B-17 The World War II Library: Weapons- B-17 Flying Fortress

In B-17 Flying Fortress: Wings Over the Reich, Stephen Carrington tells the story of the heavy bomber that became one of the defining symbols of the Allied air war against Nazi Germany. From the uncertain years before American entry into the Second World War to the vast daylight bombing offensives over occupied Europe and the Reich itself, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress emerged as far more than a machine of aluminum and engines. It became the product of industrial power, strategic doctrine, technological adaptation, and the endurance of the crews who carried the air war deep into enemy territory.

Drawing on wartime records, operational reports, technical development history, and firsthand accounts, Carrington follows the Flying Fortress from Boeing's early experiments in long range strategic bombing to the brutal combat campaigns of the Eighth Air Force over Germany. He explores the aircraft's revolutionary design, the challenge of mass production on an unprecedented scale, and the constant effort to improve firepower, survivability, range, and bombing capability as the war intensified. From the desperate early raids over occupied Europe and the catastrophic losses of Schweinfurt and Regensburg to the destruction of the Luftwaffe, the bombing of Berlin, and the final collapse of the Reich, the B-17 stood at the center of one of history's largest aerial offensives.

More than the story of a famous bomber, this book examines how the Flying Fortress came to represent an entire era of industrialized warfare. Bristling with machine guns and flying in immense formations above Europe, the B-17 became one of the most recognizable aircraft ever built, a lasting symbol of the strategic air war that reshaped the modern world.