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    Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

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    Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    142 views24 pages

    Vintage Aviation Publications LTD - Aerodata International 008 - Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

    Uploaded by

    Kent
    Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    AERODATA INTERNATIONAL N°8 Pie Seamer aa SMR rN ee RASS SEALED TRAIN HISTORY * TECHNICAL DATA * PHOTOGRAPHS * COLOUR VIEWS » 1/72 SCALE PLANS Aerodata International aircraft. monographs are self-contained 20-page A4 size booklets containing 1/72 scale multi-view plans, colour artwork, sketches, large Photographs and narrative (including. technical data)—everything. the modeller needs to know to check the accuracy of plastic kits or scratch-build his own replicas from wood or plastic. A special, additional wrap-around inside cover gives a brief outline history of the subject aircraft in French and German plus translations of the photo captions and drawing annotations in those same two languages. This particular title is one of six devoted to famous bombers of World War 2, following the initial series of six famous fighters of World War 2 The series includes: No. 1 Focke-Wulf 190A series by Peter G. Cooksley No. 2 Supermarine Spitfire 1 & I by Philip J. R. Moyes No. 3 North American P-S1D Mustang by Harry Holmes No. 4 Messerschmitt Me 109E by Peter G. Cooksley No. 5 Hawker Hurricane 1 by Philip J. R. Moyes No. 6 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt by John B, Rabbets No. 7 Handley Page Halifax (Merlin-engined variants) by Philip J. R. Moyes No. 8 Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress by Philip J. R. Moyes No. 9 Junkers Su88A Series by Philip J. R. Moyes, No. 10 Avro Lancaster Mk I by Philip J. R. Moves No. 11 Consolidated B-24 Liberator by Philip J. R. Moyes No. 12 Heinkel He 111 by Philip J. R. Moyes Plans and artwork by Alfred Granger, MISTC Colour artwork by Roy Mills | Acrodata International Publications and their contents are copyright © Vintage Aviation Publications Ltd., VAP House, Station Field Industrial Estate, Kidlington, Oxford, England, and no part may be reproduced in any way without the prior permission of the publishers. Trade enquiries would be welcome, but the publishers regret that they cannot deal with readers’ enquiries concerning the content of Acrodata International Publications. Printed by Visual Art Press Limited, Oxford, England First published 1979. ISBN 0 905469 55.0 BOEING B-17G FLYING FORTRESS by Philip J. R. Moyes i Rel Fine ’ Figs, 2&3. Serving as prototype of the B-17G was this Boeing-bulltB-17E, 42-30631, taken from the production line and modified to incorporate the Bendix chin turet, revised side gun ports and certain other refinements, mostly internal. White rectangles were added to US star (nsignia in ‘July 1943, Surrounding red border was used only fo September and was then replaced by blue. Fig. 4 A contrailing B-17G with ts bomb doors open. The Fort's main failing—and this applied to all models—was that it was designed as a ‘medium bomber and although later inthe war If was capable of carrying as much as 20,8000 (943Skg) of bombs by utlsing external racks, Ht could ‘nly do so atthe expense of range. Normal bomb load on long-range missions was ony 4,000.0 (181k) Six and a half years before America entered the Second World War, the Boeing Model 299 (US Army Air Corps designation’ B-17) first took 10 the air . A giant in its day, the nearly 104ft (31632mm) span four-engined plane had been designed to meet an Air Corps require- ment for a long-range maritime patrol bomber to protect America’s coastline, and the fact that it fairly bristled with machine-gun emplacements led to it being named by the press the “Flying Fortress""—the name soon afterwards being registered by Boeing for the plane, The bomber that was to become legendary first saw action not with the USAAF (as