See Also:

B-17 (sh)




or Flying Fortress

U.S. heavy bomber used in World War II. Designed by the Boeing Aircraft Co. in 1934, it cruised at 35,000 ft (10,700 m) at a maximum speed of 287 mph (462 kph).

It was called the Flying Fortress because of the .50-caliber machine guns, 13 in all, at every corner. It could carry 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) of bombs in its bays and more on racks under its wings. More than 12,000 B-17s were produced during World War II, and most were used for high-level bombing over Europe.