on 7/10/2008 7:46 PM Bertie the Bunyip said the following:
gatt wrote in news:212qgk.ete.19.1
@integratelecom.com:

B-17?



Well, the Avro Lincoln was probably a good bit heavier than the 17, and
also probably the Lancaster, but I think maybe the Focke Wulf 200 was a bit
bigger than either. It certainly had more range, though probably not the
payload of even the 17.
The postwar Avor Tudor is the only other giant taildragger I can think of
that might be in competition wiht those. I can't think of any Russian
aircraft that might be in contention, but if anyone could have, it would
have been them!

Like, say, the Petlyakov Pe-8? AKA the TB-7? It was the only four-engine
bomber the Soviets had during WW II. Its max takeoff weight was 35,000
kg vs a bit less than 30,000 kg for the B-17. 39 meter wingspan vs 32
meters. A photo:

http://www.aviation.ru/Pe/8/Pe-8.jpg