the USAAC was re- named in 1941) but with the RAF when, in July 1941, 90 Squadron of 2 Group, Bomber Command, intro: duced a handful of B-I7Cs (RAF name Fortress Is) on high-altitude daylight raids against “‘fringe’” targets in northern Europe. Despite warnings from the Americans, they were mostly operated in ones, twos and threes rather than in larger formations where their combined crossfire would have given them added protection from. enemy fighters, and partly because of this and partly due to technical reasons the whole exercise was a sad and costly mistake. Meanwhile, Boeing had produced two successive improvements on the B-I7C: the D and E models, the latter, first flown in September 1941, incor: Porating a redesigned aft end to improve firepower and stability at altitude. The E was the first model to have the large dorsal fin which became a Fortress rademark’” and it first went into action on 2 April 1942 when, operating with the US 7th Air Force based in India, it attacked Japanese targets in the Andaman Islands In August 1942 the UK-based US 8th Air Force opened its bombing campaign against Hitler's ‘Festung Europa” with B-I7Es. However, before the year was out the 8th’s E models were being supplanted in first line use by the vastly superior B17-F which, although nearly identical to its predecessor externally (the frame- less Plexiglass nosepiece was the most noticeable new feature) did in fact incorporate some 400 design changes —mostly internal and affecting most of the major com ponents; these included uprated Wright Cyclone engines (R-1820-975), self-sealing oil tanks, additional fuel capacity, an improved oxygen system, and an electronic link between the autopilot and the Norden bomb sight The 8th AF’s initial strike against the German homeland was made by B-I7Fs when, on 27 January 1943, Wilhelmshaven and Emden were attacked. More raids on Germany followed, and not surprisingly the Luftwaffe fighters reacted strongly. Gradually they devised successful tactics for attacking the Forts from less heavily defended quarters, including head-on, and American losses began to mount during the spring of 1943. As the months went by, the FW190s and Me109s fought fierce battles with the increasingly large numbers of B-17s that penetrated deep into German airspace far 143 Fig. S_ The B-I7G was the most-produced Flying Fortress of all, with a total of 8,680 built, This example was from the 524th BS, 379th BG, Wh AF, based at Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire, Fig. 6 Forts of the 447th BG, 8th AF, from Rattlesden, Suffolk, on a practice mission ‘over the East Anglian countryside. Fig. 7 Bombs away! Forts of the 613rd BS, 40Ist BG, from Deene- ‘thorpe, Northamptonshire, in action. The 401s, which flew B-17Gs through out its WW2 combat career, had the ‘second-best rating in bombing accuracy inthe Sth AF. Fig. 8 B17G -M of the 612th BS, 401s BG, Sth AF, over the V-weapons ‘research establishment at Peenemiinde, ‘om the Baltic coast, 25 August 1944. Fig. 94 B17G of the 524th BS, 370th BG from Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire. The 379th, which began operations with B-I7Es, flew more sorties and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other group in the 8th AF beyond the range of their erstwhile fighter escort. The stepped-up ‘“boxes’” of Forts suffered crippling losses (on occasions, as was the case during the notorious raid of 17 August 1943 when, out of 376 B-17s despatched to the Messerschmitt "fighter assembly plant at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plant at Schweinfurt, 60 were shot down by flak and fighters and a further 35 damaged beyond repair. And again on 14 October when, in a second strike against Schweinfurt, 60 Forts were missing and 17 others damaged beyond repair out of a force of 291 sent out. (The 305th Bomb Group based at Chelveston, Northants, lost 13 out of the 16 Forts despatched). This second Schweinfurt raid ended what became known in USAAF circles as “Black Week"—8 to 14 October 1943—and left the 