Last week we had a look at the beginnings of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, from inception to initial service with the RAF, then the USAAF, in the war over Eurpoe. We return to continue our review of the Flying Fortress.

The Flying Fortress could also take some serious punishment and remain in the air. There are many accounts of the B-17 missing huge sections of fuselage, tail sections, wing sections, big ack-ack and cannon holes in wings and fuselages, even having the entire nose section ripped off in action and still making it back across the channel, often saving their crews, if not the aeroplane itself.

During US War Bond Tours, B-17s were returned to the US from active service to tour the continental US, raising monies for the war effort. Campaigns to raise funds saw communities across the US contribute to the war effort and aircraft such as the famous "Memphis Belle" inspired many to donate toward the cause. B-17s were built in the Boeing plant in Seattle, Washington, the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California and by the Vega Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California.

The B-17s performance improved with later models, 15 production models in total, and with the addition of GE turbo-superchargers included on all four of their Pratt & Whitney radial engines, the aircraft had a maximum speed of over 310mph and a maximum service ceiling of 38,000 feet. Machine guns were increased from 7 to 13 and, late in the war, 25 B-17s were outfitted with radio controls, loaded up with 20,000lbs of high explosives and, flown as drones by a "mothership" to targets, purposely crashed. These were referred to as "Aphrodite missiles."

During the latter part of war in the European theatre, combined bombing raids against Germany saw bomber forces well into the hundreds, at times 600, 800 or a 1000 bombers took part in these missions, many of which were the B-17. At times, attrition rates were unacceptably high, though losses of aircraft and crews were high on both sides. Between the RAF heavy bombers taking it to the Germans at night and the US Army Air Force bombing by day, the Axis forces were steadily pushed out of Europe and back into Germany. There is a lot of controversy over bombing raids on German cities such as Dresden, which killed tens of thousands of civilians, many felt it was justified after the continuous "Blitz" bombing of British cities whereby the Luftwaffe, earlier in the war, attacked and bombed London, Manchester, Liverpool, Coventry, Glasgow and other cities, killing tens of thousands of Brits.

The B-17 was a formidable weapon in the fight against the Nazi regime, including the Italians. There were in excess of 12,700 B-17s built, By the end of both the war in Europe and in the Pacific, the aircraft was outdated, with production ending in 1945 and most were decommissioned and flown back to the United States. However, some soldiered on and were used for Air Sea Rescue, photo-reconnaissance and VIP transports. Unfortunately, the large majority of B-17s, as well as other wartime aircraft no longer needed, were cut up for scrap and melted down to be used elsewhere. In all, some 27 countries utlised the B-17 during and post-war.

The final production model of the Flying Fortress was the B-17G with 13 50 calibre machine guns and a "normal" bomb load of 6000lbs. It flew with 4 Wright Cyclone R-1820 radial engines offering the big bomber a cruise speed of 170mph and a top speed of 300+mph. Though the big bomber laboured to get into the air when fully loaded, it was relatively agile when not loaded down with bombs and ammunition as well as the fuel required to get to target and return.

Today, there are about 40 surviving examples of the B-17 worldwide of which less than 10 are currently airworthy and a dozen or more examples either under restoration or tucked away in storage. Of the airworthy examples, all but two are currently in the US with the only other flying example in the UK and another, single airworthy example currently in storage in France.

If you've never flown in a warbird, or you've flown in a warbird but never in the B-17, seek out one of the currently flying examples in the United States, join the museum and treat yourself to a flight in one of these iconic aircraft. Whether you're lucky enough to find yourself sitting in the bombardier's seat in the nose or in a waist gunner's position in the fuselage, when you feel the power of those four Pratt & Whitney engines as the aircraft rumbles down the runway, you'll get an idea of what aircrews went through during operations in World War II. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress helped to win the war in Europe. Though hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed during bombing campaigns, including women and children, the B-17 served a need for Britain and her Allies. It was a workhorse, flying not only bombing missions but flying VIPs and cargo as well as flying on coastal patrols. It really was a fortress in the air.