B-17 Flying Fortress. The American Mighty Bomber Of WW2. Upscaled HD Documentary
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber 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 (prototype Model 299/XB-17) outperformed both competitors and exceeded the Air Corps' performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract (to the Douglas B-18 Bolo) because the prototype crashed, the Air Corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88.
The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, military and civilian targets. The United States Eighth Air Force, based at many airfields in central, eastern and southern England, and the Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, complemented the RAF Bomber Command's night-time area bombing in the Combined Bomber Offensive to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for the invasion of France in 1944. The B-17 also participated to a lesser extent in the Pacific War, early in World War II, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields.
From its prewar inception, the USAAC (by June 1941, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. It developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. The B-17 dropped more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of approximately 1.5 million tons of bombs dropped on Nazi Germany and its occupied territories by U.S. aircraft, over 640 000 tons (42.6%) were dropped from B-17s. In addition to its role as a bomber, the B-17 was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft.
As of October 2019, nine aircraft remain airworthy, though none of them were ever flown in combat. Dozens more are in storage or on static display. The oldest of these is a D-series flown in combat in the Pacific on the first day of the United States' involvement in World War II.
On 8 August 1934, the USAAC tendered a proposal for a multiengine 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 for it to carry a "useful bombload" at an altitude of 10,000 ft (3,000 m) for 10 hours with a top speed of at least 200 mph (320 km/h).
The prototype B-17, with the Boeing factory designation of Model 299, was designed by a team of engineers led by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells, and was built at Boeing's own expense. It combined features of the company's experimental XB-15 bomber and 247 transport.
General characteristics
Crew: 10: Pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier/nose gunner, flight engineer/top turret gunner, radio operator, waist gunners (2), ball turret gunner, tail gunner
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
Empty weight: 36,135 lb (16,391 kg)
Gross weight: 54,000 lb (24,500 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 65,500 lb (29,700 kg)
Aspect ratio: 7.57
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton-Standard constant-speed propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 287 mph (462 km/h, 249 kn)
Cruise speed: 182 mph (293 km/h, 158 kn)
Range: 2,000 mi (3,219 km, 1,738 nmi) with 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) bombload
Ferry range: 3,750 mi (6,040 km, 3,260 nmi)
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
Guns: 13 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 9 positions (2 in the Bendix chin turret, 2 on nose cheeks, 2 staggered waist guns, 2 in upper Sperry turret, 2 in Sperry ball turret in belly, 2 in the tail and one firing upwards from radio compartment behind bomb bay)
Bombs:
Short range missions; Internal load only (400 mi): 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)
Long range missions; Internal load only (≈800 mi): 4,500 lb (2,000 kg)
Max Internal and External load: 17,600 lb (7,800 kg)
#flyingfortress #b17 #bomber
Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes and their stories, missions: www.youtube.com/@Dronescapes
My grandfather was a tail gunner on a B-17 during the
war. He must've seen some
really terrible things because
he never talked about it much-- unless he was drinking, and then the stories
flowed. We'd watch the show 12 O'Clock together and as the show progressed,
he'd tell what the producers
and actors did right or wrong. I'd listen intently as
he told of how he and his
buddies fended off attack
after attack by ME 109s,
Focke Wolf 190s, and ME 262s. He flew in the 306th
Bomb group out of east Anglia
though I can't recall the name of the airfield. He flew
with General Ira Eiker, who
commanded the air base just like Frank Savage did
on the TV show. As a small
boy, I was enthralled by the
stories he told. But as a man, I came to understand
the sacrifices he and others
like him made to keep us free. He retired from the
Air Force in 1965 after 26
years of flying. His last
assignment was that of a
tail gunner in a B-52 jet
bomber for SAC out of
Omaha Nebraska and served
under Curtis LeMay and Jimmy Stuart. RIP grandpa
and thank you for your service.
