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,
The Centaur Company had the company represented by Barnum's famous circus star Jumbo, the giant elephant. Another ad featured the legendary boxer Joe Louis. In the 1920s, Centaur was one of the earliest advertisers targeting women directly. "Their advertising prior to that had targeted both men and women, but here [in the 1920s] they began to advertise additionally in the new publications specifically targeted to women." There were three "Fletcher's Castoria" B-17 Flying Fortress bombers during World War II, part of the 100th Bomber Group. The first was lost, but the crew survived. The second survived the war. Its pilot was William H.