1941-1945c **WORLD WAR II** ~BOEING B-17C~ ("FLYING FORTRESS") US ARMY POSTCARD!

Description

1941 - 1945  ***WORLD WAR II circa.*** ~BOEING B-17C~ "FLYING FORTRESS" (UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE) ORIGINAL BLACK AND WHITE MILITARY-RELATED {{UNPOSTED}} POSTCARD ... WITH PHOTO-PRINT OF: BOEING B-17C!
(Approximate dimensions: 5 1/2" x 3 1/2").
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B-17 Flying Fortress
A B-17G,
Sentimental Journey
, performing at the 2014 Chino Airshow in
Chino, California
Role
Heavy bomber
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Boeing
First flight
28 July 1935
[1]
Introduction
April 1938
Retired
1968 (
Brazilian Air Force
)
Status
Retired
Primary users
United States Army Air Forces
Royal Air Force
Produced
1936–1945
Number built
12,731
[2]
[3]
Variants
Boeing XB-38 Flying Fortress
Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress
Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress
Developed into
Boeing 307 Stratoliner
The
Boeing B-17 'Flying Fortress'
is an American four-engined
heavy bomber
developed in the 1930s for the
United States Army Air Corps
(USAAC). Fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the
European Theater of Operations
and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during
World War II
. It is the
third-most produced bomber
of all time, behind the American four-engined
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
and the German multirole, twin-engined
Junkers Ju 88
. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft.
In a USAAC competition,
Boeing's
prototype Model 299/XB-17 outperformed two other entries but crashed, losing the initial 200-bomber contract to the
Douglas B-18 Bolo
. Still, the Air Corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation, which were introduced into service in 1938. The B-17 evolved through numerous
design advances
[4]
[5]
but from its inception, the USAAC (later, the
USAAF
) promoted the aircraft as a strategic weapon. It was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. It also developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base.
The B-17 saw early action in the
Pacific War
, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields.
[6]
But it was primarily employed by the
USAAF
in the daylight
strategic bombing campaign
over Europe, complementing
RAF Bomber Command
's night-time area bombing of German industrial, military and civilian targets.
[7]
Of the roughly
1.5 million tons
of bombs dropped on
Nazi Germany
and its occupied territories by U.S. aircraft, over
640 000 tons
(42.6%) were dropped from B-17s.
[8]
As of November 2022,
four aircraft
remain airworthy, none flown in combat. Dozens more are in storage or on static display, the oldest of these is
The Swoose
, a B-17D which was flown in combat in the Pacific on the first day of the United States' involvement in World War II.
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