The Flying Fort Becomes Operational

The B-17G "Shoo Shoo Baby"

One of the airplanes I have always liked is the B-17. When I was a kid, I studied as much about the B-17 as possible; I believed it was the airplane that saved the world in World War II and it was a fascinating bomber. The men who flew the airplane into the war were very much heroes of all of the free world.  

This week, in 1937, the first YB-17s went operational with the Second Bombardment Group at Langley Field, VA. According to my research, depending on the source, this happened on either the first of the month, or today, the fourth. Suffice it to say, it was 74 years ago, a long time ago.

On August 8, 1934, the Army released the proposal for an airplane that was capable of carrying a “useful bomb load” at 10,000 feet for 10 hours with a top speed of 200 mph. This led to the development of the B-17, which began life as the Model 299.

Gifford Emory and Edward Curtis Wells were the lead engineers leading a team of Boeing engineers who would eventually develop the big bomber. Four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engines powered the original Model 299. The first flight of the airplane happened in the summer of 1935 on July 28.

As Boeing continued refining the airplane, Boeing company pilot Les Tower, along with Air Corps pilot Major Peter Hill, took the aircraft up on another evaluation flight on October 30. Unfortunately, the two pilots neglected to unlock the gust locks on the flight controls of the big airplane.

On take off, the nose of the airplane programmed up into a steep climb. A short time later, the airplane stalled and went in. The two pilots killed while others on board survived with injuries. The event eventually led to the disqualification of Boeing in the running for the Army contracts but, through legal maneuvering, the Army awarded a contract to Boeing that led to the placement of 13 airplanes with the Second Bombardment Group for further evaluation.

The airplane went on to become one of the most successful bombers of the war. By the time the production run ended, almost 13,000 of the venerable bombers came off various assembly lines throughout the U.S. The military deployed the airplane to Europe and the Pacific.

The most numerous of the bombers were the –F and –G models with 3405 and 8680 of each model produced, respectively. The engines of the final models included four Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines. They were turbo-supercharged engines, each capable of producing 1200 horsepower each.

The Flying Fortress, as it was dubbed earlier in life by reporter Richard Williams of the Seattle Times, could carry a light bomb load of 2000 pounds more than 800 miles. She could also carry a heavy bomb load of 3600 pounds on missions of 400 miles or less.

From nose to tail, the airplane bristled with .50 caliber machine guns—13 of them to be exact. There were two at the bombardier’s station in the nose cone. Three were another two on each side of the navigator’s station just aft of the bombardier. Two more were located in the top turret, manned by the flight engineer. The radio operator had one poling out of the fuselage above his station. In the belly of the beast, the ball turret gunner commanded two more. At the waist positions, one gunner each operated a single gun out each side. Finally, in the tail of the airplane, the tail gunner controlled the last two guns.

The men required to man the airplane included four officers and six enlisted men. Up in the nose, the bombardier was a commissioned officer as was the navigator, positioned right behind him. In the cockpit side-by-side, sat the pilot and co-pilot. Behind them, the flight engineer manned the top turret. Passing through the bomb bay further toward the aft of the airplane, you could find the radio operator and then the ball turret gunner. The remaining men were the waist gunners and the tail gunner.

B-17s of the 384th Bomb Group

During the European conflict, the Eighth Air Force put more than 1000 B-17s and B-24s, also manned by ten men each, into the air on missions into France and Germany. That was 1000 airplanes with 10 souls each—more than 10,000 taking part in the missions when the fighter pilots were included in the count.

The world will probably never see air armadas the likes of those from World War II ever again. There were times when the bombers completely darkened the skies with their shadows.

Hopefully, we will also never again see the loss of human lives caused by the loss of so many airplanes on individual missions, as well as the loss of human lives on the ground as a consequence of the bombings.

-30-

© 2011 J. Clark

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