"The War-Winning Heavy Bomber of WWII" -- Container
Contents:
Introduction -- Towards the B-17 -- Developing the Flying Fortress -- American enters the war -- The 8th AAF over Europe -- Night and daylight bombing -- Italy and the 15th AAF -- Invasion and the B-17G -- The Memphis Belle -- The B-17 over Europe -- The USSR and shuttle bombing -- The SB-17G and the Disney Swish -- Advance into Germany -- The end in Europe -- The Aphrodite Project.
Summary:
The Classic U.S. combat aircraft of WWI programs tell the story, through a series of classic war planes, of the development of the combat aircraft of the Second World War. Each machine was produced to meet a specific requirement, usually to meet or beat the capabilities of an existing enemy or a potential aggressor. The B-17 Flying Fortress was designed from 1934 to meet a US Army Air Corps requirement for a multi-engined bomber to protect the American east and west coasts from attack from the sea. The prototype first flew in July 1935 and revealed altogether excellent capability as a long-range heavy bomber.The press dubbed the airplane as the 'Flying Fortress' for its many defensive machine guns, and Boeing trademarked the name. The B-17 was in action from the start of the American involvement in World War II, serving its country over the pacific. But it was in Europe that the Flying Fortress can to reign supreme from the late summer of 1942. Flown by the 8th and 15th Air Forces in daylight precision attacks on key targets in Germany's war-making industries and military installations, the Flying Fortress operated in great flying formations shielded from German fighters by flocks of escorting fighters, most importantly the North American.
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