The P-51 Mustang is without a doubt, one of the most famous aircraft of the war, but the B-17 Flying Fortress is a close second. It first saw combat with the United States in 1942, but was actually first fielded in 1941 by the British Royal Air Force. The B-17s wreaked havoc on Nazi Germany’s factories, airfields, and a litany of other strategic targets, and they’ve been credited as a major reason why the Allies won the war. Factories made over 12,000 B-17s, allowing Allied forces to completely overwhelm Axis forces on the ground.
The B-17 worked best when it was escorted by planes like the P-51 which could dispatch any fighter planes ambitious enough to interrupt a bombing sortie. But that doesn’t mean the bomber was defenseless. The “Flying Fortress” name wasn’t just for fun. It was covered in nine total machineguns, allowing the plane to hold its own at least for a short time if the P-51s were occupied giving the Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany’s air force) a run for its money.
B-17s were also known for being able to take a massive amount of punishment before tapping out of the fight. It’s been reported by Boeing that some B-17s landed with as many as two out of its four engines entirely inoperable and covered in holes made by anti-air guns.
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