<text id=00he0409><title>Birth of the B-17</title>
<history>US Air Force: Events History</history>
<article><hdr>Birth of the B-17</hdr><body>
<p>In May 1934, the Air Corps circulated requests for design proposals for a multi-engined bomber. Everybody assumed that multi-engined meant two engines, except for Boeing, who interpreted it to mean multi-engined and developed its Model 299. It was a four-engined heavyweight that gave Boeing the unique distinction of having revolutionized bomber design twice in five years. Model 299 first flew on 28 July 1935, and was ferried to Wright Field for official tests on 20 August. It made the flight non-stop, 2,000 miles (3,218 km) at an average speed of 252 mph (405 km/h). Model 299 crashed on 30 October, when the Army pilot neglected to unlock the controls before take-off.
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<p>No matter; the new bomber was such a major improvement over any other bomber in the air or on the drawing boards that its success was assured. It went into production as the B-17 Flying Fortress, the progenitor of the long-range, heavy strategic bomber that the Air Corps had been seeking for so long.
