AIR CORPS, MATERIEL DIVISION
November 22, 1941
MEMORANDUM REPORT ON
Boeing B-17E Airplane, A.C. No. 41-2399
Subject: Acceptance Performance Tests
Section:Flying Branch
Serial No.:PHQ-M-19-1315-A
A. Purpose
1. To report on acceptance performance tests conducted at the manufacturer's plant on the B-17E airplane, A.C. No. 41-2399. Airplane equipped with four (4) Wright R-1820-65 engines with torque meters; exhaust driven turbo superchargers; 3-bladed constant speed propellers, blade design No. 6153A-18, blade angle range 21° - 88° at 42" radius. Landing gear retracted, wing flaps neutral, inter-cooler shutters wide open unless otherwise specified. Airplane loaded to design gross weight of 40,260 lbs., c.g. location 28.4%, except for range tests. De-icer equipment in place, marker beacon, radio compass, liaison and command set antennae in place. Airplane not camouflaged, armament in stowed position. (two .50 cal.guns in tail, two .50 cal. guns in top fuselage turret, and two ,50 cal. guns in belly turret. Nose guns not in place but supporting brackets installed in windows and nose.)
B. Test Results
1.Level flight speeds; cowl flaps closed:
| Altitude Ft. |
True Speed MPH |
B.H.P. per Engine |
R.P.M. | Specific Fuel Consumption "Auto Lean" Lb/BHP/Hr |
Specific Fuel Consumption "Auto Rich" Lb/BHP/Hr |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25,200 | 317.0 | 1200 | 2500 | - | - | |
| 25,200 | 297.0 | 1000 | 2300 | - | - | |
| 25,200 | 261.0 | 750 | 2000 | - | - | |
| 25,200 | 202.0 | 475 | 1750 | - | - | |
| 15,000 | 289.0 | 1200 | 2500 | - | - | |
| 15,000 | 271.5 | 1000 | 2300 | - | .63 | |
| 15,000 | 243.0 | 750 | 2000 | .48 | .525 | |
| 15,000 | 228.0 | 650 | 1900 | .44 | .50 | |
| 15,000 | 219.0 | 600 | 1800 | .44 | .495 | |
| 15,000 | 210.0 | 550 | 1650 | .44 | .49 | |
| 15,000 | 194.0 | 475 | 1550 | .445 | .49 | |
| 15,000 | 178.0 | 415 | 1450 | .45 | .495 | |
| 15,000 | 143.0 | 365 | 1350 | - | - | |
| 5,000 | 250.0 | 1000 | 2300 | - | - | |
| 5,000 | 214.0 | 650 | 1950 | - | - |
5. Climbs with turbo superchargers on to give 1000 bhp per engine up to critical altitude for 21,300 rpm on turbo. Climbs continued with turbos operating at 21,300 rpm.
| Altitude Ft. |
True Speed MPH |
R.P.M. | Average B.H.P. per Engine |
Rate of Climb Ft/Min. |
Time of Climb Min. |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 127 | 2300 | 1000 | 1430 | 0 | |
| 5,000 | 137 | 2300 | 1000 | 1410 | 3.5 | |
| 10,000 | 147 | 2300 | 1000 | 1350 | 7.1 | |
| 15,000 | 159 | 2300 | 1000 | 1230 | 11.0 | |
| 20,000 | 172 | 2300 | 1000 | 1050 | 15.4 | |
| 25,000 | 184 | 2300 | 1000 | 850 | 20.6 | |
| 28,000 | 194 | 2300 | 1000 | 720 | 24.4 | |
| 30,000 | 199 | 2300 | 970 | 610 | 27.4 | |
| 35,000 | 208 | 2300 | 810 | 230 | 40.1 | |
| 36,000 | 211 | 2300 | 770 | 100 | 50.0 |
AIR CORPS, MATERIEL DIVISION
September 7, 1942
MEMORANDUM REPORT ON
Boeing B-17F airplane, AC No. 41-24340
Subject: Acceptance Performance Tests
Section: Flight
Serial No.: FS-M-19-1470-A
A. Purpose
1.To report on acceptance performance tests conducted at the manufacturer's plant on the B-17F airplane, AC No. 41-24340. Airplane equipped with four (4) Wright R-1820-65 engines with torque meters; exhaust driven turbo superchargers; three-bladed constant speed, full feathering propellers, blade design No. 6477A-0. blade angel range 20° - 88° at 42 inch radius. Landing gear retracted, wing flaps neutral, intercooler shutters wide open unless otherwise specified. Tests were conducted under two load conditions: a gross weight of approximately 41,000 pounds (c.g. location 23.33 percent m.a.c., wheels up) and a gross weight of approximately 56,000 pounds (c.g. location 23.68 percent m.a.c., wheels up) De-icer equipment in place, marker beacon, radio compass, liaison and command set antenna in place. Armament in stowed position: two .50 caliber machine guns, B.A.C. type tail installation; two .50 caliber machine guns, Turret, lower ball, model BT (Briggs Manufacturing Company); two .50 caliber machine guns, Turret, Upper (Sperry Company); nose guns not in place but supporting brackets installed in windows and nose.
