Customer Reviews

Final Cut: The Post War B-17 Flying Fortress: The Survivors: Revised and Updated Edition

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There have been many books published on the legendary B-17 bomber. But most of them cover the combat history of the plane, devoting only a chapter or less to the post war use of the planes and to the surviving aircraft. "Final Cut", on the other hand, is different. The book focuses solely on the non-combat use of the fortress, in roles Boeing designers never imagined the aircraft would do. Uses of the planes in the military such as target drones, air sea rescue and experimental work are shown. Civil uses include fire bombers, air mapping and transports (One plane even served with the CIA). There is also coverage of the planes that weren't so lucky and even discussion of Hollywood movies featuring B-17s such as "Twelve O'Clock High" and "The Best Years of Our Lives".

But where this book really shines is in the survivors. There are a few pages devoted to each survivor, with text and photographs explaining about the individual plane. The text of each section details the plane's use during and after its military service and eventual concludes with its current whereabouts and condition. The photographs help cover the lives of planes such as "Memphis Belle", "Shoo Shoo Baby", "Sentimental Journey", "Nine O Nine" and "Fuddy Duddy". Overall, a great source for millitary and avation buffs alike.

This is third edition of a book on surviving B-17 bombers. The author reports on the status of 48 basically complete and 11 partial airframes; this out of a total of 8,680 units.

The book is a bit like a family album brought up to date at reunions. But, unlike a family where members die while others are born, the B-17 family, while static in count, is improving with age. While the number of airworthy B-17s slipped from 14 in 1990 to 12 in 2008, the next few years could see the count rise by as many as five. Concurrently, a number of aircraft have been restored to near-new though static condition with two others - the equally legendary Memphis Belle and Ole Betsy/The Swooze - in the loving hands of the National Museum of the US Air Force.

Author Thompson begins the book by describing the drawdown and scrapping of the B-17 after World War Two. He covers post-war military uses Before moving to civilian uses. This broad overview is then followed by the meat of the book. Thompson works his way through the surviving, complete aircraft in numerical order by serial number, providing a history of the individual aircraft and a current status report. The sections vary from two to five pages and include photos from across the plane's lifetime. This is followed by brief reports on partial aircraft and unrecovered airframes. The book closes out with seven appendices that are a bit bureaucratic in nature addressing issues such as cross-referencing military serial numbers and civil registration. It is here that the book's only shortcoming can be found. One appendix lists B-17 appearances in movies; it has not been update past 1995.

As another reviewer said, this is a book for B-17 lovers...saying that is the highest complement that can be given.

all sorts of post-war B-17's - from crop dusters to gas stations to heavily modified B-17's. A Must have for the B-17 fan.