But how much do you really know about the Flying Fortress? The B-17 originated as the Boeing Model 299, created in response to a 1934 U.S. Army Air Corps competition to replace the Martin B-10.

In 1935, a prototype of the four-engine plane departed Boeing Field in Seattle for its first flight. Known only as Model 299, a Seattle Times reporter nicknamed the plane “Flying Fortress ...

However, the Model 299, which was a cross between the Boeing 247 passenger airliner and the experimental XB-15 (Model 294), was truly a leap forward in aviation design. Just weeks after making its ...