Early Development - A Deep Dive History of The Boeing B-17 (Pt.1)

One of the most legendary and recognisable aircraft of the Second World War, the Boeing B-17 represented a gargantuan step forward in the world of aviation when it first rolled out of it's hangar doors in 1935. In this series we'll be covering the history of this fascinating aircraft, starting with Part 1: Early development.
Consider supporting us on Patreon: / aviationdeepdive
Join our Discord community: / discord
Sources
Skipper, B. (2022). Boeing B-17. Pen & Sword Books Ltd.
Skipper, B. (1941). B-17: Pilot Training Manual For The Flying Fortress. Headquarters, AAF, Office of Flying Safety.
Mantelli, Brown, Kittel, & Graf. (2016). Boeing B-17 - Flying Fortress. Edizioni REI.
0:00 - 3:23 Introduction
3:24 - 5:39 Project A/XB-15
5:40 - 17:00 Model 299 Development
17:01 - 21:00 Testing & Evaluation
21:01 - 26:54 YB-17
26:55 - 35:35 Early Service and Further Development

[@aviationdeepdive]

Feel free to join our Discord community! - discord.gg/WCevgcufwJ Consider supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/AviationDeepDive

[@rob5944]

A great video! As a Brit I've always loved our own Lancaster, which of course grew from an unsuccessful twin engine design. But I have to admit that it's undeniable that the 299 was one impressively beautiful aircraft. The early loss of the two crew members was extremely poignant.

[@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe]

B17 today!.

[@laurenkimball2636]

Last Saturday, August 26, 2023 I had the chance of a lifetime to walk through a B-17 here at Arlington airport in Washington State. Her name is Sentimental Journey. I could not have been more excited. Then, to come across and watch this video added a new and exciting Dimension to this experience. It was very enlightening to hear about the initial use and thus institutionalized use of check sheets in aviation. Thank you for this video. I am really looking forward to part 2!

[@TheLateBird7]

A very nice start to the series! One can hear and see your enthusiasm for this aircraft. My favourite part was the mock interception of SS Rex ... of course that name rings a bell 😁

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thanks! Yeah, quite a cool little story - and a funny coincidence with the name 😂. One can only imagine how the Italian soldiers must have felt seeing three B-17s bearing down on them in a world filled with funny looking and slight odd interwar designs (and CR.32s back home).

[@sjTHEfirst]

Great video. It’s so funny seeing these first versions of the B17.

[@valrond]

Amazing job. I look forward to parr 2.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Yes, I like those blister turret look. Although I suspect it wouldn't give good vision for the gunner.

[@richardwendt4280]

Great video! Wonderful history! Thanks!

[@aviationdeepdive]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Vader1957]

Excellent video !

[@bouncyseal8675]

Absolutely spicy

[@johnstirling6597]

A very minor correction, at 5.54 . 250 miles per hour equates to 402 kilometres pre hour, not 241km/h as stated.

[@aviationdeepdive]

Ah yes you’re completely right, no idea how that slipped through - thanks for point that out!

[@johnstirling6597]

@@aviationdeepdive 👍👍

[@nickdanger3802]

Thanks!

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thanks so much!

[@nickdanger3802]

@@aviationdeepdive You are welcome. When you cover bomb load be prepared for much "Mozzie carried the same weight" and "Lanc carried three times as much". Bomb loads for Mossies can be found on the BAE Mosquito page. Loads for a specific Lanc can be found by Search Operational history of Lancaster 1B R5868 You may find some useful information in this vid. Good luck. B-17 vs Lancaster Payloads and Armor (unlisted) Gregs Air and Auto kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnq0m2Wnm9WLick&lc=UgyqEM1O_qNRScyeM7t4AaABAg

[@oldtdjr]

So, when do we see PartII?

[@aviationdeepdive]

As much as I'd like to, this video took about a week of solid, researching, and editing to make, and for some reason it became one of my lowest performing videos - so I don't know when I'll have time for it to make financial sense to continue.

[@treystephens6166]

Is that a B-17 in the Thumbnail???

[@aviationdeepdive]

It’s an early prototype, the Model 299

[@treystephens6166]

@@aviationdeepdive if I had to be in WWII I’d prefer to be in the Air War.

[@bouncyseal8675]

@@treystephens6166 Are you sure about that.

[@treystephens6166]

@@bouncyseal8675 I know it wouldn’t have been fun but I’d rather die in a plane crash then lay rotting in the mud.

[@bouncyseal8675]

@@treystephens6166 Okay thats a somewhat solid point lmao.

[@WhiteOwlOnFire_XXX]

The peashooter is the ugliest plane ever made.

[@aviationdeepdive]

Personally I find it quite charming! I have to agree to some extent though, its certainly not a looker...

[@lufasumafalu5069]

history of the most shot down bomber and truly proving the futility of mass bombing attack , incredible this video still try to propagandize this useless aircraft

[@aviationdeepdive]

You're baiting so hard for a response. There is zero propaganda in this video, I give information on early development, there is no emotion or even opinion, and ww2 hasn't even started at the end of this video.

[@lufasumafalu5069]

@@aviationdeepdive sorry mate i dont care about your response as you posted so many bullshit video extolling propaganda instead of facts.. go away and dont come back you liar

[@aviationdeepdive]

My sources are in the description, if you disagree with them then contact the authors and the archives. You've posted your moronic comments on like half of my videos now, get a life.

[@nickdanger3802]

@@lufasumafalu5069 "As the Luftwaffe encountered more Allied heavy bomber raids, it became apparent that great increases in defensive fighter firepower were needed, especially against the even more heavily armed American bombers. This dynamic led to the development of ever more heavily armed sub-types of fighters, including some Focke-Wulf 190s with six 20 mm cannon, the most ever mounted in a German single-engine fighter (Dill 2015, 50-4). This sub-type entered service concurrently with the most powerful weapon used by German fighters during the war, the 210 mm rocket mortar, which was used in significant numbers from July 1943 onwards both on the Western Front and in the Mediterranean, but not in the East (Forsyth 2016b, 53-7). The ultimate result of these developments, focused on the needs of defence against strategic bombing, was that the aircraft types retained on the Eastern front were ever more poorly armed in comparison to those in the West. Just 15% of Luftwaffe aircraft guns were allocated to the East by January 1944 (Table 4), a much lower proportion that the 34% of combat aircraft allocated to this theatre (Table 2). While the desperate German attempts to develop technology to confront Allied pressure have been noted in the literature (van Creveld 2011, 116-7), as has the German tendency to use older aircraft in the East (O’Brien 2015: 65, 291). What has not been sufficiently emphasised is that these aircraft possessed considerably less firepower, on average, as demonstrated here." page 15 How were German air force resources distributed between different fronts in the years 1941 to 1943 pdf

[@nickdanger3802]

@@lufasumafalu5069 "Of the total of 7,377 Lancasters built (430 of them in Canada), 3,932 were lost in action." Over 50% Bomber Command Museum of Canada The Lancaster Bomber page