The Reason Behind Why Most of B-17 Crews Never Returned Home

The Reason Behind Why Most of B-17 Crews Never Returned Home

The Illusion of the Flying Fortress The B-17 bomber was presented to the public as the “Flying Fortress,” a four-engine machine loaded with thirteen guns and a bomb payload capable of leveling city blocks. It appeared unstoppable, a flying shield of steel and firepower. To the men inside, however, it felt nothing like a fortress. They saw it as a fragile metal shell, rattling and freezing at high altitude, vulnerable to sudden destruction. Every…