I got to see the coolist thing in the world today!! (B-17)!

[HoppysMag]

no wonder they called those things a flying fortress... thatsa lotta guns

i do believ the B29 Super Fortress had more guns.... even the russians like them... as a matter of fact the russians likem so much they stole them!!

[magking1971]

oops forgot one, the top gun! (Top turret, manned by the engineer. An electric interuptor cut-out insures that he can't shoot the tail off )
Ya, you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a gun

[magking1971]

Last year they had a B-17 and a B-29 in town and were giving rides for $300.00 if I had the cash I would have done it!!!

[Army]

B-17G, ser# 44-85740, was delivered to the Army May 18th 1945, too late to see any action.

"Aluminum Overcast" is now a commemorative aircraft, proudly wearing the livery of the 398th Bomb Group, and the tail number of the B-17G 42-102515, which went down over Nazi held Le Manior France on August 13, 1944 with all hands lost, on her 34th mission.

Veterans of the 398th donated time and money to restore her to flying condition. In 1983, she was donated to the EAA, which undertook her rebuild and resupply of equipment. Included in her equipment list, is the original Norden bombsight issued to aircraft #42-102515. When shot down, she was using the Sperry sight, and left the Norden back at base. She also carries much of her original radio gear, issued in 1945.

The B-17 received the name "Flying Fortress" from a Seattle reporter who commented on its defensive firepower. The B-17 underwent a number of improvements over its 10-year production span. Models ranged from the YB-17 to the B-17-G model. Throughout the War, the B-17 was refined and improved as battle experience showed the Boeing designers where improvements could be made. The final B-17 production model, the B-17G, was produced in larger quantities (8,680) than any previous model and is considered the definitive "Flying Fort." With its 13 .50-caliber machine guns -- chin, top, ball and tail turrets; waist and cheek guns -- the B-17G was indeed an airplane that earned the respect of its combatants. In addition, air crews liked the B-17 for its ability to withstand heavy combat damage and still return its crew safely home (my Dad was a bombardier on two B17-D, and one G model. He was shot down twice in coastal France, but made it back to England safely. He was discharged with 56 missions completed).

Between 1935 and May of 1945, 12,731 B-17s were produced. Of these aircraft, 4,735 were lost during combat missions.

Today, fewer than 100 B-17 airframes exist and fewer still are in airworthy condition. At one time, more than 1,000 B-17s could be assembled for mass combat missions, less than 15 of Boeing's famous bombers can still take to the air.

[HoppysMag]

its a shame these great birds are so few and far inbetween...

[Will Wood]

Yea I once saw 2 of those, and a bunch of other war planes in a air show once. It was pretty cool. You could even ride in them, but at a ticket price of $300 . There was a bunch of cool stuff to buy too. I got a bullet and some cool pics.

[GreasyPigeon]

play

when you were inside of the plane did you play with the guns??? or they wouldn't let you???

[MikeCouves]

Wow that's truly amazing I must say I like it. How much would one of those go for these days?

[Army]

If you look at the pics of the waist guns, see the inside wall? That's the outside skin. The top of a soda-pop can is about as thick as the skin. No heat inside, their flight suits had electric heater coils built in, but they were barely adequate at over 20,000ft. There are 4 "piss-tubes" throughout the ship, but the crew normally put on a rubber, filled it, then tossed the instantly frozen tube of urine over-board, no doubt to the shock and surprise to whoever IT bombed

The ball turret and the bombardier were the first choice of target for enemy fighters. The ball turret can quickly track 360 degrees on powerful electric motors. The bombardier is essential for the mission, and a head-on, high attack has the least firepower directed at an enemy plane. Take out the ball turret, and/or the bombardier and the aircraft starts to be vulnerable.

B17's are well praised for the amount of damage they could sustain and still fly and fight. Many are the ships that came back home with huge chunks of plane missing or blown away. 85% of the tail could be lost, and the plane could still fly straight. Three of the four engines can be lost, and the plane will hold a low altitude. All controls were manual, with some hydraulic boost, but long cables were all that made the flaps, rudder, and ailerons work. Lose too much of a cable, and that control is lost. Rudder gone? No prob, just rev up an outboard engine to help turn the plane! Run out of elevator? No prob, send the crew to the rear to go up, to the front to go down!

The thin skin actually saved the ship. German fighter aircraft boasted a 20mm cannon, but the B17 skin was too thin and soft to detonate the nose fuse on the shells, leaving nothing but a hole in the side. Of course, should the shell hit something thick enough...blooey.

The B17 is arguably the most successful combat aircraft ever flown by any country. God bless Boeing!

[HoppysMag]

Army knows his stuff... but hey army was the life expectancy for a ball turret gunner 2 weeks or 3 weeks???

[magking1971]

Everything inside was no touch! But I wish
Thanks for all the info Army, I got to read all that but too much to remember.

[dogEmedic]

Thanks for the great pics, I have not seen a 17 in a long time. Back around 1992 I saw a b17-g called "nine o nine" tail number 231909, they did'nt give any tours that day.
I got to stick my head into a b-29 once, her name was "fifi", wish I could remember all the facts but the one that sticks out the most was $1000 a hour gas cost to fly the plane. The pilot that day also said that fifi was used in the movie "enola gay". I think it was the confederate airforce out of texas that fly the m up here to jersey.
Hey army thanks for all the cool info to.


Alan

[shartley]

[LittleKrems]

i saw that one at oshkosh wisconsin

[SqueegeeKid]

The "Memphis Belle" or its copycat is sitting across town getting fixed up. I guess there's something wrong with the wings. They had tours before it got put into the hangar for repairs but i was working all weekend
I saw some pics and it looked beautiful.

The real Memphis Belle is sitting in some museum down south, this one was used in the Disney movie of the same name if i'm not correct.

Thinking what those guys had to go through flying those beasts into battle sends chills up my spine. Those guys had balls the size of watermelons!