Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (Silver) Wooden Aircraft

Item#: AB17ST

MSRP Price: $183.55

Factory Direct Price: $137.66

Wing Span: 12.50"
Length: 17.25"

Manufacturer: The Boeing Co.

Introducing Factory Direct Models Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (Silver) Wooden Aircraft Model, This Model Airplane Replica was hand crafted with absolute precision using the finest Philippine Mahogany. Working from our library of blueprints, reference materials and their photographs, Factory Direct Models master artisans recreated this historic military warplane into an incredibly desktop display model.

Please note that the stand shown in this photograph may vary or change with the model you receive.

We also make Custom Made Airplane Models to meet your specifications with the capability to include your company logo and inscribed inscription plaque to make your model a personalized work of art. If you would like personalized Custom Model Model Please Call (866) 580-8727.

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (Silver) History:

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both the other competitors and more than met the Air Corps' expectations. Although Boeing lost the contract due to the prototype's crash, the Air Corps was so impressed with Boeing's design that they ordered 13 B-17s. The B-17 Flying Fortress went on to enter full-scale production and was considered the first truly mass-produced large aircraft, eventually evolving through numerous design advancements.

The B-17 was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, civilian and military targets. The United States Eighth Air Force based in England and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy complemented the RAF Bomber Command's nighttime area bombing in Operation Pointblank, to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord. The B-17 also participated, to a lesser extent, in the War in the Pacific, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping.

From its pre-war inception, the USAAC (later USAAF) touted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a potent, high-flying, long-ranging bomber capable of unleashing great destruction yet able to defend itself. With the ability to return home despite extensive battle damage, its durability, especially in belly-landings and ditchings, quickly took on mythic proportions.Stories and photos of B-17s surviving battle damage widely circulated, increasing its iconic status. Despite an inferior range and bombload compared to the more numerous B-24 Liberator, a survey of Eighth Air Force crews showed a much higher rate of satisfaction in the B-17.With a service ceiling greater than any of its Allied contemporaries, the B-17 established itself as a superb weapons system, dropping more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of the 1.5 million tonnes of bombs dropped on Germany by U.S. aircraft, 500,000 were dropped from B-17s.

On 8 August 1934, the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) tendered a proposal for a multi-engined bomber to replace the Martin B-10. Requirements were that it would carry a "useful bombload" at an altitude of 10,000 ft (3 km) for ten hours with a top speed of at least 200 mph (320 km/h).They also desired, but did not require, a range of 2,000 miles (3200 km) and a speed of 250 mph (400 km/h). The Air Corps were looking for a bomber capable of reinforcing the air forces in Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska. The competition would be decided by a "fly-off" at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Boeing competed with the Douglas DB-1 and Martin Model 146 for the Air Corps contract.

The prototype B-17, designated Model 299, was designed by a team of engineers led by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells and built at Boeing's own expense. It combined features of the experimental Boeing XB-15 bomber with the Boeing 247 transport airplane.[11] The B-17 was armed with bombs (up to 4,800 pounds (2200 kg) on two racks in the bomb bay behind the cockpit) and five 0.30 inch (7.62 mm) caliber machine guns, and was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1690 radial engines each producing 750 horsepower (600 kW) at 7,000 ft (2100 m).

The first flight of the Model 299 was on 28 July 1935, with Boeing chief test-pilot Les Tower at the controls.Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times coined the name "Flying Fortress" when the Model 299 was rolled out, bristling with multiple machine gun installations.Boeing was quick to see the value of the name and had it trademarked for use. On 20 August, the prototype flew from Seattle to Wright Field in nine hours and three minutes at an average speed of 235 mph (378 km/h), much faster than the competition.

At the fly-off, the four-engine Boeing design displayed superior performance over the twin-engine DB-1 and Model 146, and then-Major General Frank Maxwell Andrews of the GHQ Air Force believed that the long-range capabilities of four-engine large aircraft were more efficient than shorter-ranged twin-engined airplanes. His opinions were shared by the Air Corps procurement officers and, even before the competition was finished, they suggested buying 65 B-17s.

