B-17 Flying Fortress Explained

The B-17 Flying Fortress is perhaps one of the most iconic planes of World War Two. Its fearsome reputation to withstand heavy enemy attacks and still have the ability to remain airborne, is something out of a movie. In this video, we look at the ins and outs of the B-17 Flying Fortress to better understand its beginnings and how it fared during the Second World War.

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[PremierHistory]

What do you think about the B-17 Flying Fortress? Do you think it was one of the best bombers of WWII?

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[jenniferkiefaber]

My Grandfather was a top gunner of one of these in Italy. He flew out of Amendola Airfield. I had a chance to crawl through one a few years ago. He flew in many missions so I’ve always been fond of the plane. He passed away at 94 in 2016.

[flyingfortressrc]

The B-17 will always be my favorite aircraft because my Dad was a top turret gunner on one before getting shot down on the 5th mission and being a POW.
Such an amazing aircraft.

[tedlawrence]

My late father flew in those out of high wycombe england ww2. He was a staff sergeant. He was in photo recon. He had a camera mounted in the b17's belly. They would fly over enemy held territory and take photos. After they were developed several planes would be sent to bomb those areas. After that my dad went back to photo the results to see if the bombing raid was successful. He was part of the 8th.air force.

[vegandogs]

Wow, 12, 000 B-17s x 10 crew, means at least 120, 000 men served on these bombers during the war. Considering replacements for lost crew members, the actual number is undoubtedly much higher. Greatest generation, thank you brave men.

[davidrobinson]

I always preferred the B24 Liberator, probably because was given a model as a kid, a very informative video I remember seeing the Sally B flying many years ago. Thank's.

[anibalcesarnishizk]

The first pilots to know how tough the B-17 was were the Japanese when they attacked the Phillippines.The Japanese ace Saburo Sakai was witness of such a strength.

[thesmalllebowski]

As a kid in the 90s, i remember watching documentaries with my dad on the history channel back when they played good content. I was always fascinated by this plane and the p51. To me it really symbolizes that ingenuity and drive to liberate europe and defeat the germans no matter the cost.

Flying without escort, long range, armed to the tits with machine guns. Its such an american solution to a difficult problem.

[reddevilparatrooper]

I got to see one of these up close during the Aviation Nation at Nellis AFB in 2004. There is no armor inside the plane, it all aluminum skin all the way around. It's "Beer Can Armor". FLAK and bullets would go right through those planes like nothing. There is a good museum in Tuscon Arizona called the Pima Air and Space Museum dedicated to the B-17 Bomber staffed by few surviving WWII B-17 crew members and I got to talk to them. I left there with tears in my eyes as they tell me how combat was in the skies over Europe.

[indygeo]

The B-17 is my favorite American heavy bomber from WW2. The B-25 Mitchell is my favorite American bomber from WW2.

[spidervenom]

This Bomber Plane was one of my favorite things for my team and to fly and operate in CoD Vanguard/Warzone...It was fun as hell..It no longer exists in CoD so..I no longer play it..Boring money grabbing game

[Mark]

The thickness of the aluminum shell is about that of a credit card; a 20 mm cannon or regular round from an Me 109 or Folkwulf 190 was just lethal. The men who flew these aircraft were patriotic and ran on pure guts and patriotism. They're heroes that kids today can't understand.

[marcisaacs]

My old friend Paul Pomerantz and men like him were tail gunners. Without them, we’d be dead. God blessed them with unspeakable courage. We owe them a debt we can never repay.

[mvaris]

They were criminals, puppy thein pants, in Finland they arrived.

[gjfwang]

Just the nickname was good enough that it would have to be an absolute dog not to have a good rep.

[ldcrumley]

Boeing sure doesn’t make them like they used to.

[Ralphieboy]

Its purpose was not clear from the outset, it was originally conceived as a long-range scout and coastal defense bomber. But when the need arose, it lent itself very well to the role of strategic bomber

[iKvetch]

I feel like there could/should have been a little bit more details given about the shortcomings of the Norden bombsight. Its claims for accuracy were almost entirely based on how it performed in the environment of testing grounds in dry and calm air of the vast Western US, but its real world performance was far more dismal. Perhaps an extra sentence noting how its actual abilities never came anywhere near being able to hit that pickle barrel, nor the building it was in, nor the block it was on...and barely managed to be able to hit the correct post code.

[Railhog]

The B-17 was the most mass produced bomber of WW2. Thousands were made for the USAAF between 1938 and 1945 seeing use across both theatres especially in Europe against the German war machine

[iKvetch]

Terrific summary...I really appreciate the film and pictures you used, and your delivery is flawless. However, with the risk of making your excellent short video a lot longer, but definitely not with that intent, I feel like a little bit more should be in the script for the B-17. It definitely was one of the best bombers of WW2, and it definitely made a big contribution to the war, and I already mentioned something I thought maybe should have been added about the Norden bombsight...but perhaps there should have been some mention that the B-24 had better range, speed and payload and flew about 60 percent of the heavy bomber missions in Europe and Africa to the B-17's roughly 40 percent...and that while 12700 B-17 aircraft of all variants were produced, over 18100 B-24 aircraft were built. It would not be true to say the B-24 was "better" than the B-17...except in certain roles where the B-24 excelled...but it would be true to say that the B-24 was much more of a workhorse to the Allies than the B-17 was.
Anyway...it was a great video, and I just thought a couple of more sentences added to the script with a bit more info would just make it that much better.