B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was the first mass-produced, four-engine heavy bomber. It is still one of the most recognised aeroplanes ever built. It was most widely used for daylight strategic bombings of German industrial targets during World War II as part of the United States Eighth Air Force. Development Operational History Variants/Design Stages Units Using the B-17 Noted B-17 Pilots Specifications

B-17 Flying Fortress

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was the first mass-produced, four-engine heavy bomber. It is still one of the most recognised aeroplanes ever built. It was most widely used for daylight strategic bombings of German industrial targets during World War II as part of the United States Eighth Air Force.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE USAAF B-17s flew in elaborate formations to concentrate defensive machine gun fire.

Units Using the B-17

The B-17 was an ubiquitous aircraft, and it served in dozens of units in theatres of combat throughout World War II. Its main use was in Europe, where its shorter range and smaller bombload relative to other aircraft available did not hamper it as much as in the Pacific Theatre. Only three B-17 groups were stationed in the Pacific, but dozens were stationed in Europe.

It was also used by the Royal Air Force, though mainly roles other than those it had been designed for. The first B-17s - known to the RAF as "Fortress I"s - used by the Royal Air Force had been tragic disasters, and despite its overwhelming success in American hands, the British were reluctant to use the B-17 for its original mission profile of heavy bombing, regarding it as uneconomical due to its larger crew and relatively small bomb load, instead later equipping a number of them with sophisticated radio-countermeasures equipment and using them for some of the first Electronic countermeasures operations with RAF 100 Group.

During World War II, some forty B-17s were repaired by the Luftwaffe after being captured, and put back in the air. Many of these were codenamed as "Dornier Do 200"s and given German markings to disguise their origin, while other B-17s were kept in Allied markings to infiltrate B-17 squadrons and report on their positions.

When Israel achieved statehood in 1948, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) had to be assembled quickly to defend the new nation from the war it found itself embroiled in almost immediately, against the invading armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, which were superior in numbers and weapons. The early fleet of the Israeli Air force was a rag tag of hastily acquired Aircraft, many obtained covertly because of international weapon sales ban by the US and other European countries. Among the first aircraft acquired by the Israeli Air Force were 3 US surplus B-17s, smuggled via South America to Czechoslovakia and then Israel. Though generally unsuitable for the ideal needs of the IAF and the nature of this conflict (which did not particularly necessitate long range bombing raids on large area targets), the aircraft were used by 69 Squadron Israeli Air Force. A fourth Aircraft was captured by American officials and confiscated. In their delivery flight from Europe, the aircraft were ordered to bomb the Royal Palace of King Farouk in Cairo, before continuing to Israel. This was a retaliation for Egyptian bombing raids on Tel-Aviv. The Aircraft performed the mission (despite some of the crew fainting alternately due to defective oxygen equipment) but caused only little damage to the target. They were mainly used in the 1948 War of independence; afterwards saw more limited usage until being phased out in 1958.

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