Cockpit photo of IWM's B-17 Flying Fortress ©IWM
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STORY

Flying the B-17 Flying Fortress

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress dropped more bombs than any other US aircraft in the Second World War. A lot of these aircraft flew out of bases in England, as part of the USAAF’s daylight strategic bombing campaign, alongside the B-24.

The B-17 was known as a hardy, reliable aircraft, yet in the first year of their campaign over Germany, only 36% completed their required tour of 25 missions. What made the raids of the Eighth Air Force so dangerous? We take a look inside the fuselage and cockpit and hear from two veteran B-17 crew.

 

FRE 1637 hero img crop IWM (FRE 1637)
STORY

The Allied strategic bombing campaign

Over the course of the Second World War, the strategic bombing campaign developed from a limited force into a weapon of immense destructive power, with hundreds of cities subjected to air attack alongside military targets.
A P-51 Mustang (PI-W, serial number 44-15056) nicknamed "Jackie" of the 356th Fighter Group in flight, flown by Captain Jack W "Wild Bill" Crump. IWM (FRE 6075)
STORY

What made the P-51 Mustang special?

The P-51 Mustang could fly and fight with British and American bombers all the way to Berlin and back again. By 1944, the aircraft helped the Allies gain aerial superiority over Western Europe.
STORY

Joseph Heller, Catch-22 and the Second World War

Published in 1961 by American author Joseph Heller, Catch-22 is a satirical novel. Although Heller claimed it was a work of fiction, many of the characters and events in the book are parallel’s to Heller’s experience of the Second World War.

Story written by IWM staff and copyright of Imperial War Museums (© IWM). The copyright in the images belongs to IWM as well as other third parties. Neither the stories nor the images contained may be reproduced or licenced without IWM’s permission. 

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