Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Four-engine heavy bomber

Power Plant:

Four 895 kw (1,200 hp) Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

Armament:

Max bomb load for short haul 7,983 kg (17,600 lb); normal bomb load 1,814 kg (4,000
lb); thirteen 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Browning machine guns in Bendix chin turret; one hand held machine gun
in each cheek mounting; two machine guns in Sperry ball turret in ventral position; one hand held machine gun in radio
room; one machine gun in each waist window, two machine gun in tail turret

History:

One of the most famous bombers of all time, the Boeing B-17 Fortress (Boeing Model 299) was built in large numbers at a number of plants for the USAAF and saw widespread service throughout World War II in all theatres of operation. The B-17 was conceived as a defensive weapon, the prototype (X13372), powered by four 560 kw (750 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1690-E Hornet engines, flying on 28 July 1935 at Seattle in Washington State. However, on 30 October 1935 it crashed on take-off at Wright Field in Ohio and was destroyed.

Only one Boeing B-17A was built, this being a structural test airframe.

Some 12,627 Boeing Fortresses were accepted by the USAAF between July 1940 and August 1945 which equipped some 33 Combat Groups by August 1944. Despite the fact that on long-range missions its bomb load was no more than that of a de Havilland Mosquito, it achieved fame due to its high-altitude performance, its ability to absorb battle damage and still return to base, and its heavy defensive armament.

Thirteen Boeing Y1B-17s were built for evaluation with the 694 kw (930 hp) Wright Cyclone GR-1820-39 engine and additional airframes were built for static test purposes. The first Y1B-17 was delivered to Langley Field, Virginia, and in March 1937 the 2nd Bombardment Group was formed. The Munich Crisis turned around USAAC procurement of aircraft and a Y1B-17 airframe became the Y1B-17A and was flown on 29 April 1938, this having turbo-supercharged Wright Cyclone engines. This led to an order for 39 production aircraft known as the B-17B, the first of this model flying on 27 June 1939. A number of record breaking flights were made, including from Burbank, California to New York in 9 hrs 14 mins at a speed of 426 km/h (265 mph).

Orders were then placed for the B-17C which, amongst other things, differed in having the fuselage side blisters removed. By September 1939 the USAAC had 23 Boeing B-17s in service but the production tempo picked up with 53 being delivered in 1940. In 1941 Boeing B-17Cs were allocated to the Royal Air Force under Lend-Lease, these becoming the Boeing Fortress I, equipping No 90 Squadron at West Raynham in Norfolk. Operations began on 8 July 1941 but on one sortie to Oslo, Norway by three Fortress Is all were shot down. RAF European operations were then abandoned and, other than aircraft transferred to Coastal Command, the Fortress Is at that stage were sent to the Middle East.

The USAAC took delivery of Boeing B-17Ds which equipped the 19th Bombardment Group on The Philippines at Clarke and Del Monte Fields from May 1941, but more than half were destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters on 8 December 1941.

Probably the first Fortresses seen in Australia were B-17Ds from this unit which made a goodwill visit to Darwin, NT in August 1941. One (40-3067) was flown to Archerfield, QLD in November 1941 carrying Major General Lewis H Brereton from The Philippines for a meeting with Australian defence staff. All aircraft up to this time had been delivered to The Philippines via what was known as the African route, via Africa and India.

During 1941 the US military decided to reinforce the Boeing B-17 fleet at Clarke Field, and a group of 26 Boeing B-17Ds left Albuquerque Field in New Mexico on 18 October 1941, flying via San Francisco, Hawaii, Midway Island, Wake Island and Port Moresby to Darwin, arriving on 1 January 1941. Most were flown on to The Philippines on 3 January. All these aircraft were in a polished metal finish. Most were lost on operations and the survivors eventually found their way to Australia. One of these aircraft (40-3099) has survived in storage in the US.

To deal with a number of weaknesses found in the aircraft when opposed by enemy fighters, a re-design program led to the B-17E, which had a crew of ten and had an all-up weight of 24,494 kg (54,000 lb). The first B-17E flew on 5 September 1941 and production commenced at the Boeing facility at Seattle, Washington State, followed by production at the Lockheed Vega plant at Wichita in Kansas, and Douglas plants at Long Beach and at Santa Monica in California. However, by the time full production commenced at all plants the B-17F model took over from the B-17E from April 1942.

Highest rate of production of the Boeing B-17 was in March 1944 when 578 were completed. As soon as they were produced B-17s were sent to the various war theatres, the first six B-17Es being sent to Java in January 1942 from where they attacked ships of the Japanese fleet. In the United Kingdom, the Eighth Air Force was set up to bomb Europe. As production continued, modifications were made in blocks to the design to improve capability. The use of the B-17 series in Europe as part of the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive has been well documented and one of the most costly operations was the attack on targets at Regensburg, Wiener Neustadt and Schweinfurt in Germany on 17 August 1943. Last production model was the B-17G.

Boeing B-17s initially used Australian bases to take the offensive to Japanese forces attacking New Guinea and the islands. On 22 December 1941 USAAC B-17s which were based at that stage at Batchelor, NT, left to bomb Japanese forces in The Philippines, this being the first mission launched from an Australian base. Others operating from Townsville and Mareeba in Queensland operated on bombing missions against Rabaul in New Britain. Because of their long-range B-17s were used for reconnaissance missions over Rabaul. At that time Japanese forces sought to remove Allied forces based at Port Moresby, PNG.

