boeingyb17

This is a B-17B, not a YB-17, from the shape of the rudder. Tail code is 62 2B.

NOT USMC - He's Army Air Forces (winged prop device on collar), and that's a Y1B-17 behind him - probably taken at Langley Field - check out other related photos in this thread.

g. asher: Thanks for the information! We’ll look into it.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Goggles, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

I agree - obvious Army pilot from the Langley shoot. The shot just got dropped into the Parris Island folder at the time.

g.asher and TheConnCave: Thanks for your observations. It does seem this gentleman was wrongly identified as a Marine pilot, when he is USAAF. He is also featured in this photo elsewhere in the collection. We will make the changes when we update this record.

I'm going to presume this image is mis-titled, and that this is a YB-17 pilot.

I thought that by 1942 they were calling them B-17's and had dropped the "Y" bit but I guess not?

These photos were taken at Langley Field, where the first dozen YB-17s were delivered (in 1937) and test flown by the 2nd Bombardment Group (of which this guy is a member, presumably). I have no reason to believe that the designation being used here isn't correct, as I haven't found any record of the YB-17s being taken out of service. Even by 1942 I can't see why they wouldn't still use the YB-17s for anti-submarine warfare, which the primary mission of the 2nd until they transferred to North Africa in October of 1942.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called American Soldiers, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Wow ! He looks so confident and determined.