Duxford? Thank you for his service. We are alot of people in the Scandinavian countries that owe our freedom to guys like your grandfather. My grandfather sow how the bombers went in over Denmark before going south to hit east Germany. His eyes was like stars when he told me about his experiences from the war. Later on he became a freedom fighter, was out in the fields collecting drop in the night. Made use of ambulances to carry the gear out and away from the poor German soldiers how was tricked and out smarted. He would also tell me as a 10 years old boy, how stop a panzer with a block of firewood or one granat in the right spot. I was swimming all his storys and later on I joine the army.. after 4 years of service i went to Irak where i at a smoke pit met a German soldier.. met him with a common respect and had a lovely talk and a lot of laughs. But couldn't forget about my grandfather and his view on the Germans..
@@mcsenn Wow! That's
some story! Even today, I
find hard to believe the
sacrifices our parents and
grandparents made so we
can live as a free people.
Their experiences are not
taught in schools today and
by God they should be. I ran
around with a friend of mine
whose father was in the OSS during the war and he
used to tell us hair raising
stories of how he too
would harass the Germans
Any chance he got. As I recall, he served with the
resistance and then with
the partisans too. And like
the stories my grandfather
told me, I'd hang on every
word my friend's father would say. His stories kept
us kids entertained and out
of trouble. He told us that he would be taken by plane
to whatever country that
was resisting the Nazis where he would help the resistance do whatever it
took to defeat Hitler and
and the third Reich. When his mission was done, he
met up with an extraction
team who got him out of
the country. Toughest thing
he said was that he had to
watch the attrocities committed by the Germans
and could do nothing to stop them lest he give away
any details about his mission or why he was there in the first place. But
so long as we tell our young
people the stories of these
Brave people, freedom will
never die. I'm 68 now, and I
still tell these stories to any
one who'll listen. That way,
the exploits of the Greatest Generation will live forever.
Amazing story. Those men paid in full.
@ kencarnney6667 and lookronjon - Thanks to your grand and step fathers and the entire crew for helping to free us from the cruel Nazis
My stepfather would be proud of this. He was a B-17 pilot. He was 23 on his 23rd mission flying out of Italy and was shot down over Austria in tail number 911 and was the only one to make it. He was injured and caught by the Austrian youth and was in a German Red Cross unit for 6 months. Pow for the rest of the war. He was a sock boy portrayed in the great escape. He was there. He flew B-29’s during Korea. Had ptsd for life. He’s at rest now in Arlington National cemetery.
His name was Major John Thomas Farrington
No one gives a shit
My dad was a radio operator and machine gunner when needed he did 35 missions to Germany and back he was a member of the Lucky Bastard Club years later i wanted to take him for a ride in a B17when the Wings Of Freedom was here he would not go a week later he passed away RIP Dad miss you so much
Bless him
God bless him, he was one of the brotherhood of WW2 heroes!
I thank them all for saving us from what may have been.
Thanks one for the best B17 videos I've watched excellent... Everyone here in the UK owes these B17 airmen a debt of gratitude those guys where the bravest of the brave operating over Europe in daylight.... Iam so glad my favourite heavy the B24 got a mention though what a versatile aircraft the 24 was.... The unsung hero in my opinion.... Just like the British hurricane is the unsung hero of the battle of Britain overshadowed by the excellent spitfire... Thanks again great vidio much appreciated from UK 🇬🇧👍
I totally understand you! But then again.. all the people and life that was spent though out the war, what ever nationality or duty they had, I'll bow.. I'll kneel for them and the effort they made to stop the German military.
My Dad was a navigator on a B17 . I was at work and heard a loud prop job and looked up and it was a B17 that had just taken off from our local airport.
Bless him and thank you for his service Paul
This is most definitely one of the best documentaries about the B-17 that I've seen.
Great job putting this together...
Glad you enjoyed it!
My dad was a belly gunner on a B-17. Took a piece of shrapnel thru the knee which saved his life as on the next mission the plane went down killing all but 4, including his replacement, who were pow for the rest of the war. It was the Army Air Corps and wasn't Air Force until 1947. If you want to see the real History of the USAF go to Dayton Ohio and see the Air Force Museum. Very interesting.
