How many B-17 Flying Fortresses are left?
Many surviving examples are painted to represent actual planes that flew in combat. Today, 46 planes survive in complete form, 10 of which are airworthy, and 39 of which reside in the United States.
What happened to the 8th Air Force?
History from June 1992. Fifteen months after Operation Desert Storm, the Air Force reorganized. Eighth Air Force was relieved from assignment to Strategic Air Command and assigned to the new Air Combat Command (ACC) on 1 June 1992.
How many German fighters shot down by B 17s?
After the Second Raid on Schweinfurt, USAAF gunners aboard the B-17 bombers claimed to have shot down 138 German fighters. German records show that 38 were lost and 20 were damaged. German fighter pilots claimed they shot down 121 bombers and 1 fighter.
How many bombs did B-17 carry?
Technical Specifications
| First flight | July 28, 1935 (prototype) |
|---|---|
| Ceiling | 35,600 feet |
| Power | Four 1,200-horsepower Wright R-1820-97 engines |
| Accommodation | 2 pilots, bombardier, navigator, radio-operator, 5 gunners |
| Armament | 11 to 13 machine guns, 9,600-pound bomb load |
How many planes did the B-17 shot down?
M/SGT Michael Arooth shot down 17 enemy aircraft to reach triple “Ace” status. But he wasn’t a fighter pilot. In fact, he wasn’t a pilot at all . Arooth, a tail gunner on the B-17 “Tondelayo” who shot down a total of 17 enemy fighters in the course of 14 missions.
Why is it called the Eighth Air Force?
On 22 February 1944, the Army reorganized its Air Forces in Europe by renaming Eighth Air Force as the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (now known as the United States Air Forces in Europe). That same day, the VIII BC became Eighth Air Force.
How much ammo did a B-17 carry?
Additional armament included an additional dorsal turret in the radio room, a remotely operated and fired Bendix-built “chin turret” directly below the bombardier’s accommodation, and twin .50 in (12.7 mm) guns in each of the waist positions. The ammunition load was over 11,000 rounds.
How did the US Air Force use the B-17 bomber?
The air corps – renamed United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941 – used the B-17 and other bombers to bomb from high altitudes with the aid of the then-secret Norden bombsight, known as the “Blue Ox”, which was an optical electromechanical gyrostabilized analog computer.
What year did the B-17 Flying Fortress come out?
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined B-24 and the multirole, twin-engined Ju 88.
How many different versions of the B-17 have been made?
Two experimental versions of the B-17 were flown under different designations, the XB-38 Flying Fortress and the YB-40 Flying Fortress.
Why did the B-17 get a reputation for toughness?
It developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. The B-17 dropped more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of approximately 1.5 million tons of bombs dropped on Nazi Germany and its occupied territories by U.S. aircraft, over 640,000 tons were dropped from B-17s.