8th AF with only about 200 first-line heavy bombers fit to fly. By now the B-17F was being supplanted in first-line service by the even better B-17G which, in an effort to counter the German head-on attacks, featured a twin 0.50in (12.7mm) machine-gun Bendix ‘chin’? turret. This turret, which was operated from inside the fuselage by the bombardier using remote control apparatus, was in fact seen on some of the last Douglas-built B-17Fs, —which, incidentally, were always regarded as B-17Gs by the 8th AF, Installation of the chin turret meant that the streamlined fairing housing the direction-finding loop had to be resited, so it was placed just forward of the bomb bay and slightly to the left of the fuselage centreline. Other external changes were that the two pitot-static masts, which on the B-I7F had been Positioned on each side of the nose, were replaced by a single pitot-pressure mast on the nose entrance door and Fig. 10. Smooth-functioning Boeing-Vega-Douglas “BVD" pool turned out Forts by the thousands in WW2, This brand new plane, seen on test, was one of 2,250 G-modelsbullt by Vega Alrcraft Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed. PLATE 1 B0EING 8-176 s35th BOMB SQUARON, BoaLeARIe, 486th BOMB GROUP A 8th AIR FORCE APRIL 1945 339163 WAS BOEING BUILT. BEING PART OF BLOCK B-17G-105-B0 THE "CHEYENNE" TAIL TURRET WAS FITTED AS ORIGINAL BUT ALTHOUGH THE WAIST GUNS HAD THE LATE TYPE WINDOWS ADDED THEY REMAINED UNSTAGGERED. 399163 WAS LOST DURING A RAID ON PARCHIM AIRFIELD ON 7 APRIL 1945, ® UNDERSIDE OF PORT WING SIP ® UNDERSIDE OF STARBOARD WING TIP RESEARCH: A. GRANGER © ARTWORK: ROY MILLS. 147 flush-mounted static fittings, one above the other, in the same area on the starboard side. Besides the chin turret, another standard armament feature of the B-I7G—although some examples lacked it—was the provision of projecting windows for the side-mounted or ‘cheek’ nose guns. This, t00, was inherited from the late-production B-I7F, but the positions of the windows were reversed in the G model so that the port gun was in the forward window and the starboard gun on the second one. The B-17G also incorporated modifications to the navigator’s facilites, including a larger table with map shelf above, swivel chair to aid access, and a step beneath the astro-dome to aid taking sights. Many further changes were made to the G model during production, including the staggering of the two waist gun positions—with that on the starboard side being further forward than hitherto. and the fitting of glazed windows to protect the gunners from the icy blast which had hitherto rushed in at them. Another change involving armament was the introduction of a new tail gun installation originally devised by the Cheyenne Modification Centre in ‘Wyoming, to which production Fortresses were sent for modifications prior to despatch to combat units. This installation, which reduced the B-I7G's overall length by Sin (127mm), enabled the twin 0.50in (12.7mm) hand-operated guns to be manipulated to cover a much larger field of fire and featured a reflector sight in place of the old ring and bead. It also gave the gunner more room and better visibility. The new tail-gun installation was also incorporated, retrospectively, in many B-17Gs in service. 14g Fig. 1 BI7G WEA of the s6ah BS, 305th BG, Sih AF, which was based at Grafton "Undermood, Northants. Known as the "Can Do ‘group, the SOSth suffered the heaviest loss inthe infamous 14 October 1943 Schweinfurt mission (see p. 146) and for this reason was given a Nazi flag ‘found ying in that city when cap ‘ured by US troops Fig. 12 B-17Gs of the 40st BG, 81h AF, on the line at Deenethorpe on 19 March 194s On later production B-17Gs the radio operator's gun mounting was incorporated in an enclosed window after the style of the waist guns, but towards the end of production the gun was deleted altogether, this defence point having become regarded as of” little practical value. Yet another production line modifica- tion was the fitting of all-electric controls for the