The Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress was an American transport aircraft used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Four were converted from

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...

Design and development

The first C-108 built (designated XC-108) was a B-17E (''41-2593'') converted to a V.I.P. transport for General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

in 1943. With the exception of the nose and tail turrets, all armament was removed, as was all

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

. The interior of the plane was made into a flying office for MacArthur, with extra windows, cooking facilities, and living space. To facilitate entry and exit, a drop-down door with steps was installed in the rear

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

. A similar conversion was later made on a B-17F-40-VE (''42-6036''), which was redesignated YC-108. Between August 1943 and March 1944, another B-17E (''41-2595'') was converted to a cargo aircraft and designated XC-108A. Hoping to convert obsolete bombers into cargo aircraft, the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

initiated a remanufacturing station at

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wr ...

. The plane was stripped of armament, armor, and other military equipment. Crew locations were shifted, and the nose was modified to provide space for cargo and/or personnel. The

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that e ...

was accessed via the crawlway under it or through the hinged solid nose cone that had replaced the original glazed bombardier station. To increase cargo space, several bulkheads were removed and the bomb bay doors were sealed closed. This allowed much of the fuselage volume to be used to carry cargo or personnel. A B-17F ''42-30190'' was converted (and given designation XC-108B) to tanker service. As in the XC-108A, it was devoid of armor and weapons, and the fuselage was modified to make space for its cargo. The fuselage was filled with fuel tanks.

Operational history

The XC-108 was personal VIP transport aircraft of General Douglas MacArthur in 1943. The XC-108A was used to fly material and personnel over the

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to the

B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

base in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

, China. Due to chronic engine difficulties, it proved an impractical cargo aircraft. In October 1944, it was returned to the United States. By the end of the war, it was disassembled and left in a junkyard in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, where it suffered from some parts being scrapped and others salvaged from the airframe. Since then it has been rescued and is under restoration back to B-17E configuration.

Variants

;XC-108 :B-17E converted to VIP transport standard for General Douglas MacArthur. Originally B-17E s/n 41-2593. ;YC-108 :B-17F converted to VIP transport standard for General Douglas MacArthur. Originally B-17F s/n 42-6036. ;XC-108A :B-17E converted to cargo or troop transport standard. Originally B-17E s/n 41-2595, known as "Desert Rat". ;XC-108B :B-17F converted for service as a tanker. Originally B-17F s/n 42-30190. Two other cargo transports and VIP transports were made from the B-17. ;CB-17G :Troop transport version capable of carrying up to 64 troops, 25 built. ;VB-17G :VIP transport version for high level staff officers, 8 built.

Operators

; *

Specifications (XC-108)

Survivors

*XC-108A, ''41-2595'', "Desert Rat", survived in a New England junkyard and is undergoing restoration in

McHenry County, Illinois McHenry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 310,229, making it the sixth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Woodstock. McHenry County is one of t ...

, by a private individual to B-17E configuration.

Sources

* Jablonski, Edward. ''Flying Fortress''. Doubleday, 1965. () * Wagner, Ray. ''American Combat Planes''. Doubleday, 1982. ()
Encyclopedia of American Aircraft

* Andrade, John M. . ''U.S Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Leicester : Midland Counties Publications, First edition 1979. .

References

External links

B-17E Desert Rat Restoration Project
{{USAF transports C-0108 Flying Fortress 1940s United States military transport aircraft World War II transport aircraft of the United States Four-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft C-108 Aircraft first flown in 1943 Four-engined piston aircraft