Claims to Fame: B17 Flying Fortress

Claims to Fame: B17 Flying Fortress

Ref: 2337

Price: £15.00

The Boeing B-17 is seen by many as the greatest American aircraft of all time, and, some would argue, the greatest military aircraft ever. Dubbed the `Flying Fortress' soon after it first flew in 1935, it has come to epitomise the efforts of the Mighty Eighth and the hard-fought daylight raids against Germany. But to the pilots, crew and groundcrew who flew and worked with it, the B-17 was more than a mere machine; crews felt strongly about their particular aircraft, emblazoned with nose art and individual names, and so began the theme of this new book.
Although most aircraft were highly distinctive, with mission tally symbols, fighter kills, nose art and more, trying to follow the operational life and mission details of specific aircraft is particularly difficult. There was no requirement for a central register of individual aircraft in combat theatres, and many wartime records were never taken to the USA after the end of the war. Despite this, internationally acclaimed aviation experts Steve Birdsall and Roger Freeman have here put together a remarkable and genuinely new book on this most famous of aircraft. With crews flying 25 mission tours but aircraft flying until destroyed or replaced there is clearly much scope for following a Fortress from manufacture through to eventual demise, and recounting the many and varied actions and exploits along the way. Claims to Fame: The B-17 thus describes an intriguing and fascinating selection of aircraft and the reasons for their inclusion here:
B-Baker - the first B-17 to fly in action Memphis Belle - correcting inaccuracies on the best known Fortress
Tail Crazy - fitted with experimental cannon in the tail to deter Luftwaffe rocket attacks
5 Grand - 5,000th B-17 built at Boeing's main Seattle plant
Claims include longest serving, most damaged, shortest life, famous crewman more but all are meticulously researched and authenticated by this expert author team, and the drama and tragedy of the missions flown are accurately reflected in the accompanying narrative. With a fascinating range of vintage photographs which are an attraction alone, this is a remarkable new study on a subject of interest to all enthusiasts of this period in air warfare.

by Steve Birdsall, and Roger Freeman
Published by Arms and Armour Press 1994 1st edition. 224pp illustrated, index. 16x24 nearr mint, top edge of d/j slightly rubbed.

Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "new edition" "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.

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