B-17

The B-17, officially the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, was an American four-engine heavy bomber that formed the backbone of the American strategic air campaign over Europe during the Second World War. The aircraft was developed in the 1930s and, from 1942, was deployed on a large scale by the United States Army Air Forces from bases in England.
The B-17 was designed to fly at high altitudes during the day and accurately bomb specific targets. This was a deliberate choice by the Americans, who believed that daytime precision was more effective than the nighttime area bombing carried out by the British RAF. In practice, this precision was limited by weather conditions, cloud cover, and heavy opposition from German anti-aircraft fire, yet the strategy remained the foundation of the American air campaign throughout the war.
The crew of a B-17 consisted of ten men, including pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and several gunners who operated the numerous machine guns with which the aircraft was equipped. This armament gave the Flying Fortress its name, but also its reputation. Formations of B-17s flew in tightly organized groups to protect each other with crossfire against attacks from German fighters. Nevertheless, losses were sometimes enormous, particularly on missions deep into Germany before long-range fighters became available to escort the bombers.
Over the Netherlands, B-17s flew numerous missions en route to and returning from targets in Germany and occupied Europe. Dutch airfields, railway junctions, ports, and industrial installations were also among the targets themselves. For the civilian population on the ground, the B-17 formations, sometimes consisting of hundreds of aircraft at once, were an overwhelming sight. The sound of the engines, the glint of the fuselage in the sun, and the contrails in the sky were a conflicting image for many Dutch people: hope for liberation, but also fear of the bombs that sometimes missed their targets.
Downed B-17s sometimes crashed on Dutch territory. Crew members who survived the landing relied on the resistance for help with hiding and escape. Local civilians who helped a crashed crew risked their lives, yet many did so anyway, driven by solidarity with the men who came to fight for their freedom.