Boeing XB-38 Flying Fortress The XB-38 was destroyed and the project was canceled, in part because the V-1710 engines were needed for other projects such as the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Bell P-39 Airacobra, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, North American P-51A Mustang, and Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighters. Boeing XB-38 Flying Fortress The XB-38 Flying Fortress was a single example conversion of a production B-17E Flying Fortress, testing whether the Allison V-1710 V type engine could be substituted for the standard Wright R-1820 radial engine during early World War II. The XB-38 was the result of a modification project undertaken by Boeing and Vega (a subsidiary of
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress extent in the War in the Pacific, early in World War II, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields. From its prewar inception, the USAAC (by June 1941, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. It developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. The B-17 developed a reputation as an effective bomber, dropping more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of the of bombs