B-17 part 2

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One of the most famous bombers of all time, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
Powerplant: four Wright Cyclone R-1820 turbosupercharged radial engines. Total production: 12731 aircrafts.

Design and Structure (B-17G)

  • Type: Four-engined bomber.
  • Wings:
    • Configuration: All-metal mid-wing cantilever monoplane.
    • Wing Section: Varies from NACA 0018 at root to NACA 0010 at tip.
    • Aspect Ratio: 7.58:1.
    • Taper Ratio: 2.4:1.
    • Incidence: 3½°.
    • Dihedral: 4¼°.
    • Sweepback: 8½° on the leading-edge.
    • Structure: Consists of two inner sections (with engine nacelles), two outer sections, and two detachable tips. Constructed chiefly of aluminium-alloy, with two spars, ribs, and stressed-skin covering. Electrically-operated split trailing-edge flaps on inner wing sections and ailerons on outer sections, both covered with fabric. Ailerons are fitted with control trimming-tabs.
  • Fuselage:
    • Construction: Semi-monocoque structure with bulkheads, circumferential stiffeners, longerons, and longitudinal stiffeners, covered with smooth metal stressed skin.
  • Tail Unit:
    • Type: Cantilever monoplane.
    • Materials: Aluminium-alloy framework with smooth metal-covered fixed surfaces and fabric-covered movable surfaces. Equipped with control and trimming-tabs.
  • Landing Gear:
    • Type: Retractable with air-oil shock-absorber units and hydraulic wheel-brakes. Includes electrical retraction and a retractable tailwheel.

Power Plant

  • Engines: Four 1,200 h.p. Wright R-1820-97 nine-cylinder radial air-cooled engines.
  • Turbo-Superchargers: General Electric Type B-22, located on the undersides of the engine nacelles.
  • Propellers: Hamilton-Standard three-bladed constant-speed full-feathering airscrews, 11 ft. 7 in. (3.54 m) in diameter.
  • Fuel and Oil:
    • Fuel Capacity: Normal capacity of 1,700 U.S. gallons (1,510 Imp. gallons) in six tanks in the inner wing sections, with nine auxiliary feeder tanks in the outer wings. Maximum capacity with all tanks is 2,780 U.S. gallons (2,316 Imp. gallons).
    • Oil Capacity: 148 U.S. gallons (124 Imp. gallons) per engine.

Accommodation

  • Crew: Typically six to ten.
    • Positions: Bomb-aimer in the extreme nose, pilots seated side-by-side with dual controls, an upper two-gun turret behind the pilots, radio-operator amidships, and gun positions aft of the wings and in the tail.
    • Special Features: Includes automatic pilot, two-way radio, radio “homing” equipment, oxygen equipment, de-icers, and two collapsible dinghies.

Armament

  • Guns:
    • Total of thirteen .50 cal. machine-guns, positioned as follows:
      • Two in a “chin” turret beneath the bomb-aimer’s nose.
      • Two in “cheek” mountings on either side of the nose.
      • Two in an upper turret aft of the pilot’s cockpit.
      • One manually-operated gun above the radio-operator’s compartment.
      • Two in a Sperry “ball” turret below the fuselage.
      • Two on side ports midway between wings and tail.
      • Two in the extreme tail.
  • Bomb Capacity: Internal bomb stowage in fuselage between main spar frames, with a normal capacity of 6,000 lbs. (2,724 kg.). Can accommodate up to 2,000 lb. (908 kg.) bombs internally. External racks are no longer fitted.

Dimensions

  • Span: 103 ft. 9 in. (31.6 m)
  • Length: 74 ft. 9 in. (22.8 m)
  • Height: 19 ft. 1 in. (5.8 m)
  • Wing Area: 1,420 sq. ft. (132 sq. m)

Weights and Performance

  • Weight:
    • Empty: 32,720 lbs. (14,855 kg)
    • Normal Loaded: 49,500 lbs. (22,475 kg)
    • Maximum Overloaded: 60,000 lbs. (27,240 kg)
  • Performance:
    • Maximum Speed: 295 mph (472 km/h) at 25,000 ft. (7,625 m)
    • Climb Rate: 41 minutes to 25,000 ft. (7,625 m)
    • Service Ceiling: 35,000 ft. (10,670 m)
    • Range: Normal range with maximum bomb load and normal fuel is 1,100 miles (1,760 km) at 220 mph (352 km/h) at 25,000 ft. (7,625 m).