Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

E34359

World War II aircraft four‑engine bomber heavy bomber military aircraft

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine American heavy bomber of World War II, renowned for its durability, long-range strategic bombing role, and extensive use in the European theater.

Aliases (4)

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II aircraft → four‑engine bomber → heavy bomber → military aircraft →
alsoUsedBy	Brazilian Air Force → Free French Air Force → Israeli Air Force → Portuguese Air Force → Royal Air Force →
armament	up to 13 × 0.50 in M2 Browning machine guns →
bombLoad	up to 3600 kg of bombs → up to 8000 lb of bombs →
conflict	World War II →
countryOfOrigin	United States →
crew	10 →
cruiseSpeed	182 mph →
designOrigin	Boeing Model 299 →
distinctiveFeature	chin turret on B-17G variant →
emptyWeight	16391 kg →
enginePower	1200 hp per engine →
famousVariant	B-17F → B-17G →
firstFlight	1935-07-28 →
height	5.82 m →
introduced	1938 →
length	22.66 m →
manufacturer	Boeing →
maximumSpeed	287 mph → 462 km/h →
maxTakeoffWeight	29900 kg →
nickname	Flying Fortress →
notableCharacteristic	durability → heavy defensive armament → long range →
numberBuilt	12731 →
operatedBy	Eighth Air Force → Fifteenth Air Force →
powerplant	4 × Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone radial engines →
primaryRole	strategic bombing →
primaryUser	United States Army Air Forces →
range	2000 mi → 3218 km →
retiredFromUSService	1949 →
serviceCeiling	10668 m → 35000 ft →
survivors	several airworthy examples remain in museums and private collections →
theaterOfOperations	European Theater of Operations → Pacific Theater →
usedIn	daylight precision bombing campaign over Germany →
wingspan	31.62 m →

Referenced by (12)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ("B-17F") → Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ("B-17G") →	famousVariant
Theodore Van Kirk ("B-17 Flying Fortress") →	aircraft
Eighth Air Force ("B-17 Flying Fortress") →	aircraftOperated
Fifteenth Air Force ("B-17 Flying Fortress") →	aircraftTypeUsed
United States Army Air Forces →	mainBomberAircraft
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ("Flying Fortress") →	nickname
United States Army Air Corps →	notableAircraft
Allied strategic bombers →	notableAircraftType
Big Week ("B-17 Flying Fortress") →	notableAircraftUsed
Cactus Air Force →	operatedAircraft
Allied strategic bombing of Japan ("B-17 Flying Fortress") →	usesAircraft