B - 17 FLYING FORTRESS

The Flying Fortress was America's most famous bomber in the Second World War and served the Allied cause well both in the European and in the Pacific War.

Developed from a variety of prototypes in the 1930s, the B - 17 was first sent to Britain to be used by the R.A.F. even before the United States entered the Second World War. Perhaps its greatest role was with the Eighth Air Force in Britain from 1943 until the end of the war. The B - 17s made daylight air raids over Germany and the occupied European countries, and although bomber losses were heavy up to 1943, they were the workhorses which achieved the devastation of Germany.

Used in the Balkans and the Italian campaign as well as throughout the Pacific, the B - 17s had to undergo many major changes as the U.S.A.A.F. made adjustments to early deficiencies. They were vulnerable to attack from above ; the Tail Gunner was exposed.

The history of the Flying Fortress is told brilliantly by an historian of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. ( ... ) ..., this volume is an excellent contribution to aviation history.