turbo: superchargers (previously hydraulic). ‘The B-17G was the last production model of the B-17 series—all higher designations to B-17P being con- versions—and it was by far the most numerous, a total of 8,680 being built. Of these 4,035 were built by Boeing, 2,395 by Douglas and 2,250 by Vega, with production ceasing in April, June and July’ 1945 respectively. At the peak of B-I7 production in June 1944, Boeing alone was turning out 16 G models every 24 hours Delivery of the new chin-turreted Fortresses to the USAAF began in September 1943, the first examples being the previously mentioned Douglas-built late series Fs (B-17F-70-DLs, ’-75-DLs and *-80-DLs) which the Air Force preferred to call Gs, although true Gs soon followed. Both types began operations with the 8th AF early in October, and thus were operating along- side the older B-17Fs when the second strike against Schweinfurt took place, on the 14th. In November the first USAAF bomber group to be sent to Europe with the B-17G as original equipment, the 401st BG, reached the 8th AF, and although bad weather conditions greatly interfered with the bombing offensive during that winter, it was not long before the 8th, thanks 10 growing numbers of new Forts and also the advent of PLATE 2. SCALE if PULL EXTENDED ure ree © UNDERCARRIAGE FULL LOAD CONDITION), WING UNDERSURFACE & UNDERCARRIAGE . ING B-I7G TPICAL TREAD PATTERKS ——— Fur conpresseo ~staric LoaD LOCATION OF STAR & OAR, (UNDER SIDE OF ‘STARBOARD Mi ® eat BOTH SIDES, ON (1) | AIRCRAFT wir | WAIST GUNS. LOCATION oF STAR & BAR ON STARBOARD SIDE ONLY, (OW AIRCRAFT WITH > GUNS 49 DI D2 D3 D4 DS D6 Cc 2 TE Foon wes Gn ATW SUmNG HmBOKGY ES FHA TE a UTE Gp ee \VIEMED OM ABOVE] ase ae (4 we Aoaiedies pueeaa aes A ese ‘ a | Location oF -ABHIAL FARLEAD = = ‘TRAIL ENIAL IRLEAD 2 + ie Or ——- 1s ocAaTiON oF STARA BAR, (ror surrace PORT WING). wLe¥e Nn wraies PLATE 4. WING TOP SURFACE & NACELLES. BOEING B-I7G seace 72 @ LANDING LicuTs D gore wines ——— OUTBOARD SIDE OF INBOARD NACELLE. (8) NOTE PORT & STARBOARD ACELLES ARE MIRROR IMAGES. 7G OUTBOARD SIDE © an OF OUTBOARD take. — NACELLE reer ®@ LOCATION oF GRILL ‘ON STARBOARO WING ] 152 Fig. 13. Suffering the highest losses of all groups—11 alreraft—in the first Schweinfurt mission (17 August 1943) was the 38Ist BG, based at Ridgewell, Essex, ne of whove B-17Gs s shown. Codes GD denote 534th BS. the peerless Mustang long-range escort fighter, was able to make its presence over Germany really felt. The Mustang's capacity to take two pressurised underwing. drop tanks which would permit it to fly nearly 1,500 miles 2414km) with a speed loss of only about 3Smph (56.3km/h) had been seen to exist by September 1943, but it was not until after the second Schweinfurt disaster that sufficiently drastic action was taken to realise it ‘The Mustangs came into operational service with the 8th AF in December 1943 (see Aerodata International No 3) and by March 1944 they had worked up sufficient range 10 give the bombers cover during their daylight raids on Berlin which were made in conjunction with RAF Bomber Command's night attacks on the “Big City”. American bomber losses were still heavy at times, —although never prohibitive—but now the German fighters were forced to strike wherever and whenever they could instead of being able to wait until the bombers were beyond the limit of their fighter cover range. Furthermore, all the other American and British escort fighters, the Lightnings, Thunderbolts and even the Spitfires, began to get opportunities of engaging the enemy. Fig, 14 Slety.flve pound (28.48kx) napalm bombs x0 aboard the 730th BS, 452nd BG's F-ratieator(42-39930), then a veteran of 125 missions, at Deopham Green, Norfolk, in April 1945, the month in which these jllied petrol weapons were first employed by the 8th AF. 153 PLATES UNIT MARKINGS SCALE 1/144 @) BOEING-BUILT B.17G OF 35314 BS 30Ist BG Vath AF oo = ANOTHER BOEING-BUILT 8-176 OF THE 12th AF THIS AIRCRAFT BELONGED TO 463d 8G. THE ORIGINAL TAIL TURRET WAS REPLACED BY “CHEYENNE” TURRET, THE