| Few aircraft can claim the pivotal role in US victory | | | | wells. The maneuver had preceded every single |
| during World War II that the Boeing B-17 Flying | | | | World War II victory. |
| Fortress can. | | | | Climbing at 600 fpm, the Flying Fortress penetrated |
| Designed to meet the August 16, 1934 Army Air | | | | the early-morning blue barely marred by a few cloud |
| Corps requirement for a multi-engined anti-shipping | | | | wisps on a due-south, 180-degree heading and |
| bomber to replace the twin-engined Martin B-10 with | | | | maintained 135 mph. Throttled back as it reached the |
| a 1,020-mile range, a 2,000-pound bomb load | | | | lilly pad-green patches forming a mosaic off of Long |
| capability, and a 200-mph speed, the B-17 had broken | | | | Island's South Shore, the aircraft leveled off at 1,000 |
| from the standard twin-engined design by offering | | | | feet and commenced a left bank with the aid of its |
| twice the number of powerplants in order to | | | | mechanically-linked ailerons toward the Capetree |
| significantly increase payload, range, and service | | | | Bridge leading to Jones Beach and its signature |
| ceiling. The resultant Model 299 prototype, powered | | | | monument. |
| by four 750-hp Pratt and Whitney Hornet, | | | | Supporting its weight with its thick, wide-chord wings, |
| three-bladed pistons, first flew on July 28, 1935, and | | | | the bomber cruised over the pale-blue and silver |
| could carry a payload of eight 600-lb bombs. It was | | | | reflecting surface of the Atlantic, straddling the coast |
| both the largest US land plane and the world's fastest | | | | and sending an intense vibration through its cowling |
| bomber at the time. Thirteen pre-series aircraft were | | | | as its Wright Cyclone engines turned their Hamilton |
| delivered between December 2, 1936 and August 5, | | | | Standard propellers at 1,800 rpm. |
| 1937. | | | | The massive bomber''s stabilizing cruise mood had |
| So inherently flexible had the basic low-wing, | | | | prompted closer internal inspection of the cabin. |
| dorsal-finned aircraft been, however, that it had been | | | | Designed as a high-altitude strategic bomber, the B-17 |
| progressively adapted for varying roles with | | | | incorporated several gunner stations. The Plexiglas |
| turbocharged Wright Cyclone engines for | | | | nose provided a 180-degree, unobstructed forward |
| higher-altitude performance, an increased area rudder | | | | view, below which was the chin turret, and this |
| and flaps for greater effectiveness on the B-17B, and | | | | section was occupied both by the bombardier and |
| self-sealing tanks, flush guns, and a ventral bathtub | | | | the navigator, whose side-facing station was on the |
| on the B-17C, which had first appeared in 1939 and | | | | port side. Behind and above was the two-person |
| had been operated by the RAF in England. The B-17D | | | | cockpit which provided vision through its two |
| weathered most of the flak in the Pacific Theatre. | | | | forward windows. The top turret, behind and a step |
| The succeeding B-17E, appearing in 1941, incorporated | | | | below the flight deck, provided the only 360-degree |
| a redesigned aft fuselage for greater flying stability | | | | view of the sky, and its gunman doubled as the |
| at high altitude with a larger fin, increased armor | | | | engineer. Take off and landing provision had been |
| protection, and ventral and tail turrets. The first of | | | | provided by the two aft-facing, seatbelt-equipped |
| these, which demonstrated 317-mph speeds, entered | | | | floor seats. A very narrow, single-foot-wide catwalk |
| service in the Pacific Theatre at the beginning of | | | | led through the bomb bay, whose under-fuselage |
| 1942 and 512 had ultimately been built. The B-17F, | | | | clamshell doors remained closed in flight, to the radio |
| which also appeared that year, featured the newly | | | | operator's station, which featured the radio |
| introduced long Plexiglas nose, paddle-wing propellers, | | | | operator's console itself, two tiny fuselage windows |
| an underwing rack provision, and even more powerful | | | | overlooking the wing, and another two aft-facing |
| armament, and resulted in a 3,405-production run. | | | | floor seats. The aircraft's main section housed the ball |
| The B-17G, the ultimate and most numerically popular | | | | turret, the waist gunners' stations, the |
| version, featured a chin turret, flush staggered waist | | | | considerably-sized windows, and five inward-facing |
| guns, and a 17,600-pound bomb load capability, and | | | | floor seats. Visible in its aft portion was the shock |
| was intended for European deployment. Its sheer | | | | absorber rod leading to the tail wheel. The tail |
| design capability, which had been far more ambitious | | | | gunner's station was located in the extreme aft |
| than any previous version, permitted a sufficient | | | | portion of the fuselage. The interior sported entirely |
| bomb and fuel load to be carried without retarding | | | | exposed dark green ribs and metal skin panels, with |
| range and accounted for an additional 8,685-unit | | | | the aircraft having been designed for functionality, |
| production. Both the B-17F and -G can be credited | | | | not comfort. |
