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Boeing B-17F Memphis Belle™

Boeing B-17F Memphis Belle

 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress flew in every combat zone during World War II, but its most significant service was over Europe.  Along with the B-24 Liberator, the B-17 formed the backbone of the USAAF strategic bombing force, and it helped win the war by crippling Germany’s war industry. 

 

The B-17’s design emphasized high altitude flight, speed, and heavy defensive armament in order to survive enemy defenses.  Advanced turbosupercharged engines allowed it to fly up to about 30,000 feet with a combat load, while powered turrets and flexible guns covered all areas around the aircraft.

 

Although the B-17 prototype flew in 1935, only a relatively small number of B-17s were in service when the US entered the war in 1941.  Production quickly increased, and three companies—Boeing, Lockheed-Vega, and Douglas—mass-produced Flying Fortresses by the thousands. 

 

The B-17F was the fastest model and the primary heavy bomber early in the strategic bombing campaign.  The later B-17G had a nose turret for better frontal defense, and it was also the most numerous, representing about two thirds of all B-17s made.  By the end of production in May 1945, more than 12,700 B-17s had been built. 

 

The aircraft on display, the famed B-17F Memphis Belle, became the first heavy bomber to return to the US after flying 25 missions over Europe.  The Memphis Belle, which had been on loan from the Air Force to the city of Memphis, was relocated to the Museum in 2005, and after years of meticulous restoration, it was placed on public display in May 2018.

 

TECHNICAL NOTES:

Crew: 10

Armament: Up to thirteen .50-cal machine guns and 8,000 lbs of bombs

Engines: Four 1,200 hp Wright R-1820-97 turbosupercharged radials

Maximum speed: 325 mph

Range: 2,800 miles

Combat radius: 600+ miles

Maximum ceiling: 37,500 ft

Empty weight: 35,728 lbs

Maximum gross weight: 48,720 lbs
 

 Related Fact Sheets

The Memphis Belle: American Icon and 25th Mission

Memphis Belle Crew

The “Memphis Belle” and Nose Art

26th Mission: War Bond Tour

Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress”

Heavy Bomber “Firsts”

Combat Aircraft to Museum Artifact

 

Crippling the Nazi War Machine: USAAF Strategic Bombing in Europe

Enabling Technologies

Key Leaders

Early Operations (1942 to mid-1943) - Eighth Air Force in England

Ninth/Twelfth Air Forces in the Mediterranean

Combat Box/Communication and Life at 25K

Keeping them Flying: Mechanics and Armorers

Combined Bomber Offensive: Summer 1943 to Victory

Bigger Raids, Bigger Losses, and Crisis

Deadly Skies over Europe (Luftwaffe defense)

Bomber Crew Protection

Operation Tidalwave (Ploesti, 1 Aug 43)

Regensburg/Schweinfurt (17 Aug 43)

Black Thursday/Schweinfurt (14 Oct 43)

Fifteenth Air Force (created Sep 43)

Gunners

Women’s Army Corps

Fighter Escort: Little Friends

Big Week (20-25 Feb 44)

Target Berlin

Operation Frantic: Shuttle Raids to the Soviet Union

Blind Bombing

D-Day Support

Strategic Bombing Victorious

Epilogue


Click here to return to the World War II Gallery.

Find Out More
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Videos
Vertical Stabilizer Installation (00:01:43)
Memphis Belle Restoration Milestones (00:03:13)
Restoring the Memphis Belle (00:08:43)
"Belle" An Ageless Beauty (00:04:27
Memphis Belle Historic and Guns in Restoration
B-17F Memphis Belle on ABC 2020 in 1986 produced by Pete Simmons with Hugh Downs
Lectures
Jeff Duford: "Memphis Belle: Restoring an Icon" (00:57:22)
Jeff Duford "Memphis Belle" Exhibit Training 
Dr. Harry Friedman "Dispelling the Myths of the Memphis Belle"
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Air Force Museum Foundation
View Memphis Belle products in the Museum Store
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Other Resources
Memphis Belle Memorial Association/Lausanne Collegiate School Website Project
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