The B-17 Flying Fortress - B-17 Crews of WW2
The B-17 Flying Fortress
The formidable B-17 Flying Fortress of WWII was a tough aircraft that helped win the war over Europe. Many of them sustained incredible damage and still managed to bring its crew back home. You will find here some info on the B-17, the crews, the weapons and training. Also included are some videos of the B-17 in flight and an interview with a Navigator.
There is only a handful of these aircraft around that are fully operational, let's hope those dedicated to them will keep them flying far into the future. Hope you enjoy this little bit of info on the B-17 Flying Fortress. Thanks for stopping by.
The B-17 Flying Fortress
The B-17 FLYING FORTRESS became Americas primary heavy bomber during WW2. It proved rugged and able to withstand much damage. The B-17 went through several variations during its life to make it as defense capable as possible. I added links to different website's to cover as many aspects of the FLYING FORTRESS as I can find. You can read about the history of the B-17 Here
B-17 Crew Training
The FLIGHT CREW's training was based on what their position or duty was to be on the aircraft. The Pilot and Co-Pilot were certified to fly; Navigator, Radio Operator and Bombardier learned their trade and the Gunners went through gunnery school. Check out this link for more info. Crew Duties and Training
Combat Crew: The Story of 25 Combat Missions Over Europe From the Daily Journal
Are you looking for a great book of the stories of those great crews that flew in the Flying Fortress? This book will surely give you the insight as to what they went through.
Flying Fortress books
B-17 during air combat in WW2
Here is a video of a B-17 doing a fly by at an airshow
B-17 Crews Flight Gear
Check out these guys wearing authentic 1944 FLIGHT GEAR. The gear used for the photographs are from someone's collection and the pictures look pretty good.B-17 Flight Gear
Links to B-17 stuff
- Machine Guns on the B-17
A good web site about the Browning Machine guns as used on the B-17 - The Norden Bombsight
Another good website covering the amazing Norden Bombsight - More on the Norden Bombsight
Info from Wikipedia on the bombsight - Bombs
Covers the Bombs dropped from Bombers in WW2 - More neat B-17 stuff
See performance charts, cockpit photos, systems diagrams and more from an actual B-17F/G Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions Manual.
Interesting news reel footage of "The Mighty Eighth"
Check out this interesting three part video on YouTube covering the 8th. It shows the Flying Fortress and support fighters and other mission related stuff I don't normally see. It’s worth checking out. If you double click on the YouTube video below you can find parts two and three in the right hand side bar.
B-17 Nose Art
- Gene Townsend B-17 nose art
Website of Gene Townsend of the 32nd Bomb Squadron - B-17 Aircraft markings
Aircraft markings as applies to the 303rd Bomb Group - B-17 Aircraft markings
Somemore info on aircraft marking - 303rd Bomb Group B-17 illustrations
Website with b-17 illustration by Mark Styling
Video of Flying Fortress nose art
Check out some of the nose art used on the WW2 aircraft