Boeing B-17: Flying Fortress (Crowood Aviation) [Hardcover]

This is an imformative, facinating,and sometime sad video of the men who fought in WWII and flew the B-17's. It is hard to belive that they were so young and faced the dangers so bravely. I bought this as a present after watching it myself. It gave me an understanding of what my father faced. I especially liked the inclusion of where the remaining planes are now.

My Dad is currently 93 years old this past September 2011. As a sophmore in college, he suprised his high school sweetheart (my Mom) on his return to his home town and advised that he had enlisted in the then Army Air Corps. The year was 1939. The Army had plans for the 21 year old kid from central Illinois, and it sent him off to flight school. My Dad then found what he had been born to do...fly. At that time, the US had not entered into the war in Europe, but was getting ready. My Dad became very good in flying, and was advanced by the Army to be a flight instructor, teaching others how to fly...the young men advanced until they were adept at flying fighters.

My Dad then was introduced to "his plane"...the B-17 Flying Fortress, a Bomber with self defense capabilities in the form of .50 cal twin machine guns in multiple turrets. Fearful of German submarines attacking the Panama Canal, my Dad and his bomber (and crew) were sent to Holbrook Field in the Canal Zone to fly patrols hunting for submarines. One Sunday, my Dad, Mom, and another B-17 pilot and his wife borrowed a jeep and took off early for the beach to have a picnic...on their return around 6pm in the evening, they were met by Army military police at the gate entrance carrying loaded machine guns. The pilots (including my Dad) were sent to the tarmac where they, with their crews and maintenance personnel were ordered to fly their planes to remote satellite airfields to protect the B-17 bombers from attack. My Dad, crew and maintenance guys were sent to a small airfield in Guatemala. My Mom, together with other wives were taken by the Army deep into the jungle where they lived for several days in tents. The date was December 7, 1941.

My Dad then flew the B-17 from the Panama Canal Zone for the remaining years of WWII, protecting the canal from attack by sea. He stayed in and retired after 22 years as a Lt. Col., flying many more different planes...but he never forgot "his Bomber".

With this background you may appreciate my review.

The Review

The book was ordered from Amazon in time to be there for his 93rd birthday this year. The book was described as "used" but in "good condition". It was in excellent shape! It arrived 1 week before the needed time. About 1 hour into the party, after cake and champagne had disappeared, my Dad was deep into the book. He enjoyed it as it gave him a deeper understanding of the history and design of the plane. He has read it and re-read it multiple times. But also...the book contained stories of other men who flew the "Flying Fortress"...some of them whose names he remembered from his flying days some 60 years or more before. The book also contains many pictures of the B-17 in action, and being built. The book is an excellent book for those who flew it (whose ranks are becoming fewer as the years pass). But also...it is an excellent book for those whose Dads, Grandads, and even Great Grandads were part of the "greatest generation" keeping our country strong and put their lives on the line to protect our land. The book is history, but also a tribute to those brave men who flew these planes, but also to the women left behind to carry on without their men (many of which never returned)...These women, many of whom built these "Flying Fortresses" as "Rosie the Riviter" and her sisters.

There have been a ton of books published on the B-17 aircraft and its war record. After finishing Martin Bowman's B-17 FLYING FORTRESS COMBAT LEGEND, I think authors have been to the B-17 well once too often.

On the back cover, Airlife Publishing states that its 'Combat Legend' books are "the perfect introductions for the general reader (and) enthusiast." I'll grant you readers new to the B-17 will find Bowman's book of interest. It's a concise summary of the B-17 story with dozens of photographs and six pages of color profiles.

On the other hand, having read military aviation history books for 40-odd years now, I found little new in it. I enjoyed the reminiscences by B-17 crewmen but the rest of the book is a dry rehash of previously published material. Likewise, most of the photos are well-known.

Depending on where you're coming from, you may enjoy B-17 FLYING FORTRESS or feel 'Enough already!?!' Martin Bowman has turned out some marvelous air war books but I'll take a pass on this one. An optional purchase, methinks.