Description
The Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” was one of the United States’ most important four-engine heavy bombers, and was used in all theaters of World War II alongside the B-24 Liberator and the later B-29 Superfortress.
The fact is that the B-17 almost never made history and defeated Nazi Germany, as the prototype known as the Model 299 crashed due to pilot error during evaluation in October 1935. Fortunately, the design showed so much promise during testing, and even far exceeded the requirements of the original specification, that more prototypes were ordered, even though Boeing lost the original contract with the United States Army Air Corps.
This further evaluation resulted in the type entering active service in 1938.
The actual name “Flying Fortress” was coined by a newspaper writer who witnessed a demonstration of the cannon and turret-laden machine, and Boeing realized this was the kind of propaganda they needed and trademarked the name.
After the first prototypes, the B-17 began mass production with the B-17B variant and underwent a major redesign with the introduction of the “E”. This type featured a substantially redesigned tail and a new fillet line that continued through all subsequent versions and gave the B-17 its iconic profile.
unbuilt / unpainted
Paint and glue not included
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