Flying Fortress; the illustrated biography of the B-17s and the men who flew them [Hardcover]

Edward Jablonski (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Doubleday & Company (1965)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00005VXSV
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,589,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Ring Twice For Mistress.", August 13, 2005

By 

J. H. Minde "Everything I need is right here" (Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Flying Fortress: The Illustrated Biography of the B-17s and the Men Who Flew Them (Hardcover)

Edward Jablonski's FLYING FORTRESS is a classic of aviation literature and is unique as the earliest, best-written "biography" of any aircraft. Sometimes imitated but never duplicated, FLYING FORTRESS is a wonderful read, less military history than memoir, and anyone who does read it comes away with love in their heart for the Boeing B-17, one of the most lethal, effective, rugged, and beautiful (if such a word applies to warplanes) flying machines ever built.

Jablonski takes us through the step-by-step evolution of this airplane, from its earliest wooden strut-and-wire precursors to its ultimate development into the B-29 "atomic" bomber of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The general design of the B-17 proceeded from Boeing's Model 299 to the wartime B-17G, of which almost 9000 were built. Although the "E," "F," and "G" variants were the most common of the more than 12,000 B-17s constructed, the Flying Fortress underwent literally hundreds of modifications and served variously as a heavy bomber, a command plane, a radar platform, an antisubmarine hunter, and even a kind of long-range superfighter during its decade-long career.

The B-17 was as widely distributed as it was modified. Although the Flying Fortress is most commonly associated with the Eighth Air Force based in England, Fortresses served in Italy, Africa and the Pacific theatre as well. The B-17 (along with the B-24) was the backbone of America's Strategic Bombardment program against Germany during World War II. Although the price was steep (about 25% of Fortresses never came home) Strategic Bombardment demonstrably shortened the war by destroying Germany's industrial plant. (Strategic Bombardment really came into its own only with the development of stealth technology and smart bombs, which allowed for pinpoint accuracy in targeting.)

Even more than the plane, Jablonski regales us with tales---some comic, some tragic---of the men who flew these planes and the dangers they faced. Jablonski rejoices in recounting the war stories of these now gray-haired old men (where they've survived), especially the exploits of the "Bloody 100th" Bomb Group (famous to this day as suffering from a Luftwaffe vendetta), and "Rosie's Riveters." Jablonski doesn't much credit the vendetta against the "Century Bombers" except as a pilots' legend, but he does do a wonderful job of bringing to life the exploits of the B-17 crews.

FLYING FORTRESS is rounded out with an extensive technical section (including the pilot's manual) and hundreds of photographs. (Nowadays the Web holds the actual pilot training films, a must see for anyone interested in the B-17.) The only shortcomings of FLYING FORTRESS are the lack of a table of organization for the Army Air Forces, the absence of a brief summary of the postwar history of a few of the more famous planes, and nothing regarding expanded information on insignia and nose art (which is an engrossing subject all on its own).

The Flying Fortress still fascinates, and is still beloved. Much of the continuing public fascination with the B-17 can be attributed largely to this book, which kept the B-17 alive before the Internet made esoteric information generally available.

A definite and definitive five star effort!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best B-17 book of all time, February 27, 2003

By 

"eaglescreams" (Hutchinson, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flying Fortress; the illustrated biography of the B-17s and the men who flew them (Hardcover)

Anyone interested in a complete book on the B-17 Flying Fortress must have this one. It is a classic. I have been refering to this book for some 25 years. I used to check this book out at the library every chance I could as a kid. Now I own my own copy. It has copies of manuals from the planes. Complete documentation of the evolution of this magnificent bomber. Most men that flew this plane, loved it. Though this book was written many years ago, I don't think our history revisionists can add much of anything to it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great History of a great plane!, June 5, 2011

By 

Stephen Winchell "The Reader" (Glens Falls, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Flying Fortress: The Illustrated Biography of the B-17s and the Men Who Flew Them (Hardcover)

I must admit this is not the first time that I have owned this book. I had a copy of it in High School and enjoy it now as much as I did then. Goes into great detail about the development and use of the B-17 during WWII. It has some very nice black and white photos and an excerpts from the pilot training manual are an added bonus.