Presented by the Army Air Forces, in cooperation with Boeing Aircraft Co., this is a WWII era, black and white movie created to educate the crew chief and mechanics who maintain the engines in the Boeing B-17F aircraft. (The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, each producing 750 hp (600 kW) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m).) The men are introduced, and we meet the crew chief. An engine is removed, 1:27. The men make adjustments to the engine and the magneto harness is installed, 2:24. The inner cylinder shields are installed, 2:50. The silica gel plugs are replaced, 3:02. The elbow terminal is attached to the dummy plug, 3:20. Many plugs are inserted into the engine, 4:00. Thread lubricant is applied to the engine fittings, 4:24. Oil pressure fittings are installed, 4:31. Air seals are secured, 5:07. Feeder lines are tightened, 5:23. The breather tube is inserted into the crank case, 5:31. The connection for the air-seal ring is prepped and secured, 5:53. The starter is installed, 6:45. The supercharger in-fitting is installed, 7:08. The check valve is replaced, 8:03. The cowling is attached, 8:33. The prop pressure line is prepared and attached, 9:25. The prop governor is installed, 9:48. Pressure and external oil supply lines are checked, 10:44. Pitch control line is attached to the prop governor, 11:37. The generator is installed, 12:53. Fuel pumps are installed on all four engines, 13:30. Thermocouple is installed, 13:51. Glycol pump is adjusted, 15:00. Vacuum pump is installed, 15:30. Magneto blast tubes are adjusted, 16:02. Mounting bolts are drawn tight, 17:35. The booster-plex is attached to the magnetos, 18:27. Plug terminal is soldered, 19:09. Fuel lines are secured, 19:51. Vacuum lines are secured, 20:15. The mechanics make their final adjustments, 21:15.
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry (prototype Model 299/XB-17) outperformed both competitors and exceeded the air corps’ performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract (to the Douglas B-18 Bolo) because the prototype crashed, the air corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined B-24 and the multirole, twin-engined Ju 88.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
