The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAF
in the daylight precision bombing campaign of
World War Two against German industrial,
civilian, and military targets.
The USAAF 8th air force based in England and the
15th air force based in Italy complemented the
RAF Bomber Command's night time’s area
bombing in operation Point Blank which was
intended to help secure air superiority over the
cities, factories and battlefields of Western
Europe in preparation for the up coming
operation Overlord.
The B-17 also participated, to a lesser extent, in
the Pacific War where it conducted raids against
Japanese shipping and airfields.
The B-17 began operations in World War two
with the RAF in 1941 and the USAAF 8th air force
and 15th air force units in 1942 with its primary
targets of daylight precision bombing campaign
against German industrial targets.
During World War II the B-17 equipped 32
overseas combat groups, inventory peaking in
August 1944 at 4,574 USAAF aircraft worldwide
and dropped 640,036 tons of bombs on European
targets. Approximately 4,750, or one third of
B-17s built were lost in combat.
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