Who Built The Legendary B-17 Flying Fortress Bombers And Where Were They Made

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the extraordinary B-17 Flying Fortress bomber played an enormous part in the Allied victory in World War II. The B-17 was the most prolific bomber in the U.S. arsenal during the conflict. It played a crucial part in such campaigns as the Combined Bomber Offensive, which saw B-17s and B-24s conduct daylight attacks on areas deemed strategically important to the Axis war effort. Their British counterparts, meanwhile, would bomb their own targets during the night. 

The Flying Fortress was a hefty aircraft to say the least, at 74 feet, four inches in length, weighing upwards of 65,500 lbs and with a payload weighing up to 17,600 lbs when specially equipped. Warfare is a time when the heftiest military machines have to be developed in the highest quantities possible, when resources are as stretched as they can be. What nations had to do was prioritize those vehicles and weapons they thought would ultimately bring them victory. For the United States and its allies, the enormous Flying Fortress was one of those weapons, and so it became a great production priority. In all, 12,700 of them were made during the war.

As a Boeing model, it follows naturally that the U.S. aviation heavyweight did the lion's share of the B-17 construction, which it did at its plant in Seattle, Washington. Parham Airfield Museum notes that the earlier variants of the Flying Fortress were exclusively built here, a total of 646 aircraft. However, on the introduction of the B-17F variant, two other manufacturers were licensed to make the aircraft too: Douglas, at its plant in Long Beach, and Lockheed (then known as Vega), at its own in Burbank. 

Both civilian and military aircraft, when they have a long service life, often go through a period of several variants. With the Flying Fortress, its two distinct variants were each introduced in an effort to strengthen some of the key characteristics of the aircraft. The curious thing about the B-17 is that it was created to be both (relatively) fast and resilient, able to defend itself and absorb significant damage. It was undoubtedly one of the most legendary aircraft from World War II. 

The B-17F was capable of speeds of up to 325 mph, which was certainly a feat from a quartet of R-1820-97 engines from Wright offering a combined 4,800 horsepower. The last variant created was the B-17G, and for it (perhaps acknowledging that the Flying Fortresses had sustained heavy casualties, being such priority targets), the manufacturers decided that it would benefit more from a greater focus on weaponry. Its unique feature, then, was what Boeing describes as a "two-gun power turret under the nose," positioned to help the crew defend this hard-to-fortify spot on the aircraft.

8,680 B-17G variants were built: 4,035 by Boeing itself in Seattle, with Lockheed making 2,250. In the middle was Douglas, with the remaining 2,395. That leaves the speedy B-17F variant, and again, Boeing took the lead with its two Californian licensees bringing up the rear. 2,300 B-17Fs were built by Boeing, and 605 were built by Douglas in Long Beach. Meanwhile, in Burbank, 500 of them were manufactured by Vega personnel. 

The Flying Fortresses, though they were defensive monsters and bristling with guns to deter attackers, were huge targets (in both sheer size and strategic importance), and so losses were great. Both sides, of course, threw everything they possibly could at enemy bombers, from fighters to anti-air guns, and the end result of this was that over 8,000 U.S. bombers were destroyed while flying missions.

Of the 12,731 B-17s that were built in total by the three manufacturers, Imperial War Museums reports that "around 5,000 of these aircraft were lost in accidents or shot down," adding the further sobering detail that, "during the first year of the US ... campaign over Germany, only 36% of bomber crewmen made it through their required tour of 25 missions." It was among the most-used bombers in the Allies' arsenal during the war, but at the end of hostilities in 1945, quickly became obsolete. The outlet goes on to note that many were fated to be taken apart and any scrap salvaged, and as of 2022, only around 50 B-17s remained.

The Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum owns a B-17, dubbed "Sentimental Journey." It boasts that this model, a B-17G, is a member of a very select group indeed: Only four other Flying Fortresses on the planet are still flying today. Some remarkable United States bombers have taken to the skies since, such as the vast strategic bomber that is the Corvair B-36 Peacemaker, but few have quite the legacy or the status that the Flying Fortress would earn.