NEW SKINNING BEING LEFT UNPAINTED. g a bai. DOUGLAS. BUILT B-17G OF 524th BS ba 379th BG ¥ Bth AF UPPER SURFACE STARBOARD WING| ®@ VEGA-BUILT 8-17G OF 600th BS 398th BG 8th AF THIS AIRCRAFT WAS A PATHFINDER & WAS FITTED WITH A RADOME IN PLACE OF THE BALL TURRET JUPPER SURFACE ™ ISTARBOARD WING =f . © ania en aay er @ LOCATION OF SQUADRON UPPER SURFACE CODES ON PORT SIDE UpesRSTRRACE \ j — 0 ~ a " @ , , BOEING BUILT 8.176 OF Sx2nd BS 3Bist BG RESEARCH: A. GRANGER ©” 8th AF ARTWORK: ROY MILLS 154 Fig. 1S Good shor of the B-17G's frameless Plexiglass nosepiece and the ‘vin «80 calibre Bendis. chin turret Hiso visible are the 10 «SO calibre cheek guns Fig. 16 Clase up of cockpit canopy, ‘observation dome and Bendix upper By September 1944 the 8th AF’s operational Fortress element had reached its peak wartime strength with a total of 26 groups, all flying B-17Gs. By then, too, the despatch of over 1,000 Forts on a single day's oper tions had become a common event, and on Christmas Eve 1944 an all-time record for the type was reached when exactly 1,400 were sent to attack airfields and communication centres in western Germany. Flak was now the Forts’ chief antagonist, rather than fighters, the Germans having developed higher-firing weapons ‘and gun-laying radar to ensure more accurate shooting, and it was this which, on the B-17s" final bombing operations with the 8th AF on 25 April 1945, claimed each of the six bombers lost; the Forts" target_was the Skoda armament factory and a nearby airfield in Czechoslovakia. B-17Gs also flew bombing missions with six groups of the 15th Air Force based in southern Italy and operating against targets in southern France, Germany and the Balkans, Crew of the B-17G usually numbered ten men —same as for the E and F—although one of the waist gunners was dispensed with in Europe in late 1944 when enemy air activity declined. The Fort’s main failing. and this applied to all models—was that it was designed as a medium bomber and although later in the war it was capable of carrying as much as 20,800Ib (9,435kg) of bombs by making use of external racks, it could only do so at the expense of range. Normal bomb load on long-range missions was 4,000Ib (1815kg)—the same as that of the RAF’s Mosquitos which regularly made a nightly nuisance of themselves over Berlin and else- where—while in practice maximum loads on short 158 Fig. 17 Some top-surface details, Note particularly the dark-green anti slare panels on the engine nacelles and ‘note, black sripes on wings indicating walkways, and black rubber desicer boots applied 10 leading edges of outer wings (hese were also present on tail unio. Figs. 18 & 19 Sperry ball turret, Grled inside lke am embryo, the gunner (who was, of necessity, not a large man) controled movement of ‘nuns by hand and foot pedals. 156 Fig. 20 Factory shot of port side waist gun postion of a Vega-bult Fortress. Several distinct sgles of vwaist-gun postions/mountings were seen on B17Ge range missions were in the region of 6,000Ib (2722ks), with which the plane’s all-up weight was about 65,0016 (29713kg). Another problem with the Fortress was that it tended to catch fire all too easily when hit by enemy gunfire; more Forts probably fell victims of raging wing fires than through any other cause. The fire hazard apart, the Fort had a capacity for absorbing seemingly fatal amounts of battle damage and still stay in the air to limp safely home. For example, on 7 April 1945 a Messerschmitt 109 collided in mid-air with an 8th AF B-17G of the 100th BG—the famous “Bloody Hundredth"—whereupon the Fort lost most of its port horizontal stabiliser and the tip of its fin and rudder as well as receiving several slashes from the fighter’s propeller. ‘The Fort continued on to bomb its target in Germany and returned to base at ‘Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk—with the tail gunner com pletely unaware of the collision until it landed! To cite another example of the Fort’s ruggedness, the 398th BG's B-17G serial number 43-38172 had a flak shell