Flying Fortress

*Don t get the wrong edition: Get the corrected edition This 2014 edition includes corrected material based on Edward Jablonski s handwritten notes in his file copy of the original publication (ISBN: Paperback 978-1-62654-904-3 and Hardback 978-1-62654-867-1). Renowned throughout the world for its strength and destructiveness, the Flying Fortress was one of the greatest fighting airplanes of all time. In this comprehensively documented biography, Edward Jablonski tells the story of the Flying Fortress Boeing B-17, America s legendary long-range bomber. From the B-17's near death in infancy to the emergence of its successor, the Superfortress, "Flying Fortress" captures the exhilarating career of the B-17 with thrilling accounts of the exploits of these planes and their pilots. In this unforgettable history, Jablonski details the Fortress s role in the strategic and tactical issues of air war, and chronicles the B-17 s roles in famous raids including Regensburg, Marienburg, Munster, Schweinfurt, Dresden, and Berlin, along with its part in great battles, such as D-Day. Masterfully written, "Flying Fortress" is a classic in aviation literature with over 400 illustrations (many unpublished action photos) in addition to a section on the design of the Flying Fortress, which includes a number of detailed cutaway drawings. Approximately 60 pages from the Flying Fortress s Piloting Manual are also featured herein. Find out why the Flying Fortress ultimately redefined the concept of war. Edward Jablonski, life-long aviation enthusiast, served in the field of artillery during WWII and was a member of the Society of WWI Aero Historians and the American Aviation Society. Historian, biographer, and critic, Jablonski has written a number of books on aviation history and American cultural personalities."

Although the Fifteenth Air Force was dismissed as 'minor leaguers' by the Eighth Air Force, strategic bombers from this outfit had done a 'major league' job on Axis targets in southern Europe following its formation in Italy in November 1943. And the heavy bombers employed by the Fifteenth were of course the venerable B-17 and B-24. At its peak strength, the Fifteenth's B-17 force comprised six groups of four squadrons each, all controlled by the 5th Bomb Wing. Having been a part of the Fifteenth Air Force in 1944, author Bill Hess has long been waiting to write a definitive account on 'his air force'.

The Boeing B-17, which has come to epitomise the American war effort in Europe, took the fight to Germans from the late summer of 1942 through to VE-Day. Its primary operator in Western Europe was the 'Mighty Eighth', who controlled 27 bomb groups for much of the war. This second of two volumes covers the 14 Bomb Groups of the Third Air Division. First hand accounts, period photography, profile artworks and nose art scrap views bring to life aircraft from each of the groups within the Third Air Division.

The B-17 pioneered the concepts of strategic bombardment. This work gives technical detail along with little-known facts and stories, as well as accounts of missions, production, avionics, development and the people behind the development of the B-17.

This new book reveals rare original photos and full manufacturing details of America's greatest multi-engine combat aircraft flown in World War II. Contents cover building the Flying Fortress from wingtip to wingtip and from the bombardier's Perspex nose to the tail-gunner's twin-Browning cannons. Significant aspects of B-17 production include exterior views of each model variant from various angles, all crew stations in each B-17 type (including the entire flight deck), defensive gun turrets used in every B-17 model, fuselage interiors, exteriors, engines, nacelles, and even control surfaces. Factory-original color cutaway drawings as well as reproductions of original specifications sheets and other information-packed documents created by manufacturers during the 1940s are also included for the reader. As a research asset, the book's appendices feature a detailed survey of every production block of the 12,731 B-17 bombers produced during the war in an unbelievable time span of only three-and-a-half year--an industrial phenomenon unlike any the world had ever seen. What sets this book apart from all others in the crowded B-17 field is literally hundreds of factory-original close-up detailed photographs and illustrations accompanied by comprehensive high-resolution reproductions of original Boeing drawings, and all are explained in detailed yet easy to understand descriptive text. This book provides valuable data for the serious Boeing B-17 aficionado as well as a compelling story of America's aircraft manufacturing prowess for the dedicated aviation enthusiast.

This is a story of a young man from Chicago who becomes a copilot of a bomber in Europe during World War IIfrom training, to the assembly of his B-17 crew, the mens struggles after becoming prisoners of war, and the discovery some sixty years later of details his surviving family and fellow crew members never knew.

5th Edition of book originally published in 1990. This book tells the story of the famous B-17 Flying Fortress in the years after World War II, and includes the stories of each of the surviving 48 B-17s.

The B-17 Flying Fortress dropped more bombs than any other US aircraft in WWII and is arguably the iconic bomber of that epic conflict. During the 10 years in which it was produced, a total of 12,731 of the B-17 heavy bombers rolled off the assembly lines of Boeing, Douglas Aircraft, and Lockheed's subsidiary Vega. First flown in 1935, the aircraft was repeatedly modified, upgraded, and perfected in response to combat experience. Also highlights the roles played by individual aircraft and their crews, including Memphis Belle, which completed 25 missions over enemy territory; Stage Door Canteen, christened by Winston Churchill's daughter; and All American, which demonstrated the incredible toughness of the Flying Fortress by returning safely to base despite having its tail nearly sheared off by a Messerschmitt.

In the 1960’s guerrillas were operating in almost all Latin American countries, as well as in Africa and Asia, and the need of specialized weapons to fight them arose. The Argentine Air Force, seeing this threat grow, asked the FMA factory to produce a counterinsurgency airplane to equip the force, but also to offer on the international market. After several proposals were analyzed, a final product emerged, called the IA-58 Pucará, a robust twin turboprop aircraft with heavy internal weapons, planned to operate from unprepared airstrips on very hard conditions. The plane entered service with the Argentine Air Force in 1975 and more than 100 were produced over the years, with several versions being developed or proposed. It was purchased by Uruguay, Colombia and Sri Lanka, the type gained world notoriety when they took part on the 1982 South Atlantic war, but also had combat experience in Colombia and Sri Lanka, and was tested by the Royal Air Force. Now, with the original version already retired, the Argentine Air Force plans to convert them into the Pucará Fénix version, with new engines and avionics, with new missions too, like intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. While some aspects of its story were described in many publications, most of it has never been told until now, including many unknown proposed versions and details of its operational record, both in Argentina and in the other countries that operated the plane.