Boeing made reality the operational concept of strategic bombing with the B-17 Flying Fortress. In combat, the B-17 had to fight a difficult battle to prove the concept of daylight bombing. In operation through the darkest hours over both Europe and the Pacific, the 17 became the hallmark bomber of WW2 and paved the way for not only for its peers but its successors.
England meanwhile had in the Lancaster possibly the finest strategic bomber of WW2 on a payload/range basis and chose a different operational path than the Americans in optimising their aircraft for night operations against Germany. The development and operational record of this fine aircraft is fully detailed and backed up by a plethora of never before seen photos and specially commissioned artwork.
The ultimate heavy bomber of the era was Boeing's B-29. Pressurised, able to fly above the flak, computerised, and armed to the teeth with automatic defensive .50 guns, the 29 flew missions over distances not even imaginable a decade earlier and ushered in a new era of large aircraft design that would give birth to both the long range airliners and bombers of the postwar era.
