Tommy+Klein

= = =While you read this information, try to answer the following questions:= > The B-17 was developed by Boeing for the U.S. Army Air Corps. It was originally intended to be used as a coastal defense plane, but it would later become the ruler of the skies over Nazi occcupied Europe. =The origins of the B-17= Until the 1930's the U.S. Army had been using outdated bombers. The bomber they had in the arsenal at that time was the Keystone bomber, a biplane(dual winged). The Keystone was slow and had a low maximum altitude. The Keystone also had a limited fuel range. The B-17 was designed as a monoplane(having a single wing) with better range per tank of fuel. The B-17 also had a very large bomb payload. One of the greatest abilities of the B-17 was that it was capable of flight up to 40,000 feet in altitude. However, at 40,000 feet the crew was not capable of staying conscious. Over the course of the war the B-17 would be produced in many differant variants. Each variant was designed to perform a specific task or to improve upon the flaws of a prior variant.
 * 1) Why was the B-17 developed?
 * 2) Who was the operators of the B-17 and what was the major flaw of the ball turret?
 * 3) What was the Memphis Belle and where did she fly her 25th mission?

For more information about the advantages and limitations of the B-17 visit: [] = = = = = = = = = = = = =The Crew = The crew of the B-17 consisted of ten men. The crewmenbers include the pilot and co-pilot. Other crewmebers were the navigator, bombardier, belly turret gunner, flight engineer, tail gunner, radio operator, and two waist gunners. Two of the most important crewmen were the pilot and the ball turret gunner.

The pilot-

 * The pilot served as the aircraft commmander.
 * He was responsible for keeping the plane in action while in flight.
 * The pilot also had to make major tactical decisions.

The ball turret gunner-

 * The ball turret gunner was one of the most important crewmembers.
 * The ball turret gunner was responsible for protecting the entire bottom of the B-17.
 * The ball turret has a 360 degree swivel horizontally.
 * It also swiveled downward toward the groung for an even larger area to cover.
 * The turret however, was only armored on the back of the ball. So, the front of the ball was vulnerable to enemy fire.

For more information about the crew of the B-17 go to: []

=The Memphis Belle?= The Memphis Belle ws the first American bomber to complete 25 missions and be retired from service. The Memphis Belle was shot on several missions, and yet not a single crewmember died in the Belle. The Belle returned from her missions many times with her engines shot out. Once the bomber even returned with her tail almost entirely destroyed. The Memphis Belle took hit after hit but the Germans could never shoot her down. The Belle flew her final mission over Lorient, France on May 17, 1943.

To learn more about the Memphis Belle go to: []

If you would also like to review any parts of the B-17 training manual visit: []