Flying Fortress - the Illustrated Biography of the B-17s and the Men Who Flew Them

390 Pages·1965·34.378 MB·English

by  Edward Jablonski

i
The illustrated Biography ot the B-17s and the
Men Who FlewThem • by EDWARD JABLONSKI
$7.50
Wi7/j tuorethan400stunningillustra-
tions, here isthegrippingand unfor-
gettablestoryoftheB-17—thegreatest
fightingplaneofWorldWarII—andof
thegallantcrewswhomadehistoryin
thelegendary
FLYING FORIRESS
EDWARD JABLOIISKI
The Boeing B-17 was more than a
phme—and its story, and that of its
crews—ismorethanhistory.Itisdrama,
romance,adventure,tragedyandfolk-
lore set against the panorama of the
greatestwarinhistory.Tothemenwho
flew in the B-17, and particularly to
thosewhofeelthevowetheirlivesto
thismajesticaircraft,itwasmorethan
ametalmonsterwithfourenginesand
a hundred-foot wing. The B-17 was
almosthuman—theQueenoftheBomb-
ers,theBigBird,aGlorvWagon,affec-
tionately named "Rosie's Riveters,"
"MemphisBelle,""Swoose,""Suzy-Q,"
"Hell's Angels"—names which during
thebittersweetyearsofwarbecameas
celebrated as the men who fought in
them.
In flak-blackened skies over Berlin,
orSchweinfurt,orMerseburg,orReg-
ensburg,thesemenshareduntoldmo-
mentsofterrorandexhilaration.After
enemyfightershadknockedouttwoor
even three engines, or flak had torn
greatholesinthesidesandwing,the
crews believed the B-17—with its un-
canny will to live—would bring them
home,frightened,frozen,woundedand
dead. Theseveryyoungmen,mostof
them neither professional airmen nor
soldiers, look back upon those war
yearswithdreadtoday,buttheyhave
never forgotten their plane and how
much, forsome perhaps mystical rea-
son,theylovedit.
(Continuedonbackflap)

BY EDWARD JABLONSKI
TheGershwinYears,withLawrenced.stewaht
HaroldArlen: HappyWiththeBlues
GeorgeGershwin
The Knighted Skies
The GreatWar
Flying Fortress
FLYING FORTRESS
4
4^
FLYING FORTRESS
THE ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY OF THE B-17S
AND THE MEN WHO FLEW THEM
EDWARD JABLONSKI
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC., GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
LCIOBPnYAHHIYCHOTF©CON1C9H6E5SSBYCAETDAWLAORGDCAJBABDLONNUSMKBIER65-19886
ALLBIGHTS HESERVED
PRINTEDIN THEUNITEDSTATESOFAMERICA