B-17G “Flying Fortress”

On September 26, 1934, the United States Army Corps allocated $275,000 to Boeing to design and produce a four-engine bomber. Within eight months the Boeing Project 299 produced the first B-17 Flying Fortress. The inaugural flight took place on July 25, 1935. Exactly one month later, the B-17 flew from California to Wright Field in Ohio, covering a distance of over 2,000 miles in nine hours (averaging 233 MPH). The Army Air Corps officers called the plane “Boeing’s Aerial Battlecruiser.” Later, it was officially designated the XB-17.  

The B-17 Flying Fortress effectively operated in all theaters of operation during World War II. In addition to the American Air Corps, the Royal Air Force used several XB-17s during World War II. The German Luftwaffe even used captured XB-17s to drop spies into Britain. After World War II, the Army Air Corps distributed several B-17s to nations including Israel, Sweden and a number of countries in South America. Later, the United States Air Force utilized retired B-17s as targets for remote-controlled drone target planes.  

The Museum’s B-17P, S/N 44-83559 was manufactured by Douglas in Long Beach, California, and received by the USAAF on April 5, 1945. The Air Force relegated S/N 44-83559 to SAC Aerospace Museum at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. The Fortress was flown to the Museum in May 1959 and has been on continuous display ever since.