Pilot Training Manual for the B-17 Flying Fortress

With the first prototype rolling off the assembly line in 1935, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was the world’s first truly mass-produced four engined heavy bomber. 

The B-17 was used as the backbone of the US Army Air Force’s strategic bomber forces through all theaters of the Second World War. Used as a strategic bomber from Europe to Burma to the Pacific and North Africa, the B-17 earned a well-deserved reputation for bomb load, firepower, versatility and sheer ruggedness of the airframe. 

The B-17 carried a crew of 10 and the aircraft routinely hauled thousands of pounds of bombs on long-range "Aluminum Overcast" bombing missions Carrying a crew of ten, and 8,000 pounds of bombs on long range missions, the B-17 wreaked havoc on Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan during the most critical years of the Second World War.

Printed by the U.S. Army Air Force’s Office of Flying Safety in 1944, this B-17 Bomber Pilot’s Flight Operating Manual was an easy-to-read reference book which at a glance reminded B-17 pilots everything they needed to know about the "Fort." 

Originally classified "Restricted", the manual was declassified long ago and is presented here, reprinted in book format with similar dimensions to the original manual and packed with historic photographs and lavishly illustrated with two-color graphics and charts.

With originals becoming exceedingly rare, and with a price tag to match, this classic manual is a perfect lower-cost reference copy for aviation or military history enthusiasts. We are proud to have been able to remaster and restore our original copy in order bring this iconic aviation manual back into print.