Fortress I being prepared for Raid

Here we see one of the small number of RAF Fortress Is being prepared to take part in an air raid. The Fortress I was judged to be unsuitable for service over heavily defended areas - it had no tail gun and no nose turret, and its guns tended to freeze at high altitude. Losses were heavy and the survivors of the original 20 soon went to Coastal Command for long range patrols.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Frederick A. Johnsen. A well researched and illustrated history of the B-17, with a very strong section on its combat record, an interesting chapter on the efforts made to improve the aircraft (including a number of suggestions that didn't enter production) and a good selection of colour pictures of the aircraft. [see more]

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (3 September 2026), Fortress I being prepared for Raid , https://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/pictures_fortress_I_being_prepared.html

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