During World War II, the bombing of Germany by Britain saw Royal Air Force bomber crew losses climb. To lessen the loss of both crews and aircraft, the RAF switched to mostly night bombing campaigns. As night fighters, on both sides, were limited in their ability to find and shoot down enemy aircraft at night, bomber losses by enemy fighters at night was minimal. However, during the day, losses were far too high.

As the war progressed, a new bomber designed in America by the Boeing Aircraft Company called the B-17 Flying Fortress began entering the war in Europe, initially flying with the Royal Air Force. The B-17 was nothing like the Germans had seen before with a crew of 9 and armament that covered the aircraft from both sides, top, bottom and nose & tail. It was hoped the B-17s defensive armament would be enough to allow it to defend itself without the need of fighter protection.

The US officially entered the war after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, declaring war on the Japanese and Germany. Enter the US into the European theatre of war, and with them, the Boeing B-17 serving with US forces. While the RAF bombed Germany at night using their very effective Avro Lancaster, as well as the Handley Page Halifax, Vickers Wellington and the Short Sterling, among others, the US eventually focused on mass formations of Boeing B-17s in daylight bombing campaigns.

The early B-17's armament included an assortment of 30 calibre machine guns along with a bomb load of 4800lbs with a top speed of roughly 250mph. It was a formidable opponent for the Luftwaffe to fight against, most especially when the B-17s flew in their large formations offering dozens, if not hundreds, of machine guns that the Luftwaffe fighter pilots had to face. Eventually, the Luftwaffe pilots developed different methods of attack on B-17s in an effort to stem losses.

The B-17 was originally designed to be used for mainland protection of the United States. As need arose for a bomber for the US Army Air Corps in the early 1930s, the B-17 competed against both the Martin Aircraft Company and Douglas Aircraft for an order of 200 bombers. The Boeing entry, known then as the 299/XB-17, had better performance than its competition, exceeding the requirements outlined by the USAAC and won the contract. Unfortunately, the prototype aircraft crashed and the contract was awarded to Douglas for the B-18 Bolo. However, 13 B-17s were ordered for evaluation purposes.

The B-17 prototype first flew in July, 1935 and the aircraft entered service with the US Army Air Corps in 1938. The aircraft went through multiple design changes during the assessment period. Early models were not considered suitable for bombing campaigns over Europe until the B-17E appeared on the scene. Though heavily armed, and capable of putting up a lethal defensive screen, they were still in need of fighter escort in an effort to help reduce aircraft and crew losses. Unfortunately, fighter aircraft at that time were limited and could not escort the bombers all the way to targets deep into Germany.

Flying with the US 8th Air Force with 26 of their bombardment groups, the B-17 flew from bases in England deep into the heart of Germany, at times flying missions in excess of 8 hours. These early bombing campaigns into Germany often meant no fighter escort beyond the range of existing fighter aircraft at the time including the Spitfire, Hurricane and Thunderbolt. Eventually, long range fighters, such as the P-51 Mustang, could escort the bombers all the way to target and return.

The B-17 also served in the Pacific theatre of war against the Japanese, though to a lesser extent than in the European theatre. The Japanese held a healthy respect for the B-17 and considered the aircraft "a four-engine fighter." Many fighter pilots held a healthy respect for the defensive capabilities of the B-17 throughout the war as, even without fighter escort, the multiple machine guns manned by B-17 crews gave attacking fighters cause for concern.

This week we introduced you to the big Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, used heavily by the USAAF during World War II in Europe and the Pacific. Next week we'll return with our review of the Boeing B-17 and how she helped the Allies win the war in Europe.