penetrate its chin turret and explode in the nose over Cologne on 15 October 1944; yet although much of the nose was blown off, cockpit instruments and oxygen system rendered useless and the plane's interior sub: jected to a sub-zero gale, the pilot, Ist Lt Lawrence De Dancey, brought it back home’ to Nuthampstead in Hertfordshire. Many B-17s of the 8th AF completed more than 100 bombing missions, among these stalwarts being 42-31662 Fancy Nancy IV of the 612nd BS/401st BG with 134 missions; 42-97210 Jamaica Ginger of the S63rd BS/388th BG with 137; 43-3756 Milk Wagon of the 708th BS/447th BG with 129; 42-31501 Ole Miss Desiry of the 366th BS/30Sth BG with 138; and 42-0003 1’ Gappy of the 542nd BS/379th BG whose tally of 157 missions is believed to be a record unequalled by any other 8th AF bomber. Incidentally, all five of the Forts just listed survived the war. Four B-17Gs in the 91st BG —the ‘*Ragged Irregulars’—based at Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire completed the impressive total of 536 missions between them. These veterans were Hi Ho Silver (serial and squadron unknown) with 130 missions; Fig. 22. Cheyenne-type tall “stinger Fig. 23 Detail of port mainwheei ear. Fig. 24 View looking {forward from clase behind the retractable tallwheel 42-31909 Nine-o-Nine of the 323rd BS with 140; 42-31636 Outhouse Mouse of the 323rd BS with 139: and 42-3233 Wee Willie of the 32nd BS with 127. The first three survived the war but Wee Willie fell to flak on its 128th mission, Outhouse Mouse, by the way, had the doubtful distinction of being the first B-I7 to be attacked by a Messerschmitt 163 rocket fighter, on 16 August 1944. A number of B-17Gs were supplied to the RAF in World War 2 and mainly served with 214 and 223 ‘Squadrons of 100 (Bomber Support) Group, based in East Anglia, whose job was to protect the Lancasters and Halifaxes of Bomber Command’s main force by waging, with various electronic countermeasure devices, a strange war in the ether—jamming or interfering with the German radar and radio signals and with the ground controllers’ radio-telephone instructions to the night fighters. USAAF counterparts of these ECM aircraft, which were known as Fortress BIIIs, were operated by the 8th AF in its day bombing offensive. Some USAAF B-17Gs were converted for use as transports, whilst others became specialised air-sea rescue planes with parachute lifeboats slung under the bomb bays and, sometimes, search radar under the nose; such types were used not only in Europe but also —following the B-17's withdrawal from combat in that theatre—the Pacific. At least one B-17G was operated by the Luftwaffe’s notorious Ist’ Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 200 (1/KG200) after falling into German hands in flyable condition early in 1944. Using an assortment of aircraft, 1/KG200 was engaged primarily in ferrying and supply ing agents in enemy territories, and the B-I7G, in keeping with the plane’s clandestine role, was given the cover name Dornier 200 like the other B-17s of the unit, With the end of WW2, the majority of surviving USAAF B-17Gs were flown home to the USA, and after languishing for varying periods in vast suplus aircraft parks, notably Kingman (Arizona) and Walnut Ridge (Arkansas) they invariably went to the melting pot. However, some aircraft did find postwar employ- ‘ment with the USAAF/USAF, US Navy and US Coast Guard; and also with various foreign air forces such as those of Israel (which took some into action in 1948 during that country’s War of Independence), Brazil, France, Portugal and Denmark, Several G models were converted for civil transport use in various parts of the world, others being adapted for such differing roles as aerial’ survey and mapping, chemical bomber for fighting forest fires, and flying test beds for new aero engines. SPECIFICATION Powerplant: Four Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone air-cooled radial engines rated at @ maximum 1,200hp each for take off. Dimensions: Span 103ft 9Y/in (31632mm); length, early