Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

what is it?

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft that was developed in the mid-1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber used primarily in the European Theater of Operations, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. It is the third-most produced bomber in history, behind the American four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the German multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. The B-17 was also employed in transport, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue roles.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 31.6 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 472 km/htop speed
• range 3,219 kmwithout refuelling
• size 29.7 tmax take-off weight
• built 12,731made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 91 years ago, in 1935.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 31.6 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 3,219 km: 18× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1935-07-28

introduced

1938

retired

1968

status

still flying

number built

12,731

role

heavy bomber

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Boeing

engines

4× Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone"

crew

10

length

22.7 m

wingspan

31.6 m

height

5.8 m

max take-off weight

29.7 t

top speed

472 km/h

cruise speed

293 km/h

range

3,219 km

ceiling

10,850 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.