page_title: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
section_title: Specifications (B-17G)
hierarchical_section_title: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress / Specifications (B-17G)
caption_attribution_description: English: B-17G nose; National Museum of the United States Air Force.
context_page_description: The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps. Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both competitors and exceeded the air corps' performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract because the prototype crashed, the air corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88.
  The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets.
context_section_description: Data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft
  General characteristics
  Crew: 10: Pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier/nose gunner, flight engineer/top turret gunner, radio operator, waist gunners (2), ball turret gunner, tail gunner
  Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m)
  Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in (31.62 m)
  Height: 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
  Wing area: 1,420 sq ft (131.92 m²)
  Airfoil: NACA 0018 / NACA 0010
  Empty weight: 36,135 lb (16,391 kg)
  Gross weight: 54,000 lb (24,500 kg)
  Max takeoff weight: 65,500 lb (29,700 kg)
  Aspect ratio: 7.57
  Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW)  each
  Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton-Standard constant-speed propeller
  Performance
  Maximum speed: 287 mph (462 km/h, 249 kn)
  Cruise speed: 182 mph (293 km/h, 158 kn)
  Range: 2,000 mi (3,219 km, 1,738 nmi) with 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) bombload
  Service ceiling: 35,600 ft (10,850 m)
  Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
  Wing loading: 38.0 lb/sq ft (185.7 kg/m²)
  Power/mass: 0.089 hp/lb (150 W/kg)
  Armament
  Guns: 13 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 9 positions (2 in the Bendix chin turret, 2 on nose cheeks, 2 staggered waist guns, 2 in upper Sperry turret, 2 in Sperry ball turret in belly, 2 in the tail and one firing upwards from radio compartment behind bomb bay)
  Bombs:
  Short range missions (<400 mi): 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)
  Long range missions (≈800 mi): 4,500 lb (2,000 kg)
  Overload: 17,600 lb (7,800 kg)
caption: B-17G nose guns
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