Flying ace after he became the first pilot to down five German aircraft. The British initially used the term "star-turns" (a show business term), while the Germans described their elite fighter pilots as "Überkanonen" (which roughly translates to "top guns"). The successes of such German ace pilots as Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke were much publicised for the benefit of civilian morale, and the "Pour le Mérite", Prussia’s highest award for gallantry, became part of the uniform of a leading German ace. In the "Luftstreitkräfte" the "Pour le Mérite" was nicknamed "Der blaue Max"/The Blue Max, after Max Immelmann, who was the
Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress of the Lockheed Aircraft Company, at Burbank, California, delivered airframes with the -VE suffix. Air Accident Investigation Branch - Boeing B17G Flying Fortress, F-BEEA 11-89 (Adobe Acrobat)</ref> Aircraft destroyed by fire, but ten on board escape. This airframe had been the camera ship during filming of "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" in 1964, whose shadow makes an accidental cameo on the arctic ice pack below the B-52 Stratofortress attacking Russia. Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress This is a partial list of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing-designed B-17