What is the b-17 long-range bomber nicknamed in world war 2?

Answer 1

B-17 is an American bomber (flying fortress). The Germans had other models of aircrafts.

Of the American B-17s, the Memphis Belle is the most famous, the first to survive twenty-five bombing missions. American fighter pilots were required to fly fifty missions, and American bomber crews were required to fly twenty-five.

Many B-17s crash landed in German held territory. So the Germans had several captured B-17s. These were used for training German pilots. Allied pilots reported seeing unmarked B-17s shadowing bomber formations just out of range of the allied guns. These were believed to crewed by Luftwaffe personnel.

The mission requirements for bomber crews was raised from 25 to 30 as the war progressed and experienced crews were needed to continue the air offensive against Germany. Fighter pilots mission requirements were measured in "combat hours". The requirement being set at 200 combat hours.

Suggested Reading:

The Mighty Eighth: The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It, by Gerald Astor, Special:Booksources

Answer 2

"The Flying Fortress", "fort" for short. It carried as many as twelve .50 caliber machine guns. Six or eight of these were in twin mounts, giving the gunner two to fire. Of its ten man crew, four were full time gunners, and four others had guns to operate if they weren't busy at their primary job. These made attacking a Fort a daunting task for enemy fighter pilots. The B-17 was also extremely rugged and could absorb an amazing amount of punishing damage without going down. On bombing raids they flew in groups, in formations so tight that pilots constantly had to jockey to keep from colliding with neighboring aircraft, for hours over enemy territory, so they could cover one another with their guns.