B-17E USAAF Pacific Theater **1/72 – Academy

The Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ was one of the USA’s main four-engine heavy bombers. It operated alongside the B-24 Liberator and the later B-29 Superfortress in all theatres of World War 2. The actual name ‘Flying Fortress’ was coined by a newspaper hack who witnessed a roll-out of the machine bristling with guns and turrets. Boeing realized this was the sort of propaganda they needed and trademarked the name. After the initial prototypes, serial production of the B-17 began with the B-17B variant and underwent a major revision with the introduction of the ‘E’. This type featured a substantially redesigned tail and fillet that featured throughout subsequent versions, giving the B-17 its iconic profile. An extra ten feet of length was added to the fuselage. Other refinements included the addition of a tail and dorsal turret, and the addition of a Bendix turret to replace the fixed bathtub type that had graced previous versions. This was found to be disappointing, and was eventually replaced with the Sperry ball turret that became a permanent feature of all future marques.