Uquestionably the most beautiful bomber ever to fly.
Agreed. There is something about that old warbird... Words fail me at this moment. Maybe it's the knowledge of what was accomplished with them by the incredibly courageous crews that flew in them, so many years ago.
@@stargazer5784 Nearly 50% of all B-17's ever built were lost in combat and accidents. Times 10 for crew members.
Capable of carrying 2,000 missiles at over 200 mph? Did they have some missiles I don't know about in the 30s?
He meant 2000 miles range.
Was early in the program. At 13 minutes he talks about 50mm guns on the aircraft
Correction at 13:21 - 50 caliber machine guns not 50 mm (5cm). Caliber 50 is also known as 12.7mm. 50 mm is what the defending ground crews would fire up at the incoming bombers.
Excellent video. I love the B-17 Flying Fortress , one of my favorite aircraft. It was so nice to see B-17G Sentimental Journey again. She was at the Hamilton Ontario Airshow in 1993 along with another Flying Fortress and many other WW2 aircraft. That wartime footage which I have seen in other documentaries was cool to see as well. Well done thanks DroneScapes 😊👍
The greatest machine ever made, flaws and all...absolute beauty
55 millimeter machine guns? Come on guys?
Excellent! Looking forward to watching your other videos.
Awesome, thank you!
Yeah I know the b-24 was the most produced ( and there's a reason for that in my opinion ) but the b-17 has better lines in it's design . Just my thought or opinion . Ps it's .50 cal not 50 mm.
To have been part of the emerging technology of the time must have been mind-blowing. I was U.S.A.F. during Vietnam in an Air rescue unit and the aircraft I served on are by now obsolete, but at that time, the UH-1was cutting edge.
Thank you for you service Roy. Did you watch the interviews about the UH-1 (great helicopter by the way). ua-cam.com/video/FBpPTYgXbYs/v-deo.html and ua-cam.com/video/gk31uuEm64s/v-deo.html You might be interested.
モデル２９９とY1-B-17の貴重な映像を有難う！！！
The most beautiful bomber of the World War II.
Awesome Presentation! Great magnificent Aircraft: the B-17!
Indeed it is!
For the airplane, being as massive as it is it's incredibly small on the inside
Hero's all, who flew in this inadequate aircraft. Along with the Norden bomb sight.
Good but not as good as some other videos. All original footage and some different points such as after the war used as targets for new missile testing. Thanks for sharing.
The B17 was overly expensive, and outdated by the time it entered WW2. The Mosquito could carry the same bomb load to Berlin, it cost twice the cost of a Lancaster and 5 times the cost of a Mosquito.
19:35 "In fact it is possible that the B-17s shot down more enemy aircraft over Europe during the war than all other US aeroplanes combined"
It really isn't
Lamay formations were not respected by my friend and lead B17 group navigator Roy. He said that Lindburgh flying advice and full fighter protection made all the difference
Great Video.. New Sub!
Awesome thank you!
Before they had the P-51 to escort they should have taken a few of those b-17s remove the Bombay and turn them into gunships. There was a B-17 crew in the Pacific that got their fortress taken away because they liked to do things their own way so they found an old B-17 set it up their own way they doubled all the guns they were getting so many kills they had to start recording them because nobody believed them. They could have used the fortresses to protect the fortresses
Can anyone tell me the name of the music? The video is fantastic thank you!
Well done!
Thank you
The men who flew in them were incredibly brave. But the concept was flawed. They couldn't defend themselves without fighter escorts.
B24 was a much superior bomber for speed, range and payload. Flew more sorties and 6000 more B24 were built than B17s.
8.200 chasseurs allemands abattus par les forteresses et le libérators
durant la seconde guerre mondiale 8 eme air force
respect
B-17s would run out of fuel returning from Germany and ditch in the English Channel. My dad flew 35 nighttime missions.
