The ultimate illustrated history of this most important and charismatic of World War Two bomber aircraft.

Geschiedenis van de Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, een Amerikaanse 4-motorige zware bommenwerper voor de lange afstand. B-17's werden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog op grote schaal zowel boven Europa als in de Pacific ingezet.

Vanaf blz. 71 staan beknopte gegevens over alle B-17's die tussen 1935 en 1945 gemaakt zijn.

Containing an abbreviated operational history for each of the 12,731 B-17s that flew in World War II, this is a volume devoted to the Flying Fortress. The text also contains information on the evolution and testing of the plane and its powerplant and performance. The first quarter of the book covers the type in general, from initial design through production and modifications. Included here are excerpts from technical orders and operating manuals. Also included are a selection of somewhat rare photos and a special section on the Wright R-1820 engine. Of greater significance to the student of the B-17, however, are the last three quarters of the book. This section provides individual aircraft histories for each of the 12,700-odd B-17s produced by the consortium of Boeing, Douglas, and Lockheed between 1935 and 1945. This massive undertaking was apparently performed by Osborne reviewing each of the individual military record cards available and tying that information to other available sources. Thus, having the military serial of a particular B-17 (say, for example, from a photograph) enables a reader to see where that aircraft came from and its eventual disposition. The information is, by necessity, brief but usually contains specifics on an aircraft if it was lost in action.