While the Model 299, te Boeing designation for the B-17, first took flight on 28 July 1935, the slim, streamlined aircraft was a far cry from the bomber that would become an icon of the air war in Europe.

With 3,405 examples of the type built, the B-17F helped form the nucleus of the Eighth Air Force. This volume conbines historical and contemporary images, including a large number of wartime shots, the majority in clour.