Development continued on the Boeing Model 299, and on 30 October 1935, the Army Air Corps test-pilot, Major Ployer Peter Hill and Boeing employee Les Tower, took the Model 299 on a second evaluation flight. The crew forgot to disengage the airplane's "gust lock," a device that held the bomber's movable control surfaces in place while the plane was parked on the ground, and having taken off, the aircraft entered a steep climb, stalled, nosed over and crashed, killing Hill and Tower (other observers survived with injuries).The crashed Model 299 could not finish the evaluation, and while the Air Corps was still enthusiastic about the aircraft's potential, Army officials were daunted by the much greater expense per aircraft."The loss was not total, however, since the fuselage aft of the wing was intact, and the Wright Field Armament section was able to use it in subsequent gun mount development work, but Boeing's hopes for a substantial bomber contract were dashed." Army Chief of Staff Malin Craig cancelled the order for 67 B-17s, and ordered 133 of the twin-engine Douglas B-18 Bolo instead.

Regardless, the USAAC had been impressed by the prototype's performance and, on 17 January 1936, the Air Corps ordered, through a legal loophole, 13 YB-17s for service testing. The YB-17 incorporated a number of significant changes from the Model 299, including more powerful Wright R-1820-39 Cyclone engines replacing the original Pratt & Whitneys. Although the prototype was company owned and never received a military serial ("the B-17 designation itself did not appear officially until January 1936, nearly three months after the prototype crashed"),the term "XB-17" was retroactively applied to the airframe and has entered the lexicon to describe the first Flying Fortress.

On 1 March 1937, 12 of the 13 YB-17s were delivered to the 2nd Bombardment Group at Langley Field in Virginia, and used to help develop heavy bomber techniques and work out other bugs.[11] One suggestion was the use of a checklist, to avoid accidents such as the Model 299's.In one of their first missions, three B-17s, following lead navigator Lt. Curtis LeMay, were sent by General Andrews to "intercept" the Italian ocean liner Rex 800 statute miles (1,300 km) off the Atlantic coast and take photographs. The successful mission was widely publicized. The 13th YB-17 was delivered to the Material Division at Wright Field, Ohio, to be used for flight testing.

A 14th YB-17 (37-369), originally constructed for ground testing of the airframe's strength, was upgraded and fitted with exhaust-driven turbochargers. Scheduled to fly in 1937, it encountered problems with the turbochargers and its first flight was delayed until 29 April 1938. Modifications cost Boeing US$100,000 and took until spring 1939 to complete, but resulted in an increased service ceiling and maximum speed.The aircraft was delivered to the Army on 31 January 1939 and was redesignated B-17A to signify the first operational variant.

In late 1937, the Air Corps ordered ten more aircraft, designated B-17B and, soon after, another 29.Improved with larger flaps, rudder and Plexiglas nose, the B-17Bs were delivered between July 1939 and March 1940. They equipped two bombardment groups, one on each U.S. coast.

Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, fewer than 200 B-17s were in service with the Army,[22] but production quickly accelerated, and the B-17 became the first truly mass-produced large aircraft.[32][33] The aircraft went on to serve in every World War II combat zone, and by the time production ended in May 1945, 12,731 aircraft had been built by Boeing, Douglas and Vega (a subsidiary of Lockheed).

The B-17 began operations in World War II with the RAF in 1941, USAAF Eighth Air Force and Fifteenth Air Force units in 1942, and was primarily involved in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign against German industrial targets. Operation Pointblank guided attacks in preparation for a ground assault.

During World War II, the B-17 equipped 32 overseas combat groups, inventory peaking in August 1944 at 4,574 USAAF aircraft worldwide,and dropped 640,036 long tons (650,195 tonnes) of bombs on European targets (compared to 452,508 tons (451,691 tonnes) dropped by the Liberator and 463,544 tons (420,520 tonnes) dropped by all other U.S. aircraft). Approximately 4,750, or one third, of B-17s built were lost in combat.