God bless him and thank you for your Dad's service. Many people in Europe owe him and all the ones that served with him, a lot
@@jacktattis Just an example: "...This project was assigned to my crew because, I think, we were the closest to completing our tour. One of the Stinky B-17s was painted black, flame suppressors put on the turbo-superchargers, and a camera - complete with an automatic timing mechanism - was fitted to the radar scope.
The plan was to fly as high as possible (above 25,000 feet) during the eight or nine moonless nights per month that R.A.F. comber command’s heavy bombers flew at that time. We flew pre-determined tracks with the camera taking the scope photographs at regular timed intervals, which enabled a map overlay to be produced.
Flying at that high altitude we saw much of Germany and watched the whole of the R.A.F. missions develop, in stages, through the night. After flying only daylight missions over Germany, it was an incredible sight to behold, and the experience made believers of us all..." 482nd Bombardment Group (P)
@@jacktattis
As usual, you run your mouth without knowing what you're talking about.
"I have 3 whole books, that makes me the definitive authority on the subject".
Try reading them instead of just looking at the pictures.
@@jacktattis
You need to "see above", try reading the reply from the channel to your accusation.
And you got your nerve talking about "hyperbole", you're the biggest big mouthed troll in any videos that have anything to do with the USAAF during WW2.
So take your medicine boy.
Is this the aircraft that was in the very dramatic scene out of "The Best Years of Our Lives"?
13:19 "50 mm machine guns" ... You mean .50 BMGs...
The sequence of developments is slightly wrong - the B-17G chin turret was pioneered on the B-40 escort, then adopted on the mainstream bombers, along with the B-40's innovation of staggering the waist-gunners to give the crew more room to operate.
Many landed in some real states on returning from Germany. Could take a lot of damage and still fly, somehow.
Yes, it could!
@@Dronescapes
👍 These aircraft made Boeing, rather than the 707, we could say.
@@huwzebediahthomas9193 Brilliant people back then, unlike the people that made the 737 B-Max
@Shawn 🏴☠️ Stafford It was a resilient aircraft. What do you think about the Lancaster?
@Shawn 🏴☠️ Stafford there is a wonderful documentary called "Lancaster" that was recently released. It was more or less the British version of the B-17
And so the term "going the whole 9 yards" was born, the length of the 50cal belt's.
Nope, that's a myth that's been disproven time and time again.
The fact is the earliest use of that saying was in the mid 1800's long before machineguns and aircraft were invented, it has to do with the measurement of fabric (in yards as how it's still measured today) and some old joke about a woman using the "whole 9 yards of fabric" to make a shirt for her husband.
Not the ammo load of a B17 or any other bombers guns nor the guns of a fighter had a belt 9 yards long, same goes for Vickers machineguns from WW1 as some people have claimed was the origins of the saying.
It's an urban myth that it came from any kind of machinegun or their use in aircraft.
When Boeing made plane's that worked.
This is a well put together and very well researched production by the creator of this video. So it begs the question of why he would make such a cringe worthy error (twice) of identifying the armament of the B-17 as 50 millimeter machine guns instead of 50 caliber machine guns. There's a big difference. A 50 caliber bullet is only around 12.7 millimeters. Large automatic weapons whose ammunition is in the millimeter size are generally referred to as cannons, i.e., 20mm cannon, 37mm cannon, etc. Something firing a 50mm projectile would clearly be well beyond what would be called a machine gun.
About as cringe worthy as making such a big deal out of a slip of the tongue.
Studebaker built those engines for Wright.☺️
50mm guns? Ooof, what a huge mistake
Stud Breaker engines?
Studebaker, I think?
commentary voices can make or break videos like this and this was a break for me
Lot of clipped out audio makes this not as enjoyable a video to watch as it could be. What happened?
What is the intro music?
Studbreaker!! Good lord pretty sue you meant Studebaker how did no one catch that!!!! If that had occurred at the beginning of this video I'd have moved on
The B17 was the Pin up an Curves of Betty Grable and the Poster child of War drives ( the G is my favourite ) , but more should be said for the B24 more built an bigger Payload ..but Respect for the Men who Served an Died in these Aircraft that you can't Overlook or ever be Forgotten.