ended in May 1945 after 12,726 aircraft had been built.


General Characteristics[edit | edit source]

  • Span: 103 ft. 10 in.
  • Length: 74 ft. 4 in.
  • Height: 19 ft. 1 in.
  • Weight: 55,000 lbs. loaded
  • Armament: Thirteen .50-cal. machine guns with normal bomb load of 6,000 lbs.
  • Engines: Four Wright "Cyclone" R-1820s of 1,200 hp. each
  • Cost: US$276,000
  • Crew: 2 pilots, bombardier, radio-operator, 5 gunners
  • Performance
    • Maximum speed: 300 mph
    • Cruising speed: 170 mph
    • Range: 1,850 miles
    • Service Ceiling: 35,000 feet