Editing Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (section)

== Fortresses as a symbol ==
[[File:Flying Fortress Cartoon.jpg|thumb|The B-17's capacity to repel enemy attacks and still inflict heavy damage upon German military capability and production centers is rendered in this caricature.]]

The B-17 Flying Fortress became symbolic of the United States of America's air power. In a 1943 [[Consolidated Aircraft]] poll of 2,500 men in cities where Consolidated advertisements had been run in newspapers, 73% had heard of the B-24 and 90% knew of the B-17.<ref name="Johnsen 2006" />

After the first Y1B-17s were delivered to the Army Air Corps 2nd Bombardment Group, they were used on flights to promote their long range and navigational capabilities. In January 1938, group commander [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Robert Olds]] flew a Y1B-17 from the U.S. east coast to the west coast, setting a transcontinental record of 13 hours 27 minutes. He also broke the west-to-east coast record on the return trip, averaging {{convert|245|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} in 11 hours 1 minute.<ref name="Zamzow" /> Six bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Group took off from [[Langley Field]] on {{Nowrap|15 February}} 1938 as part of a goodwill flight to [[Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires, Argentina]]. Covering {{convert|12000|mi|km}} they returned on {{Nowrap|27 February}}, with seven aircraft setting off on a flight to [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, three days later.<ref name="WoF p46-7" /> In a well-publicized mission on 12 May of the same year, three Y1B-17s "intercepted" and took photographs of the Italian ocean liner [[SS Rex|SS ''Rex'']] {{convert|610|mi|km}} off the Atlantic coast.<ref name="AFM.91-12" />{{NoteTag|This is a commonly misreported error. The ''Rex'' was 725 miles offshore on her last position report as the Y1B-17s were taxiing for takeoff from Mitchel Field, four hours before interception{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} }}

Many pilots who flew both the B-17 and the B-24 preferred the B-17 for its greater stability and ease in formation flying. The electrical systems were less vulnerable to damage than the B-24's hydraulics, and the B-17 was easier to fly than a B-24 when missing an engine.<ref name="levine1992">{{cite book |title = The Strategic Bombing of Germany, 1940–1945 |url = https://archive.org/details/strategicbombing00levi |url-access = limited |publisher=Praeger |last = Levine |first = Alan J. |year=1992 |location=Westport, Connecticut |pages=[https://archive.org/details/strategicbombing00levi/page/n24 14]–15 |isbn = 0-275-94319-4}}</ref> During the war, the largest offensive bombing force, the [[Eighth Air Force]], had an open preference for the B-17. [[Lieutenant General]] [[Jimmy Doolittle]] wrote about his preference for equipping the Eighth with B-17s, citing the logistical advantage in keeping field forces down to a minimum number of aircraft types with their individual servicing and spares. For this reason, he wanted B-17 bombers and P-51 fighters for the Eighth. His views were supported by Eighth Air Force statisticians, whose mission studies showed that the Flying Fortress's utility and survivability was much greater than those of the B-24 Liberator.<ref name="Johnsen 2006" /> Making it back to base on numerous occasions, despite extensive battle damage, the B-17's durability became legendary;<ref name="Manual" /><ref name=browne /> stories and photos of B-17s surviving battle damage were widely circulated during the war.<ref name="Johnsen 2006" /> Despite an inferior performance and smaller bombload than the more numerous B-24 Liberators,<ref name="Birdsall 3">Birdsall 1968, p. 3.</ref> a survey of Eighth Air Force crews showed a much higher rate of satisfaction with the B-17.<ref name="B-17.de" />