B-17 Texas Raiders Gulf Coast Wing
Description:
Base:
Spring, TX
Website:
| B-17 Specs | |
|---|---|
| Role | Heavy Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Introduced | April 1938 |
| Produced | 1936-1945 |
| Power | 4 × Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 HP each |
| Length | 74 ft 4 in |
| Height | 19 ft 1 in |
| Wingspan | 103 ft 9 in |
| Range | 2,000 mi |
Texas Raiders B-17GTexas Raiders is one of the most recognized and famous Flying Fortresses currently on the airshow circuit. It has been recognized by AIR CLASSICS magazine as the best restored B-17G bomber currently flying in the world. The aircraft has been restored to wartime configuration by an entirely volunteer group of dedicated supporters. The aircraft has one of the most unusual histories of any existing Flying Fortresses flying today and is one of the most active and visible.
Condensed from: Texas Raiders The History of a famous Flying Fortress Operated by the Commemorative Air Force Copyright © by Col. Everett K. Gibson, Jr. PhD
The B-17 was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets. The United States Eighth Air Force, based at many airfields in central and southern England, and the Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, complemented the RAF Bomber Command's nighttime area bombing in the Combined Bomber Offensive to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for the invasion of France in 1944. The B-17 also participated to a lesser extent in the War in the Pacific, early in World War II, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields.
--Wikipedia
