The Aluminum Overcast

[eyeguy 54]

This baby is in St Cloud today, rides are 425.00, I stayed on the ground! :>), She never saw wartime action.

The Boeing B-17G "Flying Fortress"

DESIGNED BY:

Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington

BUILT UNDER LICENSE BY:

Vega Aircraft Company (now Lockheed)

MODEL:

B-17G Flying Fortress

ARMY AIR CORPS SERIAL NUMBER:

#44-85740

DELIVERY DATE:

May 18, 1945

REQUIRED CREW:

Ten—Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator, Bombardier, Flight Engineer (top turret gunner), Radio Operator, 2 Waist Gunners, Tail Gunner and Ball Turret Gunner

POWER:

The B-17G is powered by four 1,200-horsepower Wright Cyclone Model R-1820-97 engines. These engines are nine cylinder, radial, air-cooled type with a 16:9 gear ratio. The propellers are three-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers, 11 feet, 7 inches in diameter.

WEIGHTS:

Basic Empty Weight 34,000 lbs.

Gross Weight (Wartime) 65,500 lbs.

FUEL CAPACITY:

1,700 gallons

RANGE:

1,850 miles. Range could be extended when equipped with “Tokyo Tanks” which provided a total capacity of 3,630 gallons.

WING SPAN:

103 feet, 9 inches

LENGTH:

74 feet, 4 inches

HEIGHT:

19 feet, 1 inch

SERVICE CEILING:

35,600 feet

ARMAMENT:

Thirteen Browning M-2 .50 caliber machine guns. Fire rate approximately 13 rounds per second. No gun on a B-17 carried more than one minute’s supply of ammunition.

BOMB LOAD:

Depending on types of bombs, maximum normal load could go to 8,000 lbs. If B-17 was fitted with special external racks, maximum normal short-range bomb load could go as high as 17,600 lbs.

NUMBER BUILT:

12,732. Production peaked at 16 airplanes a day in April 1944. Today there are about a dozen B-17’s still flying.

SPEEDS:

Maximum 300 mph. at 30,000 ft.

Maximum continuous 263 mph. at 25,000 ft.

Cruising speed 170 mph.

Landing 74 mph.

Rate of Climb 37 minutes to 20,000 ft.

COLORS:

398th Bomb Group

[Hwood]

some good info. hard to imagine 16 a day production, thats a lot of work.

[eyeguy 54]

The roar of the engines on a B17 is awesome. It was pretty cool yesturday a.m., I was sitting on the deck having coffee and it flew right over my head.

[fishinchicks]

That is so cool! I love all the background info as well.

[Jim43]

Great shots, going to see her at Air Expo at the Flying Cloud Airport next weekend. American Barnstorming Tour will also be there.

Plan on getting as much HD video and shots as I can.