MATERIEL COMMAND
March 29, 1944
MEMORANDUM REPORT ON
B-17G Airplane, AAF No. 42-97656
Subject: Speed Tests with Various Finish Configurations
Section: Flight
Serial No.: Eng-47-1722-A
A. Purpose
1. To report results of flight tests on B-17G airplane, AAF No. 42-97656, to determine the effects of various finishes on speed. The types of finishes tested were as follows:
a.Unpainted
b.Painted with standard camouflage paint.
c.Camouflage paint, sanded, waxed and polished.
B.Factual Data
4.The results of level flight power calibrations run at 5100 ft. and at 24,900 ft. under three finish configurations are given in the following table. Curves showing test points are given on page A-1.
Cowl flaps closed, intercooler flaps wide open, throttles wide open and turbo on to give desired manifold pressure.
| True Speed - MPH | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude | 5100 | 24,900 | ||||
| Condition | (a) | (b) | (c) | (a) | (b) | (c) |
| Military Power 1200 Torque H.P. | 248.5 | 250.5 | 250.5 | 297.5 | 300 | 300 |
| Normal Power 1000 Torque H.P. | 232.5 | 234.5 | 234.5 | 277.5 | 280 | 280 |
| 800 Torque H.P. | 213 | 215 | 215 | 251.5 | 255 | 255 |
| 700 Torque H.P. | 200.5 | 203 | 203 | 234 | - | 238.5 |
AIR TECHNICAL SERVICE COMMAND
June 20, 1945
MEMORANDUM REPORT ON
B-17G Airplane, AAF No. 43-37746
Subject:
Office:
Serial No.:
A. Purpose
1.The purpose of this test was to obtain complete airplane and engine performance at all altitudes and gross weights plus investigating the stability characteristics.
B. Factual Data
4.Level Flight Performance
The following level flight performance at the military and normal rated power settings was obtained with mixture auto rich, cowl flaps closed, intercoolers wide open, and gear and flaps up.
| Military Power 2500 RPM & 46" Hg. MP |
Normal Rated Power 2300 RPM & 38" Hg. MP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude Feet | Gross Wt. Lbs. | True Speed MPH | BHP per Engine | True Speed MPH | BHP per Engine |
| S.L. | 54,400 | 224 | 1170 | 206.5 | 935 |
| 5,000 | 54,050 | 241 | 1200 | 223 | 960 |
| 15,000 | 53,300 | 273.5 | 1240 | 252 | 1010 |
| 25,000 | 52,300 | 296 | 1220 | 277 | 1020 |
| 10,120 | 60,000 | 255 | 1210 | 235 | 990 |
| 10,330 | 62,800 | - | - | 230 | 990 |
| 15,360 | 62,300 | 265 | 1220 | 243 | 1010 |
5.Climbs:
One climb (Figures 10 and 11 of Appendix A) was run at a take-off gross weight of 57,650 pounds, cowl flaps wide open, calibrated airspeed 138 MPH and 2300 RPM and 38 inches of mercury. The results are as follows:
| Altitude Feet |
BHP per Engine |
Rate of Climb Ft. pre Min. |
Time to Climb Minutes |
Gross Weight Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.L. | 985 | 720 | 0 | 57,600 |
| 10,000 | 990 | 640 | 14.5 | 56,950 |
| 15,000 | 995 | 550 | 22.5 | 56.570 |
| 25,000 | 1015 | 270 | 47.5 | 55,550 |
Supplemental
B-17B Summary of Characteristics and Performance Summary
Memorandum Report on Boeing B-17B Airplane, A.C. No. 38-211
Memorandum Report on Performance Comparison Between the B-17E and B-24D Airplanes
B-17F Flight Operation Data
B-17G Maximum Speed, Military Power, 1200 BHP per Engine.
B-17G - Rate of Climb
B-17G - Range vs Bomb Load
B-17G - Service Ceiling
B-17G Standard Aircraft Characteristics
Fortress B. Mk. II Data Sheet
Fortress IIA Data Sheet
Fortress B. Mk. III Data Sheet
