A08018 Boeing Fortress MK.III

Description

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress four engine bomber was an airborne manifestation of American military might in the Second World War. Operating in massed formations, these distinctive aircraft were designed to conduct daylight precision bombing missions, against strategic enemy targets, with the ultimate aim of literally pounding them into submission. As its name suggests, the Flying Fortress was bristling with defensive armament and it was intended that formations of B-17s could throw so much lead into the air, that any attacking enemy aircraft would either be shot down, or simply fly away from their certain demise – although this thinking did not actually materialise in combat, it did help to give the B-17 a fearsome reputation.