Other Books
Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal Command Service
My first book was published in June 2010 by MMP Books. It told for the first time the full story of the Boeing B-17 Fortress in service with RAF Coastal Command. Often overshadowed by the longer-range Consolidated B-24 Liberator, the Fortress was available in greater numbers during the critical phase of the Battle of the Atlantic from October 1942 to March 1943, providing supply convoys with vital protection from U-boat attacks during their perilous voyages from Halifax to Liverpool. The type was later deployed to the Azores before serving out its days in the meteorological reconnaissance role.
MMP Books published a second, revised edition in September 2019.
Enhancements for the second edition:
Minor errors corrected
Greater detail on the supply of B-17s to Britain through Lend-Lease
Background on the decision to assign the Fortress to Coastal Command
Camouflage and markings section extensively updated
Development of the Beam Approach Beacon System for Coastal Command operations
Description of Fortress I operations in Egypt expanded
B-17Es operated by the USAAF in ‘RAF-style’ camouflage and B-17Fs in USAAF service marked with Air Ministry serials
Delivery of the twenty B-17Cs purchased by Britain described
Over 80 new photographs, diagrams, tables and document extracts
Scale drawings updated based on newly-available Boeing documents
Nine additional appendices and Fortress I photo essay available online on the following topics:
Boeing B-17E Fortress 41-9234, alias Fortress IIA FL461
Ferry Command Pilot Profiles
Transatlantic Ferry Documentation
Coastal Command Fortress Aircrew Profiles
Coastal Command Fortress Aircrew Casualties
Air Ministry Bomb Disposal - aftermath of crash of Fortress IIA FL454 at RAF Benbecula
Coastal Command Tactical Instruction No. 41
Take-off Across the Steel Planked Runway at Lagens, the Azores
Ditching of Fortress II FA707
Ken Brailsford’s War - a photo essay featuring a Fortress I pilot in Egypt and India
The above appendices and photo essay may be viewed here.
(Please note that the links and QR codes for these appendices on page 4 of the second edition's table of contents no longer work.)
Reviews for the second edition:
Airfix Magazine: This superb book has reappeared in revised form after first being published some seven years ago. It's arguably the best and most detailed examination of Coastal Command operations with the US-built B-17, and blends well researched text with revealing photographs, maps, documents, table and excellent colour artwork.
Modelling Madness: The author does a superlative job of telling this important, but often overlooked saga of the Fortress history. There are an incredible number of sections to the book covering every aspect of the initial purchase of the planes through their various war bases and units until the very end of their existence. This is illustrated by a superb selection of period photos, some in full color as well as various charts, graphs and an excellent section of profiles. Included are full plans on the aircraft as well as a short history of each plane and the ever popular 'More'. Actually, there is so much information in the book, that is truly impossible to cover it in this brief review. Let us just say that when you pick up this book, you will not be disappointed. Like other Mushroom Model/Stratus publications, it is superbly done and I give it my highest recommendation.
Cybermodeler Online: Author Robert M. Stitt’s first edition – originally MMP’s landmark 100th title – has long remained the definitive précis of RAF Coastal Command B-17s. Now his remarkable revision superbly supplants even that vital volume.
The latest Additions and Amendments document for the second edition of Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal Command Service - Revision 6, dated August 3, 2023 - is available in PDF format. Feel free to contact me via email if you would like a copy.
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