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I have often thought that the USAAC should have been given the extra money needed to buy 388 YB-17 and B-17 in place of the 350 B-18s and 38 B-23s it bought in the real world.

According to (that ever so reliable website) Wikipaedia, most of the B-18/B-18A aircraft based overseas in the Philippines and in Hawaii were destroyed on the ground in the initial Japanese onslaught and that the few Bolos that remained played no significant role in subsequent operations. It also says that 20 were sold to the RCAF which used them for ASW and 122 USAAC aircraft were modified for ASW.

Would the B-17s built in their place be used in the same way? I think the 20 RCAF B-17s and 122 ASW B-17s in the USAAF would be very useful in the Battle of the Atlantic because they might close the "Black Gap" a year earlier.

The 388th (and last) B-18/B-23 was completed in September 1940. Meanwhile the 1st B-17C (and 55th B-17 overall) flew in July 1940, the 1st B-17D (and 93rd B-17 overall) flew in February 1941 and the first B-17E (and 135th B-17 overall) flew in September 1941.

Therefore ITTL about 450 B-17s would have been completed by the end of September 1940 instead of about 60. I think it is very likely that orders for the B-17C and D would have been doubled or even tripled to maintain the production capacity that had been built up. The number of B-17E bombers ordered might not be any larger, but they would be completed from September 1941 at double or triple the rate.

Would the availability of 2 or 3 times as many B-17C/D/E have any significant effect on USAAF operations up to the end of 1942?
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