Castles In The Air - The Story Of The B-17 Flyi... -

: Early in the war, B-17s were used in the Battle of Midway and against Japanese shipping, though they were eventually replaced by the longer-range B-24 Liberator and B-29 Superfortress in that theater.

: To maximize their defense, crews flew in staggered "combat box" formations, creating a "flying porcupine" of interlocking machine-gun fire that made individual attacks extremely dangerous for enemy pilots. Castles in the Air - the Story of the B-17 Flyi...

The B-17’s journey began with a near-catastrophic failure. The prototype, known as , first took flight in July 1935. Despite outperforming its competitors in speed and range, the prototype crashed during a demonstration, nearly ending the program before it began. However, the U.S. Army Air Corps saw enough potential in the "15-ton flying fortress"—a name coined by a Seattle Times reporter—to order 13 more for testing. The Hammer of the Eighth Air Force : Early in the war, B-17s were used

Today, of the 12,731 B-17s built, only about 40 remain in museums, and fewer than a dozen are still airworthy. They stand as silent tributes to a generation of airmen who flew these "castles in the air" to help turn the tide of World War II. The prototype, known as , first took flight in July 1935