a/e Taft Sin 22784mm), a/c with Cheyenne tail turret Taft din (22657mm); wing area 1,426sq ft (132.48 sq metres) Weight: (Empty) approx 36,13Slb (16390kg). (general combat) approx 65,500Ib | (29713kg). with 6,000Ib (2722kg) of bombs Performance: Max speed approx 287mph (462km/h) at 25,000ft (7620m); operational cruising speed 165- 185mph (266-298km/h); time to 20,000ft (6096m) at 65,5001b (29713ke) take-off weight under ideal con ditions 37min; service ceiling 35,600ft (1085 1m), Armament: Thirteen 0.50in (12.7mm) calibre guns— two each in chin, upper, ball and tail turrets, one each in nose cheek positions and waist windows, Also a single gun in radio compartment, deleted during late 1944 by combat units and later from production a/c. Bomb load details are given in main text. pitt Reeeeedes PeSeCgy peeec ces + ene te ao Fi pe nae geettitt ae st pe + a i + + 4 . te eae e: Fig. 28 Part ofa stockpile of B-17Gs ata USAAF replacement depot near Munich in the American-occupled zone of Germany, 19 July 1945, Fig. 26 A black-painted Fortress BIIT of No 100 Group, RAF Bomber Command, equipped with radio and radar-jamming devices for use Insupport of the heavy bombers of the main force. BOEING B-47G FLYING FORTRESS—DEUTCH Eines der wirklich Klassischen Kampfflugzeuge in der Geschichte des Luftkriegs, die Boeing B-17 “'Fliegende Festung"” flog zum ersten Mal im Juli 1935 und die erste Luftwaffe, die sie in Dienst stellte, war die Royal Air Force GroBbritanniens, als sie im Jahre 1941 ~ und ent- gegen amerikanischem Rat — versuchte, einige B-17C Maschinen fur Hohenluftangriffe bei Tag aber Nordeuropa einzusetzen; das Experiment erwies sich als teurer Fehlschlag. Als die USAAF 8. Luftflotte auf dem europaischen Kriegschauplatz in Erscheinung getreten war, benutzte sie die verbesserten Modelle der Festungen””, um regelmaBig in den deutschen Luf- traum vorzudringen. Trotzdem waren die Verluste wierderum so hoch, da es Selbstmord schien, die Operationen fortusetzen, Jedoch wurde das endgiiltige Modell der “Festung” B-17G mit einem zusditzlichen °*Kinn’’-Geschitzturm mit Zwillings-MG jetzt in Dienst gestellt, und dank der zu diesem Zeitpunkt verfugbaren Langstrecken—Begleitjiger, insbesondere des North American P-51 Mustangs (siche Acrodata International Nr. 3) waren die Bomber jetzt in der Lage, sich bis zu ihren Zielen durchzukimpfen, und allmablich errangen sie die Uberlegenheit. Schon im September 1944 zahlten nicht weniger als 26 B-17G Bombergruppen zu den ‘Schwerbombereinheiten fur Fronteinsatze der 8 Luft- flotte, und an cinem Tag flogen mehr als 1000 “Festungen”” zu ihren Zielen. B-I7Gs fhrten auch ‘Abb. 1 Eine der berithmtesten “Fliegenden Festungen iberhaupt. ‘Neun-Nul-Neun des 323. Bombergeschwaders, 91. Bombergruppe, it ‘Bassingdon, Cambridgeshire stationiert. Nach den letsten drei iffern iver Seriennummer 4231909 benannt, fuhrie diese B-17G insgesamt 140 Kampfeinsatce bei der 8. Kufiflowe durch und sibersiand den Krieg. Abb. 2&3 Diese von Boeing gebaute B-I7E, 42-30631, diente als Provoiyp der B-17G. Sie war ein normales Produktionsmodel, das ‘teindert wurde, um den Einbau des Bendis “Kinn"-Geschitcturms, Yerbesserter Seiten: MG-Luken und sonstiger Modifiierungen, meist {echnischer Art, :u ermoglichen. Weihe Viereche wurden zusatlich 2 den US-Hoheltstern-Markierungen im Juli 143 angebracht. Die rote Umrandung war nur bis September in Gebrauch und wurde danach durch Blau eset. ‘Abb. 4 Eine Kondestreifende B-17G mit offenen Bombenklappen. Der grofite Mangel der “Festungen">-und dies galt fur alle Modelle bestand darin, dass sie als Mittlsrecken-Bomber Konzipiert worden nar, und obgleich sie in der letzien Phase des Kriges in der Lage war, bis tu 9.435ks. Bomben durch den Einsateduplerer Bombenau/hange- worrichtungen zu tragen, geschah das allerdings auf Kosten der Reichweite. Die normale Bombenladung bei Langsirechen-einstzen war mur 1.BISks. ‘Abb. $. Die B.17G erreichte von allen Modellen der “Flicgenden Festung” die hichsien Produktions-

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