Fletcher, Zita B. Monty’s Flying Fortress

During the Second World War, as Luftwaffe fighter planes hunted British aircraft, the unconventional General Bernard Law Montgomery was determined to acquire one of the imposing American B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombers to ensure his own travel safety. In 1943, "Monty" struck a daring wager with the American leadership: he offered victories in North Africa as a stake in exchange for winning a "Fortress" as a prize. Montys quest for the "Fortress" would lead him to disregard official channels and to wage a series of bloody battles in Tunisia with ruthless precision. A motley crew of young American airmen from widely diverse backgrounds was destined to serve as Montys crew aboard his B-17. Most of them had never left the United States before. Yet all had already distinguished themselves through heroic action in combat. None of them had ever expected to be assigned to such an unusual duty. An unlikely, close bond formed between Montgomery and his American crew members. The American airmen who served alongside Monty would later remember their shared adventures as some of their most memorable experiences of the war. After the war ended, the true story of the "Fortress"and of the transatlantic friendship it had forgedfaded into obscurity amidst political intrigue and the jealousy of other Allied commanders. Now, for the first time, the complete story of Montgomery and the American airmen who protected him during the war appears in a single volumea story that had previously been lost to history. The book provides detailed insights into the fierce campaign of conquest that Montgomery risked as his stake to win the "Fortress," as well as biographical details about the intrepid US airmen who accompanied him on his travels.