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Erickson Aircraft: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (photo diary) [1]

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Date: 2024-06-07  

The B-17 prototype first flew in 1935, but only a relatively small number of B-17s were in service when the US entered the World War II in 1941. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress flew in every combat zone during World War II, but its most significant service was over Europe. The B-17’s design emphasized high altitude flight, speed, and heavy defensive armament in order to survive enemy defenses. It carried 13 50 caliber machine guns and a bomb load of 6,000 pounds. The Boeing B-17 provided the United States Army with daylight precision bombing of German targets from airfields in southern England. By the end of production in May 1945, more than 12,700 B-17s had been built.

The B-17 in the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon was manufactured in 1944 as a Pathfinder—modified for nighttime bombing. This is the only Pathfinder left in existence.

The B-17 has a crew of 10, a maximum speed of 300 mph, and a range of 1,850 miles.

More World War II Airplanes

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Air Force Museum: The Memphis Belle (photo diary)

Museum of Flight: World War II bombers (photo diary)

Air Force Museum: North American B-25 B Mitchell (photo diary)

Air Force Museum: Bockscar, the aircraft that ended World War II (photo diary)

Air Force Museum: World War II dive bombers (photo diary)

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