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U.S.A.A.F. RESOURCE CENTER > BOMBERS > FLYING FORTRESS > VARIANTS > PREVIOUS PAGE

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BOEING B-17 FLYING FORTRESS
Variants - YB-17A (Y1B-17A)

The aircraft that became the sole Y1B-17A (serial # 37-369) was originally ordered as a static test bed. However, when one of the Y1B-17s survived an inadvertent violent spin during a flight in a thunderhead, Air Corps leaders decided that the plane was exceptionally robust and that there would be no need for static testing. Instead, it was used as a testbed for engine types. After studying a variety of configurations, use of a ventral-nacelle-mount turbocharger position was settled on for each engine. This General Electric-manufactured turbocharger became standard on the first production model, and allowed it to fly higher and faster than the Y1B-17. When testing was complete the Y1B-17A was renamed the B-17A.

Boeing YB-17A Flying Fortress/37-369.

First Flight: April 29, 1938
Produced: 1

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Sources:
Wikipedia

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U.S.A.A.F. RESOURCE CENTER > BOMBERS > FLYING FORTRESS > VARIANTS > PREVIOUS PAGE

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