B 17 Pilot S Flight Operating Instructions

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was the first mass-produced, four-engine heavy bomber. The plane earned a reputation during WWII for its toughness and versatility. Originally printed by the Army Air Force, this B-17 Bomber Pilot's Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know about the "Queen of the Skies."

The Boeing B-17 was the first mass-produced, four-engine heavy bomber. Used throughout World War II for strategic bombing, the plane earned a reputation for its toughness and versatility. Carrying a crew of ten, and 8,000 pounds of bombs on long range missions, the '17 wreaked havoc on Germany during the critical years 1942-45. The ""Memphis Belle,"" the first B-17 to fly 25 missions over Europe, is perhaps the most famous plane to emerge from the European Theatre. Originally printed by the United States Army Air Force in December of 1942, the B-17 Bomber Pilot's Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know about the "Queen of the Skies." Originally classified "Restricted," the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted, and color images appear as black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

A facsimile reproduction of the original 1943 pilot's manual for the B-17F "Flying Fortress" bomber.

Airplane; B-17F and B-17G; Power Plant; Wright R-1820-97; Turbosuperchargers; General Electric B-2; Propellers; Automatic Engine Control; Hydraulic System; Fuel System; Oil System; Electrical System; Heating; Vacuum and De-icing System; Oxygen System; Communication Equipment. Section 2: Pilot's Operating Instructions Restrictions; Operational Equipment; Control Panel; Checklists. Section 3: Emergency Instructions Hand cranks; Emergency Operation of Landing Gear; Emergency Operation of Tail Wheel; Emergency Operation of Bomb Bay Doors; Emergency Bomb Release; Fire in Flight; Emergency Brake Operation; Warning Signals; First Aid Kits; Abandoning Airplane in Flight; Forced Descent at Sea; Emergency Operation of Radio Equipment. Section 4: Bombardier's Compartment Bomb Controls; Bomb Release Sequence Diagrams; Maximum Airplane Glide and Climb Angles for Bomb Release; 1100 pound M-33; 300 pound MK.I MK.IMI; 100 pound M-38A2; 100 pound M-30; 2000 pound M-34; 600 pound M-32; 600 pound MK.IMI MK.IMII; 300 pound M-31; 100 pound MK.I MK.IMI MK.IMII 500 pound M-43; 1100 pound MK. III; 1600 pound MK. III; 1000 pound M-44; 100 pound M-39; Bombardier's Guns; Interphone; Oxygen; Bomb-sight Window Defroster; Windshield Wiper and Anti-icer; Bomb-sight Heating Pad. Section 5: Navigator's Compartment Lighting; Fire Extinguisher; Interphone; Oxygen; Heating and Ventilating Inlet; Drift Meter Master Switch; Radio Compass Receiver; Aperiodic Compass. Section 6: Upper Turret General; Preflight Check; Adjacent Equipment. Section 7: Bomb Bay Lighting; Oxygen; Emergency Equipment; Bomb Rack Selector Switches; Hand Transfer or Refueling Pump; Auxiliary Wing Fuel Cell Shut-off Valves; Relief Tube. Section 8: Radio Compartment Lighting; Emergency Equipment; Oxygen Controls; Heating and Ventilating Inlet; Interphone Controls; Communications Equipment; SCR-274-N Command Set; SCR-287-A Liaison Set; SCR-269-G Radio Compass Set; RC-36 Interphone Equipment; RC-43 Marker Beacon Equipment; SCR-518-A Radio Altimeter; SCR-535-A IFF Radio Set; Frequency Meter; Radio Compartment Gun; Camera Pit; Type T-3A Installation; Type K-3B Installation; Type K-7C Installation. Section 9: Ball Turret General; Entering the Turret; Preflight Check; Operation; Interphone; Suit Heater; Oxygen; Adjacent Equipment. Section 10: Side Gunner's Compartment Lighting; Interphone Controls; Suit Heater Outlet; Oxygen; Emergency Equipment; Gun Operation. Section 11: Tail Gunner's Compartment Entrance; Lighting; Interphone; Oxygen; Suit Heater Outlet.

With the first prototype rolling off the assembly line in 1935, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was the world's first truly mass-produced four engined heavy bomber. The B-17 was used as the backbone of the US Army Air Force's strategic bomber forces through all theaters of the Second World War. Used as a strategic bomber from Europe to Burma to the Pacific and North Africa, the B-17 earned a well-deserved reputation for bomb load, firepower, versatility and sheer ruggedness of the airframe. The B-17 carried a crew of 10 and the aircraft routinely hauled thousands of pounds of bombs on long-range "Aluminum Overcast" bombing missions Carrying a crew of ten, and 8,000 pounds of bombs on long range missions, the B-17 wreaked havoc on Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan during the most critical years of the Second World War. Printed by the U.S. Army Air Force's Office of Flying Safety in 1944, this B-17 Bomber Pilot's Flight Operating Manual was an easy-to-read reference book which at a glance reminded B-17 pilots everything they needed to know about the "Fort." Originally classified "Restricted", the manual was declassified long ago and is presented here, reprinted in book format with similar dimensions to the original manual and packed with historic photographs and lavishly illustrated with two-color graphics and charts. With originals becoming exceedingly rare, and with a price tag to match, this classic manual is a perfect lower-cost reference copy for aviation or military history enthusiasts. We are proud to have been able to remaster and restore our original copy in order bring this iconic aviation manual back into print.

The Boeing B-29 was one of the most sophisticated aircraft of WWII. It featured many innovations including guns that could be fired by remote control and pressurized crew compartments. It was also the heaviest production plane of the war with terrific range and bomb carrying capabilities. Carrying a crew of ten, the Superfortress devastated Japan in a series of gigantic raids in 1944-45. In the end it would be the B-29s "Enola Gay" and "Bock's Car" that dropped the atomic bombs and effectively ended the conflict. Originally printed by the United States Army Air Force in January of 1944, the B-29 Bomber Pilot's Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know about the "Superfort" Originally classified "Restricted," the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted, and color images appear as black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

En instruktionsbog (Flight Manual) for B-47 Stratojet.

Flown by the American Volunteer Group in China known as the "Flying Tigers," the P-40 Warhawk earned a reputation for its toughness in combat. Facing odds of 6 to 1 in most combat situations, AVG pilots relied on their skill, daring and their aircraft's superior diving speed to achieve victory. By war's end the Tigers had destroyed more than 1200 Japanese planes, with another 700 listed as probables. Their own losses came to 573 aircraft. Originally printed by the U.S. Army Air Force for pilots transitioning to the P-40, this flight manual contains detailed information about one of history's great planes. Originally classified as "restricted," the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. Some color images appear in black and white, and some pages have been slightly reformatted. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.