At 06:15 PM 5/7/01 -0700, Carol Kenyon wrote:
>
> Anyway, the Mosquito COULD carry ALMOST
>as much as the B-17.
That's not quite the whole story; this statement is true enough *over
l-o-n-g bombing missions.* On short runs, the B-17G could carry over 12,000
lbs of bombs in full trim, and, when stripped of guns, etc., not far short
of the weight of the Mosquito. It's important to remember that all those
.50 cals + AMMO were heavy and created a lot of power-robbing drag. In
stripped condition, the B-17's range was nearly intercontinental (cf. the
South American trips and the coast-to-coast runs in the late '30s). The
advantage of a heavy bomber is that it could trade weight for speed and
range, and vice versa.
For all its faults--in design, employment, and doctrine--the B-17 was a
magnificent aircraft.
Steve Allen
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