The Flying Fortress is the first aircraft highlighted by ChatGPT. This is the earliest bomber on the list, and one of the first American-made bombing aircraft to roll out of a factory. The first was GMB-1, lifting off on its maiden flight in 1918. But less than 20 years later, the B-17 launched for the first time on July 28, 1935; its four engines and menacing collage of mounted machine guns led Richard Smith of the Seattle Times to nickname the plane the Flying Fortress as it left the Boeing hangar to complete its first flight.
B-17s became ubiquitous during the Second World War, and Boeing Plant 2 alone built nearly 7,000 of them (across varying model-specific types). 5,745 additional B-17s were built by other manufacturers to quickly add to the Allied war effort. So important was the Flying Fortress that the U.S. air commander in Europe, General Carl Spaatz, once said: “without the B-17 we may have lost the war.”
The most recognizable configuration was the B-17E with a measured wingspan of 103 feet, 9 inches, and a maximum takeoff weight of 48,726 pounds. The aircraft could reach a maximum speed of 318 miles per hour at 25,000 feet and was able to extend its altitude to an operational ceiling of 30,000 feet. It could achieve a typical range of 2,000 miles with a standard 6,000-pound bomb load. This aircraft carried 11 total 50-caliber machine guns and as high of a bomb load as 17,600 pounds.
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