The Guns of the B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber

It is no understatement to say that the B-17 bomber is one of the most famous airplanes to fly a mission. Today we look at the hardware that lived up to its well-deserved "Flying Fortress" name.

When it first flew in 1935, the original B-17 wasn't very well equipped with defensive gun armament; after all, its main armament was its massive 5,000-pound bomb load.

The YB-17 prototypes had a single gun up front, two in side nacelles, one for the radio operator, and one below – just five all told, all with limited fields of fire. (National Museum of the Air Force)

Wartime experience soon changed this, and by the time the B-17G model took to the air, it carried 13 .50-caliber air-cooled machine guns and almost 7,500 rounds of ammunition to keep them firing. While a few of the bomber's crew were dedicated gunners, everyone save for the pilot and co-pilot had a gun at their disposal and were expected to use it if needed.

8th Air Force B-17G Flying Fortresses Drop Bombs On Berlin, Germany 26 February 1945. — Eighth Air Force B-17G Flying Fortresses drop bombs on Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 26, 1945.

Starting at the front of the plane, the bombardier had a Bendix chin turret below the bomber with two guns and 1,460 rounds of ammunition.

B-17 Bendix chin turret — The right shows a bombardier at the controls of his chin turret, while the image on the left shows Lt. J. Locher in front of the chin turret of B-17G 42-31040, “Duffy’s Tavern” of the 8th Air Force's 401St Bomb Group. Duffy's Tavern was lost on the Frankfurt raid in January 1944.

Behind the bombardier, the navigator manned two cheek guns, one on each side of the plane, each with 200 rounds.

Lt. Dunstan T. Abel, navigator of the B-17F "Fertile Myrtle," announced he was buying a war bond to replace the barrel of the .50-caliber machine gun he burned out in shooting down a German Messerschmitt. Myrtle later crashed over Germany in 1945, with all 10 of her crew taken prisoner.

Moving past the cockpit where the pilot and co-pilot flew the plane, the upper turret held two .50 cals, each with 400 rounds.

B-17 upper turret gunner — The upper turret gunner in his position – note the hanging belts of .50 cal. To the right, a photo of damage to the front window of the upper turret of a B-17 during the mission to bomb the submarine yard at Kiel in May 1943.

Behind the upper turret, the B-17's radio operator had a .50 cal in his turret, with 200 rounds ready to swat away at an attacker diving from above.

Past the radio operator's cabin, on the floor of the bomber, was the ball turret gunner in a revolutionary Sperry turret.

B-17 ball turret gunner — The only position that could defend the belly of the plane from attackers rising from below, the ball turret gunner had two .50 cals, each with 500 rounds of ammo. It was an incredibly cramped position.

Moving past the ball turret, two waist gunners stood, one at an opening on each side of the fuselage, with a flexible .50 cal and 1,200 rounds of ammunition – the largest amount of precious ammo allocated for any of the Fort's guns.

B-17 Waist gunners — Waist gunners, shown in PR shots, as while in the air they would have had oxygen masks, gloves, and heated suits.

Waist gunners suits — The temperature in the exposed waist of a B-17 at an operating altitude of 28,000 feet could dip to 42 degrees below zero, requiring several layers of serious cold weather gear for these gunners.

The guns even had heaters, such as this 24-volt DC AN-J4 on a Frigidaire-made M2.

Speaking of protective gear, each member of the crew typically had a knife for use in cutting away parachute shrouds should they have to join the "caterpillar club," along with a sidearm, which we have covered previously.

Then there were flak vests, early body armor meant to protect against incoming shrapnel from enemy anti-aircraft guns.

flak vests B-17 crews — The first use of a flak vest was by the 8th Air Force's 91st Bomb Group ("The Ragged Irregulars") in December 1942, and just eight days into the test, the gear prevented an airman from being killed. The image to the left is a member of the 91st who had a piece of flak embedded in his vest (impact spot circled) on a mission, while the photo to the right shows a bombardier navigator with his distinctive apron-style vest while the pilot's is more umpire-shaped, each to accommodate for equipment. Of note, the 91st Bomb Group B-17F in the background of the photo, #42-29921 "Oklahoma Okie," was lost to enemy fire on Dec. 31, 1943, over occupied France with five crew killed and the other five captured.

Finally, we have the tail gunner at the end of the bomber, responsible for covering the Fort's rear. The gunner in that remote spot, separate from the rest of the plane, had a pair of .50 cals with 565 rounds each.

B-17 tail gunner — The tail gunner's spot was a tough one to love, especially on long missions, but was vitally important.

In all, over 12,731 B-17s were built between 1936 and 1945, and a staggering 4,735 were lost during combat missions – one in three. The Eighth Air Force, which operated the bulk of B-17s in the European war, conducted more than 600,000 sorties – combat flights by a single aircraft. They also paid a terrible price.

As noted by the National Museum of The Mighty Eighth Air Force:

Mighty Eighth airmen suffered the most casualties of any command in World War II – 26,000 were killed in action; another 28,000 became prisoners of war. Their valor was unparalleled. As the teenagers and young men of the Eighth battled the enemy at 25,000 feet, such bravery earned them 17 Medals of Honor, 220 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and more than 420,000 Air Medals.

We would like to thank the Pima Air & Space Museum outside of Tucson, Arizona, and the National Museum of The Mighty Eighth Air Force in Pooler, Georgia. If you are ever near one, please carve out some time and visit with some of the few remaining B-17s and find out more about the brave aviators who flew them.

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