A maximum effort B-17 operation was launched in August 1942 by the 19th Bombardment Group from airfields at Townsville and Mareeba in support of American landings aimed at taking Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands from Japanese forces. On 6 August a group of 16 B-17s flew to Port Moresby for the operation the next day. However, one crashed on the runway at 7 mile strip, and two more had problems. A total of 13 proceeded to the target at Rabaul on 7 August at 6,706 m (22,000 ft), this force being intercepted by 15 Mitsubishi A6Ms from the 2nd Air Group, and shortly after by 11 further fighters from the Tainan Air Group. The bombers dropped a total of 96 227 kg (500 lb) bombs on the target. However, little damage was occasioned and no Japanese aircraft were destroyed, the 23 Japanese bombers based there having already left to attack the American landings on Guadalcanal. One of the B-17s which was ultimately shot down had an Australian co-pilot, Flt Sgt Frederick Earp.

However, the type suffered low service rates due to engine and electrical problems which meant, when bombing operations were carried out, only small numbers were available. At that time Rabaul was heavily defended by fighters and Anti Aircraft batteries.

By the end of 1942 Japan was attempting to reinforce forces at Rabaul and Lae, PNG. By this time units of the 43rd Bombardment Group had moved to airstrips around Port Moresby and from there they continued attacks against Rabaul, continuing to move across the Pacific as Japanese forces were pushed back towards Japan.

Some hundreds of B-17s operated in and from Australia during World War II beginning from 1942. A few were converted for transport work later in their lives but most were attached to American Bombing Groups. Some were lost in accidents and others due to enemy action. Some war-weary aircraft later in the war were broken up for components in situ in Australia, New Guinea and around the islands. One B-17E (41-2162) of the 19th Bombardment Group was scrapped at Nadzab, NG in 1945. A couple was converted to VIP transports for senior US Army officers. A B-17E (41-2386) was operated for Brigadier General Wurtsmith of the 5th Fighter Command. This aircraft named ‘Well Goddam’, had a cabin prepared with leather covered lounges and other VIP necessities.

One B-17D (40-3097 – ‘Swoose’) of the USAAF 19th Bomb Group, the personal aircraft of Lt Gen George Brett, was flown back to Australia from New Guinea with Lyndon Baines Johnson, the future 36th President of the United States, as a passenger in early June 1942. At this time the pilot lost his way on the way to Cloncurry, QLD, almost ran out of fuel, and landed in the bush at Carisbrooke Station near Winton, QLD. This aircraft was later returned to the United States where, as the longest serving B-17 in USAAF service, it was placed on display at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Post war one B-17 had an Australian connection with Adastra Aerial Surveys. This aircraft, a B-17G CF-HBP (c/n 32455) of Kenting Aviation, was brought to the South Pacific region as part of the International Geophysical Year in 1958 to carry out an aero magnetic survey. It seems it had engine problems which were attended to in November 1958 by Adastra at Mascot, NSW. This aircraft has survived as part of the collection of the National Air & Space Museum.

A few wrecks survive in New Guinea. One, a B-17E (BuAer 41-2446), for many years lay in a swamp where it crash landed. This aircraft, known as ‘Swamp Ghost’, was recovered in 2006, being dismantled and lifted out by a Russian Mil-17 helicopter to Port Moresby for restoration in the future for a museum, being shipped to Hawaii in 2010 where it has been displayed in its crashed condition at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Ford Island.

One B-17 wreck has been located fairly complete 19 km south of Wewak, PNG. ‘Lulu Bell’ (41-9234), a B-17E, has remained where it crash landed at Black Pass near Wau, PNG in January 1943. ‘Black Jack’ (41-24521), which ditched near Cape Vogel in the Milne Bay Province on 11 July 1943, has had a film made and many magazine articles written chronicling its career, and has been regularly used as a dive site by tourists. Other wrecks have also been located.

As noted, the B-17 operated extensively in this region during World War II with American units, using Australian and New Zealand bases, and a few were lost here in accidents. First B-17 to visit New Zealand was a B-17E-BO (41-2667) which in unusual circumstances blew up on take-off from Whenuapai on 9 June 1942. A B-17G (44-83785) visited New Zealand in 1947 and today is airworthy with the Evergreen Collection in Arizona, USA.

One of Australia’s most tragic aviation accidents was to a B-17C (Ser 40-2072 – call-sign VHCBA) based at Townsville with the 46th Troop Carrier Squadron of the Fifth Air Force, which crashed at Bakers Creek, 8 km south of Mackay, QLD on 14 June 1943 with the loss of 40 lives. Boeing B-17E (41-2421) ‘Tojo’s Jinx’ crashed on take-off on 16 July 1942 from Horn Island with the loss of the sixteen personnel on board. The wreckage of this aircraft has remained in situ.

After the war many were used for a variety of purposes, and some were civilianised. Others were used as targets for ground-launched missiles and for Coast Guard operations. A dozen were used in France for survey work.

A number survive around the world in museums. Fourteen are airworthy, 13 B-17Gs and one B-17E, most in the United States but one in France and one in Great Britain. Twenty-two are on display in museums and another nine are stored awaiting restoration.

In 1967 a French registered B-17G Fortress (F-BEEA – c/n 8552) visited Port Moresby in New Guinea. The aircraft was owned by the French Instit Geographique Nacional and was later to appear in the movie ‘Memphis Belle’. However, it was destroyed during the filming on take-off at RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire, striking trees and catching fire.

In South Australia at Parafield the Reevers Air Museum obtained a North American B-25 Mitchell for restoration to static display, and has also been collecting parts of other aircraft for restoration, including a Boeing B-17 Fortress, a Douglas B-26 Invader (44-25898), a Republic P-43 Lancer, a Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk and a Supermarine Spitfire.