Editing Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (section)

==== U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ====
[[File:US Navy PB-1W.jpg|thumb|Under project '''Cadillac&nbsp;II''', an AN/APS-20 radar was fitted onto the B-17G, making the PB-1W one of the first [[Airborne early warning]] aircraft.]]

During the last year of World War II and shortly thereafter, the [[United States Navy]] (USN) acquired 48 ex-USAAF B-17s for patrol and air-sea rescue work. The first two ex-USAAF B-17s, a B-17F (later modified to B-17G standard) and a B-17G were obtained by the Navy for various development programs.<ref name="Bowers Boeing p310-1" /> At first, these aircraft operated under their original USAAF designations, but on 31 July 1945 they were assigned the naval aircraft designation PB-1, a designation which had originally been used in 1925 for the [[Boeing Model 50]] experimental flying boat.<ref name="Swan Navy" />

Thirty-two B-17Gs<ref name="DABASv2 p661" /> were used by the Navy under the designation PB-1W, the suffix -W indicating an airborne early warning role. A large radome for an [[S-band]] [[AN/APS-20]] search radar was fitted underneath the fuselage and additional internal fuel tanks were added for longer range, with the provision for additional underwing fuel tanks. Originally, the B-17 was also chosen because of its heavy defensive armament, but this was later removed. These aircraft were painted dark blue, the standard Navy paint scheme which had been adopted in late 1944.<ref name="Bowers Boeing p310-1" /><ref name="Swan Navy" /> PB-1Ws continued in USN service until 1955, gradually being phased out in favor of the Lockheed WV-2 (known in the USAF as the [[EC-121]], a designation [[1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system|adopted by the USN in 1962]]), a military version of the [[Lockheed Constellation|Lockheed 1049 Constellation]] commercial airliner.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

In July 1945, 16 B-17s were transferred to the Coast Guard via the Navy; these aircraft were initially assigned U.S. Navy Bureau Numbers (BuNo), but were delivered to the Coast Guard designated as PB-1Gs beginning in July 1946.<ref name="Bowers Boeing p310-1" /><ref name="WoF p89-0" /> Coast Guard PB-1Gs were stationed at a number of bases in the U.S. and Newfoundland, with five at [[Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City]], North Carolina, two at [[San Francisco International Airport|CGAS San Francisco]], two at [[NAS Argentia]], Newfoundland, one at [[CGAS Kodiak]], Alaska, and one in Washington state.<ref name="WoF p89-0" /> They were used primarily in the "Dumbo" air-sea rescue role, but were also used for [[International Ice Patrol|iceberg patrol]] duties and for photo mapping. The Coast Guard PB-1Gs served throughout the 1950s, the last example not being withdrawn from service until 14 October 1959.<ref name="Bowers Boeing p310-1" /><ref name="USCG" />