Boeing B17 Flying Fortress

PLANE TYPE: Heavy Bomber - 9 crew- (B-17G) In 1934 the US Army given a specify for a modern heavy bomber : up to 900 Kg of bombs, more than 320 Km / h of top speed and up to 3000 Km of range. The Boeing built the Model 299, a plane with a large wing and 4 engines. The first prototype was destroyed during the take off, but the USAAC decided anyway to order 13 pre-series planes, YB-17 (then Y1B-17). With the development of new versions the B-17 "Flying Fortress" became more and more powerful, because of the better engines, of the payload and of the defensive weaponry. The more diffused versions were the last, the B-17F (3400 planes) and the B-17G ( 8685 planes), that sustained the majority of the bombings on Germany from 1943 to 1945. After the war the plane was put out of service, but it has been utilized by other aerial forces and private companies until the early '90.

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