| with the decimation of Germany. | | | | The B-17G operating today's flight continued to |
| So instrumental had the design been to the war, in | | | | straddle Long Island's South Shore, alternating course |
| fact, that Boeing, Lockheed, and Douglas had all | | | | by 180 degrees to a fly westerly heading before |
| simultaneously churned out copies in staggering | | | | retracing its steps in the opposite compass direction. |
| numbers, eventually totaling 12,731 airframes. | | | | The cockpit sported the two control yokes and the |
| A recent B-17 flight, in which I myself had "returned | | | | central pedestal with the throttle, mixture controls, |
| to World War II skies," had occurred from | | | | and prop pitch handles. A chart recommended ratios |
| Farmingdale's Republic Airport in Long Island, New | | | | of engine rpms to mixture settings. |
| York. | | | | A right bank turned the Flying Fortress to a |
| The aircraft, with production serial number 44-83575, | | | | 010-degree heading, at which time a throttle |
| had been built under contract from Boeing by the | | | | reduction gravity-induced the airframe down to 600 |
| Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California, | | | | feet for a characteristic fly-over of Republic Airport's |
| and had been accepted on April 7, 1945. Too late for | | | | Runway One, in the opposite direction to which it had |
| combat, the airframe had served as part of the Air | | | | taken off, at 145 mph. Even at this height, the |
| Sea 1st Rescue Squadron and the Military Air | | | | quad-engined bomber must have appeared colossal in |
| Transport Command. Seven years later, in April of | | | | comparison to the single-engined Pipers and Cessnas |
| 1952, it had been used to test the effects of three | | | | which normally plied its skies. |
| nuclear explosions and had finally been sold as part of | | | | Passing over the airport's perimeter, the B-17 turned |
| an 800-ton scrap pile after a 13-year cool-down | | | | to a due-east, 090-degree heading before arcing |
| period. | | | | 100-degrees to the right in order to configure itself |
| Fighting the fierce slipstream from the still-turning | | | | for its final approach to Runway 19. All too soon had |
| propellers, the six passengers climbed through the | | | | its six passengers been instructed to take their floor |
| aft, starboard hatch that September morning and | | | | seats and refasten their seatbelts in the various |
| clamored through the aircraft's interior toward one of | | | | sections. Lift lost due to progressive power |
| the nine, seatbelt-equipped floor seats. A throttle | | | | reductions was initially augmented by trailing edge flap |
| advancement, translating into a deeper engine | | | | extensions, only to be ultimately counteracted by |
| vibration, signaled brake release and preceded the | | | | drag-induced undercarriage deployment, as evidenced |
| short taxi to Runway 19's threshold, as the | | | | by the high shrill actuators piercing the interior like |
| electrical-mechanical system, sending a screech | | | | knives. Passing over the runway's threshold at a |
| through the interior, channeled its effects through the | | | | nose-down pitch, the pale green bomber first |
| aircraft's arteries and actuated the fabric-covered | | | | snatched concrete with its port wheel "paw" before |
| trailing edge flaps into their take off positions. The | | | | the physics forces of weight transfer caused the |
| tail, torquing at right angles to the ground, responded | | | | starboard wheel to mimic the action, and the runway |
| to periodic brake applications as its singular wheel | | | | surface friction depleted its ground speed sufficiently |
| rode the end of its shock absorber. Full throttle | | | | to remove the empennage from aerodynamic flight |
| advancement, flooding the cabin with vibration, | | | | and place it in trailing mode as a slight screech |
| initiated the B-17's take off roll, sending an | | | | indicated the groundward settling of its tail wheel. |
| overwhelming slipstream of air over the horizontal | | | | Marshaled into its parking position only feet from a |
| stabilizers which responded with incessant up- and | | | | B-24's high-wingtip, the B-17 rotated 180 degrees to |
| down-flutter in its wake. At 30 mph, the vertical tail | | | | the right on its tail wheel and starved its mighty |
| became fully effective, permitting the nose to be | | | | Wright Cyclone engines of fuel, diminishing their |
| aligned with the runway centerline. The empennage, | | | | propellers' rotations to stationary silences in the very |
| now a flying, though not-independent "airplane" itself, | | | | warm, still-summer air beneath flawlessly-blue skies. |
| gently rose from the concrete, as the Flying | | | | Climbing through the aft hatch, I stepped on to the |
| Fortress, in a momentary, horizontal position on its | | | | ramp. Because of the Flying Fortress's performance |
| pitch axis, generated sufficient lift and surrendered | | | | capabilities and ruggedness of design, post-World |
| itself to flight with its thick, straight, massive wings at | | | | War II skies had been assured of remaining blue |
| 90 mph and forwardly retracted its singular-wheeled | | | | ones... |
| bicycle undercarriage into the inboard engine wheel | | | | |