Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry (prototype Model 299/XB-17) outperformed both competitors and exceeded the air corps' performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract (to the Douglas B-18 Bolo) because the prototype crashed, the air corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time,
II Bomber Command II Bomber Command The II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943. During World War II, the unit trained large numbers of B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombardment groups. It controlled operational training units (OTU) and replacement training units (RTU) primarily in the west and southwest of the United States until late 1943 when its operations were taken over by Headquarters, Second Air Force and the command was disbanded. It also performed antisubmarine patrols