Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress

The Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress was an American transport aircraft used during World War II, four of which were converted from B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. The first, the XC-108, was a B-17E converted in 1943 into a VIP transport for General Douglas MacArthur, with all armament except the nose and tail turrets and all armor removed and the interior made into a flying office with extra windows, cooking facilities and living space. A similar conversion of a B-17F became the YC-108. The XC-108A, converted between August 1943 and March 1944 as part of a plan to turn obsolete bombers into cargo aircraft, had its bulkheads removed and bomb bay doors sealed to carry cargo or personnel; it flew supplies over the Himalayas to the B-29 base at Chengdu but proved impractical because of chronic engine difficulties. The XC-108B was a tanker with the fuselage filled with fuel tanks.