Boeing B-17 - The Flying Fortress

"We have the finest bomber in the world". So published the New York Times on the morning of July 29, 1935, after the Model 299, the progenitor of one of the most famous aircraft of all time, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, had made its maiden flight over Seattle the day before with Boeing's chief test pilot, Leslie R. Tower, at the controls. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engine aircraft of the heavy bomber class. It was used primarily by the Army Air Forces in strategic bombing campaigns against German industrial, civilian, and military targets. The 8th Air Force based in England and the 15th Air Force based in Italy joined the RAF Bomber Command in Operation Pointblank, to ensure air superiority over cities, factories, and battlefields in Western Europe. This operation was a preparation for the Normandy landings.