Under military contract, the bomber went from design to flight test in just 12 months. Making its first flight on July 28, 1935, it was Boeing's first military aircraft with a flight deck instead of an open cockpit and was armed with bombs and five .30-caliber machine guns. Boeing plants built 6,981 of more than 12,000 B-17's delivered during World War II. The Fortresses were legendary for bringing their crews home safely even when damaged.

B-17 Bomber also known as Boeing B-17 and Flying Fortress [note from the Library of Congress Authority File].
Handwritten on sleeve: AIRPLANES, Boeing, B-17, Note: All portions of plane from which pictures were taken are censored.
Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): March 20, 1941.

Caption information source: P-I research files, www.boeing.com