Different B-17 color(s)?

[DJ111]

Are we ever going to have an Olive Drab B-17? I hate this shiny skin it has , its just too..........shiny:cool:

      Anyone else agree?    Olive drab over......shiny?


        Anyways   i thought only B-17E had shiny skin... our B-17 is a
        G    right?

[Tumor]

Would be nice

[Steven]

Agree.

I'd also like to see the P-51D get a makeover.  And, would love to see an early green P-38 for the Pacific (along with a host of Japanese planes to combat.)

[SuperD]

[Animal]

Olive 17, Olive 51, and most importantly, Olive 38

Would be orgasmic!

[SuperD]

Quotes from: Bob's B-17 Page

Here is something I found interesting about some variants of the B-17F:

Beginning with B-17F-30-BO, B-17F-20-DL, and B-17F-20-VE, external bomb racks were fitted under the inner wings for the carriage of two 4000-pounds bombs. This brought the maximum short-range bombload to 17,600 pounds. Under certain conditions, eight 1600-pound bombs could be carried internally and two 4000-pound bombs externally, raising the total load to 20,800 pounds. However, with such a load the effective range was quite small and all maneuvers were severely restricted. Consequently, external bombs were only rarely carried by the B-17F. Although all subsequent models had lugs and controls for their attachment, the underwing racks were not installed at the factory.

Everybody knows that some B-17Fs were modified with extra guns and turrets and called YB-40s:

They converted a standard Boeing-built B-17F (serial number 41-24341) to escort configuration by adding a dorsal turret in the radio compartment position carring a pair of 0.50-cal machine guns, a chin turret underneath the nose equipped with a pair of 0.50 cal machine guns, and twin gun mounts instead of the usual single gun mounts at each waist position. The regular top, belly, and tail turrets were retained, bringing total defensive armament to fourteen 0.50-inch machine guns.

but here is the perk YB-40 that we should be begging for in game:

A variety of different armament configurations was tried. Some YB-40s were fitted with four-gun nose and tail turrets. Some carried cannon of up to 40-mm in calibre, and a few carried up to as many as 30 guns of various calibres in multiple hand-held positions in the waist as well as in additional power turrets above and below the fuselage! Oddly enough, there don't seem to have been any photographs ever published of these 30-gun YB-40s (insofar as I am aware), although I have seen some drawings.

the YB-40 was to have one lasting impact--the chin turret originally introduced on the YB-40 was later adopted as standard for the B-17G series.

The B-17G was introduced onto the Fortress production line in July of 1943...Camouflage paint was deleted from production B-17Gs starting in January of 1944.[/QUOTE

[SuperD]

Quotes from: Bob's B-17 Page

Since so many B-17s were lost over Europe, it comes as no surprise that not a few Fortresses fell into Axis hands, either by being forced to land on German airfields or by the Germans piecing together flyable examples from the bits and pieces of crashed aircraft. By various means, the Germans were able to put about forty Fortresses back into the air, which is a rather sizable force, so much so that the Luftwaffe can be counted as a major B-17 user!

Most captured B-17s were given high visibility German national markings and used for the training of fighter pilots in the development of tactics that would be effective against USAAF-operated Fortresses. However, some were flown in their original USAAF markings for various clandestine purposes such as sneak penetrations of Allied territory, the dropping of agents, or the supplying of secret bases. The most well-known Luftwaffe unit to operate the captured B-17 in such a fashion was the notorious I/K.G.200. The exploits of I/K.G.200 are sort of shadowy and not much is written about this outfit in most histories of World War 2. One of their better-known exploits took place in the spring of 1944 in the Western desert (long after Rommel had been run out of Africa) and involved the use of captured B-17s and other Allied aircraft for the construction and maintenance of a series of secret airstrips and fuel dumps. A captured Fortress was used to parachute agents into Jordan in October of 1944. In Luftwaffe service, the B-17 was assigned the cover designation of "Dornier Do 200".

There are reports that at least one captured B-17 was used by the Luftwaffe as a decoy. It would follow returning USAAF B-17 formations, pretending to be a crippled straggler and hoping to draw a B-17 out of the formation to cover it against fighter attack during the flight home. Once the protective B-17 closed in, the decoy would fire at it with its own guns or would call in German fighters to finish it off. This practice was enough of a threat that USAAF bomber formations would often fire upon an approaching straggler that could not be positively identified.

In the Pacific theatre, most USAAC B-17s were destroyed on the ground during the first few days of the war. However, the Japanese advance was so rapid that Allied forces were often forced to leave some of their aircraft behind as they retreated. As a result, the Japanese forces managed to obtain a collection of different types of Allied aircraft that they were able to put back into the air with fairly little effort. The Japanese obtained at least three Fortresses--two B-17Ds and one early B-17E--which were flown to Japan for use in a public display of captured enemy aircraft. These captured B-17s were used for careful evaluation of their capabilities and the development of fighter tactics against them.

I wonder if these were ever painted in some type of historical German or Japanese camoflague.

[SuperD]

On one occasion the Germans tried dropping bombs from a captured B-17 onto a formation attacking the Rhineland. Luckily, the bombs didn't explode as they crunched through this 331st Bomb Group B-17's wing trailing edge.
Text and photo source: Air Classics magazine, July 1972:



A ground launched rocket missile caused this damage to 388BG's "Panhandle" during an attack on a V-weapon site, June 15, 1944. The missile struck number 3 engine, ricocheted into the fuselage and exploded, leaving Sgt Biggs, the top turret gunner, with nasty burns. Despite extensive damage to various control lines Lt McFarlane brought the bomber down safely at Manston.
Source: Mighty Eighth War Diary by Roger A. Freeman: (perk surface to air missle launchers!)



A 500 pound bomb smashed right through the nose of 305BG B-17 42-102555,KY:F, over the target on July 18, 1944. The navigator, Lt L.J. Simpson, was killed. (via M. Gibson)
Source: Mighty Eighth War Diary by Roger A. Freeman:

[BenDover]

A variety of different armament configurations was tried. Some YB-40s were fitted with four-gun nose and tail turrets. Some carried cannon of up to 40-mm in calibre, and a few carried up to as many as 30 guns of various calibres in multiple hand-held positions in the waist as well as in additional power turrets above and below the fuselage! Oddly enough, there don't seem to have been any photographs ever published of these 30-gun YB-40s (insofar as I am aware), although I have seen some drawings

so how do we know these are not just ideas of some crazy bomber commander?

[whgates3]

[BenDover]

ah, but did it fly alot?

[whgates3]

no - it didn't fly much at all - after the B-17s dropped their loads the YB-40 was too slow to protect them. the only bomber squad to have the yb-40 assigned to it for combat was the 327th Bomber Squadron of the 92nd Bombardment Group

[SuperD]

would be nifty if when you had a gunner join your 3box B17 formation that one of the planes could be converted to a YB40 for a few perk points.