B-17 Flying Fortress - In the Movies

An overview of the Boeing B-17 as featured in numerous WW2 Movies

The Liberator
Memphis Belle
My Way
Shadow in the cloud
Black Book
The Cockpit (Anime) 1993
Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
Hart’s War
The Mighty Eight
Heavy Metal
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Red Tails
War Thunder (Video Game)
Bomber Command (Video Game)
Fortress 2011
Memphis Belle
Twelve O’Clock High

#ww2 #warhistory #aircraft

[fortis]

One memorable moment with the B-17 was in Call of Duty: United Offensive, where you played as the crewman of a British operated B-17 in 1941. You had to hop from one turret to another, as your crew suffers more casualties, while your formation is swarmed with 109s

[EDKguy]

When i finally saw a B-17 in person, I was surprised how small it was.
When I finally saw a B-29, I was amazed at how BIG it was!

[raguimaraesk]

The B-17s used by the Brazilian Air Force was configured to Search and Rescue missions, they are not used as bombers. Today are at least two remaining B-17 in Brazil, one at entrance of the Recife Air Force Base e another in storage at Aerospace Museum, waiting to be restored someday.

[rodati]

"Even in death my powers continued..."
**Don Felder Heavy Metal starts playing**

[stryderprime]

I don't know if you knew this but the B-17 was in a famous show back in the 80s called "amazing stories" where in Episode 5 called "The Mission" there was a B-17 in it. It stared a young Kevin Costner at the time and there was a ball gunner who was stuck under the plane when it was damaged during combat. I won't spoil it for you so you can search it out!

[rolfagten]

"The Warlover" (1962) with McQueen was very good, shame "Buzz Rickson" crashed into the White cliffs of Dover. Good video Johnny!

[justalex.]

The b 17 deserves its nickname the flying fortress

[Perfusionist]

Surprised that you didn't cover "The War Lover", one of Steve McQueen's war movies. THREE B17s were recovered from an Air Force boneyard and were restored to full war time configuration for this film. Famous aviation author Martin Caidin wrote a book about the process and about moving the aircraft to England (although he might have pumped up the adventure part of the story). There was a B17 used for the TV show "12 O'Clock High" and was based at the Ontario, CA airport where I got to see it in 1970. Piccadilly Lily apparently could only taxi, not fly.

[mr.-bit]

The Catch 22 Series is a good depiction of Bombing missions during WW2. I know they aren't B17's but are B25's, still a very good show.

[fortis]

The beautiful Flying Fortress

Can you do the P-51 and Spitfire next?

[TakoyaKyono]

I've been in the UK's only airworthy B-17G "Sally B" as I was a member of the supporter's club while living in Coventry many moons ago. My dad and I used to go down to Duxford for the air shows.

[jonbridge]

The "Thunderball" B-17 was from Intermountain Aviation - a CIA proprietary organisation. It was fitted with the Fulton Skyhook for picking up agents etc. It's now at Evergreen Aviation Museum.

[Thirdbase]

You left off the greatest B17 story, Amazing Stories: The Mission.

[tansanbotilya]

Shadow in the cloud ok??? I guess... Chloe Grace Moretz is a great actress but the movie kinda sucked.

[vger]

Grandma installed the pistons into the B-17 engines. Watch Air Force (1944) if you want to see some awesome B-17Ds inside and out.

[jenningsrozzell]

a relative was a "Rosie the Riveter" my childhood (1960's) is filled with her stories of 20 years earlier of building B-17's and B-25's, working in a War Plant.

[sickfarce]

Cool video. REALLY looking forward to how "Masters of the Air" will portrait the whole topic. The most comprehensive game about the B-17 has to be 2000s simulation "B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th" by MicroProse, although the mechanics might be way to inacessible, complex and/or outdated to many. Same goes for the graphics.

[kaletovhangar]

"Air force" (1943 movie) which depicts fictional bomber crew of early B-17D model from flight from California to Pearl Harbor, than to Phillipines during December of 1941 up to their mission near Australia.Not a bad movie, although typical of war time propaganda.

[Defiant]

Don't forget 'The Thousand Plane Raid, ' a typical Hollywood production where they claim credit for the first such raid by the USAAF, when in fact it was the RAF who achieved this feat. All the same, it was an enjoyable bit of flying action.

[velvetrooster]

My dad was actually a mechanic and pilot for a B-17 back in the 80s and 90s and that particular B-17 was used in the movie Memphis Belle. At the time the plane was owned by a man named David Tallichet. This plane still makes rounds on the airshow circuit and set up with the Memphis Belle movie paint scheme. My dad Mark Hinzman has told me multiple times that the airplane was originally set up as a fire bomber when they acquired the B-17 in the 80s. he told me that they converted it into the Memphis Belle and removed the chin turret for the movie. As a pilot, my dad‘s flight logs do show him with a significant amount of time as pilot command for B-17. He did not fly in the movie, but he did fly all around California and briefly in New York but mostly California. he was both the chief mechanic for the airplane and pilot for the airplane during the 80s and 90s in Chino California. I also know that me and my brother have a pretty iconic picture in our family that my dad took as he was standing on the ground and my brother and I were in the nose of the movie Memphis Belle B-17.