View source for Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress

{{Short description|US World War II transport aircraft}}
{{Redirect|C-108}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name= C-108 Flying Fortress
 |image= File:Boeing XC-108.jpg
 |caption= The XC-108 running up
 |type= [[Military transport aircraft]]
 |manufacturer= [[Boeing]] / [[Vega Aircraft Corporation|Lockheed-Vega]] / [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base|Wright-Patterson AFB]]
 |designer=
 |first_flight= 1943
 |introduction= 1943
 |retired= 1945
 |status=
 |primary_user= [[United States Army Air Forces]]
 |more_users=
 |produced=
 |number_built= 4 conversions from B-17
 |developed_from= [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]]
 |variants=
}}

The '''Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress''' was an American transport aircraft used during [[World War II]]. Four were converted from [[B-17 Flying Fortress]] [[heavy bomber]]s.

==Design and development==

The first C-108 built (designated '''XC-108''') was a [[B-17 Flying Fortress variants#B-17E|B-17E]] (''41-2593'') converted to a [[Very Important Person|V.I.P.]] transport for General [[Douglas MacArthur]] in 1943. With the exception of the nose and tail turrets, all armament was removed, as was all [[vehicle armour|armor]]. 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]]. A similar conversion was later made on a [[B-17 Flying Fortress variants#B-17F|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]] initiated a remanufacturing station at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]].  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]] 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==
[[File:BoeingXC-108 (4465224242).jpg|thumb|Boeing XC-108.]]

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 [[Himalayas]] to the [[B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] base in [[Chengdu]], 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]], 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aerovintage.com/rat-4.htm|title=Aero Vintage Books: B-17E Desert Rat History|website=www.aerovintage.com|access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref>

==Variants==
[[File:Boeing CB-17G (4465225664).jpg|thumb|CB-17G at Patterson Field, Ohio on 1 January 1946.]]
;XC-108
:B-17E converted to VIP transport standard for General Douglas MacArthur. Originally B-17E s/n 41-2593.<ref name=AVB/>

;YC-108
:B-17F converted to VIP transport standard for General Douglas MacArthur. Originally B-17F s/n 42-6036.<ref name=AVB/>

;XC-108A
:B-17E converted to cargo or troop transport standard. Originally B-17E s/n 41-2595, known as "Desert Rat".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b17registry/b17-412595.html | title=Warbird Registry - Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - A Warbirds Resource Group Site }}</ref><ref name=AVB>{{cite web |url=http://www.aerovintage.com/rat-4.htm |title=History of B-17E and XC-108A Desert Rat |website=aerovintage.com |accessdate=20 November 2022}}</ref>

;XC-108B
:B-17F converted for service as a tanker. Originally B-17F s/n 42-30190.<ref name=AVB/>

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==
;{{Flag|United States|1912}}
*[[United States Army Air Forces]]

==Specifications (XC-108)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=American Military Transport Aircraft Since 1925{{sfn|Johnson|2013|p=173}}
|prime units?=kts
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=5
|capacity=64 troops ''or'' {{cvt|8000|lb|t|2}} cargo
|length ft=74
|length in=4
|span ft=103
|span in=10
|height ft=19
|height in=1
|wing area sqft=1,527
|empty weight lb=32250
|gross weight lb=40260
|max takeoff weight lb=53000
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=4
|eng1 name=[[Wright R-1820-65]]
|eng1 type=9-cyl. turbo-charged air-cooled radial piston engines
|eng1 hp=1,200
<!-- prop engines -->
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed mph=315
|cruise speed mph=195
|range miles=3300
|ceiling ft=36600
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns= 4 × {{convert|0.5|in|mm|abbr=on|1}} [[M2 Browning machine gun]]s in nose and tail turret
}}

==Survivors==
*XC-108A, ''41-2595'', "Desert Rat", survived in a New England junkyard and is undergoing restoration in [[McHenry County, Illinois]], by a private individual to B-17E configuration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aerovintage.com/b17loc.htm|title=Aero Vintage Books: B-17 Locator|website=aerovintage.com|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517020113/http://www.aerovintage.com/b17loc.htm|archive-date=17 May 2015}}</ref>
{{more|List of surviving Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses}}

==See also==
{{aircontent|
|related=
*[[B-17 Flying Fortress]]
*[[XB-38 Flying Fortress]]
*[[YB-40 Flying Fortress]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[C-87 Liberator Express]]
|lists=
* [[List of military aircraft of the United States]]
|see also=
* [[B-17 Flying Fortress variants]]
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Jablonski, Edward. ''Flying Fortress''.  Doubleday, 1965.  ({{ISBN|0-385-03855-0}})
* {{cite book |last=Johnson |first= E. R. |date=2013 |title=American Military Transport Aircraft Since 1925 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |isbn=978-0-7864-6269-8}}
* Wagner, Ray. ''American Combat Planes''.  Doubleday, 1982.  ({{ISBN|0-930083-17-2}})
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100129050103/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b17.html Encyclopedia of American Aircraft]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050127025241/http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/air_power/ap16.htm USAF Museum]
* Andrade, John M. . ''U.S Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Leicester : Midland Counties Publications, First edition 1979. {{ISBN|0 904597 22 9}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|Boeing XC-108}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100129050103/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b17.html Encyclopedia of American Aircraft]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050127025241/http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/air_power/ap16.htm USAF Museum]
* [http://www.facebook.com/pages/B-17e-Desert-Rat-Restoration-Project/218159428244374 B-17E Desert Rat Restoration Project]

{{B-17 family}}
{{Boeing military aircraft}}
{{USAF transports}}

[[Category:Boeing aircraft|C-0108 Flying Fortress]]
[[Category:1940s United States military transport aircraft]]
[[Category:Four-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Low-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|C-108]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1943]]
[[Category:Four-engined piston aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear]]