B-17F Flying Fortress, US 8th Airforce, WWII If there is an aircraft which successfully symbolizes the American war in the air in World War II, it would have to be the Boeing heavy bomber, the famous B-17. Although perhaps inferior in some ways to some of its contemporaries during World War II, the “Flying Fortress” became a true legend in her own time. Whether legend and fact actually coincide in every way is somehow unimportant. But the symbol remains etched in collective consciousness. The B-17 embodies the tough, rugged spirit of those who fought in her. Those examples which remain, flying and in museums, commemorate the resolve and sacrifice of a whole generation. In the early days of the daylight bombing campaign, the heavily-armed B-17 Flying Fortresses, flying in stacked-box formation, were thought to be so strongly armed as to be able to fly unimpeded to and from their targets, impervious to defending fighters. However, the British in their C’s had discovered early that the heavily-armed Fortress was still susceptible to attack. Crews in early daylight missions had a one-in-three chance of not returning. But even during the last six months of the war, there were often desperate battles, with the “Mighty 8th” armadas facing a host of new weapons and tactics including the rocket-powered Me 163 Komet and the Me 262 jet flown by the Luftwaffe’s best. By the end of the war, Fortresses had dropped a full two fifths of all ordinance delivered to the Reich by the US Army Air Corps and Air Force. A high price was paid. Casualties were severe. The 8th Air Force alone suffered 18,000 wounded, 28,000 POW’s and 26,000 killed in action. limited edition print 550 s/n by the artist 20" x 16.25" |
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