The B-17: The Flying Forts Kindle Edition

The writer put me in every position that the 10-man crew of the Flying Fort with his vivid descriptions. My uncles, Jack Houston and Dominic Correro were intimately involved with the B-17 in different locations during WWII. Uncle Jack was credited with 7 kills as a waist gunner in the CBI theater and Uncle Dominic was quoted to have said, “I could dismantle an engine and replace every piece blindfolded.” May God rest theirs and all souls who ever were B-17 personnel.

There's something about the B-17, no denying that. This provides an interesting history of how the engineers and accountants at Boeing laid the company on the line to develop the B-17 that the government didn't know it desperately needed. A strong thread of personal stories are woven into the history of this aircraft at war almost to the end of the book. The last 2 chapters are almost anti climactic as it lapses into statistics of aircraft sent up on missions and losses. After the war usage is vague and seems a bit of an afterthought on the part of the author. Overall, I'd still recommend this book to any warbird enthusiast.

Having just gotten into the first couple chapters, it is told from a personal view which one doesn’t always get from historical facts and numbers. It reveals the aircraft’s weaknesses and it’s ruggedness to bring itself and the men flying it back home. It makes one think of the fears and horrors these boys endured. If you’re a WWII enthusiast, especially for the air war, this book is great.

This book is a tremendous tribute to the crews who flew in them. My Dad was a B17 bombardier. He told me his stories, and I have his diary that logged his 50 missions along with narrative of what happened. However, like many of his generation, he didn’t describe the horrors of flak and German fighter attacks. This book fills in the blanks and brings the type of experiences he would have encountered to life. I highly recommend it.

This is an excellent narration of the impact of the B-17 on the growth and development of the American air power doctrine from the period between World War I and World War II and on into the post-war period. The men (sorry, but it was only men in those days) who flew these mighty machines were some of the greatest of the greatest generation. The book concentrates on the airframe rather than the people, but that is appropriate to this story. This book is a necessary read for any serious student of military air power.

First... the book is great. I highly recommend it. Just don't waste your money on the hardcover.After a few days of light usage, the glue between the book and the cover (boards) is peeling away. I bought the hardcover to have something that would last, but this clearly won't. I'm very disappointed I wasted money on this.

If you are interested in WWII history, especially the air war, I think you will find this book interesting. It seems to be authoritative, but I have not way to really judge that. It is more of a recitation of facts than a "story".

It is the complete, whole story of the development of the fabulous B-17, from beginning to end. It pulls on punches on the tragedies of our losses of hundreds of pilots and crews. But it also tells what a wonderful, effective airplane and the job that it did. It was a big factor in the success of D-day. You won't be sorry that you chose to read fascinating story.

second time around for me,martin caidin is,or was an excellent author,and knew his aircraft...the mighty 8th is a hobby of mine,and the b17 is one of my favourite aircraft,so i found this book enthralling.

This book was quite informative as a whole. HOWEVER it would have been a much better book had the writer seen fit to inserted period photos of the different marks. Also photo`s of special aircraft such as the x-B-38 & the x-B-40. The narrative had tendency to get bit long winded at times.