Immortalized in cinema and song, and personalized with flamboyant "nose art" by their crew of ten, this nearly indestructible aircraft earned its place in history as the most celebrated bomber of WWII. The B-17 flew in combat on every front world-wide.

The B-17G was introduced onto the Fortress production line in July of 1943, and was destined to be produced in larger numbers than any other Fortress variant. The most readily-noticeable innovation introduced by the B-17G was the power-operated Bendix turret mounted in a chin-type installation underneath the nose. This turret was equipped with two 0.50-inch machine guns.

The B-17G now had the defensive firepower of no less than thirteen 0.50-inch machine guns--two chin guns, two "cheek" guns, two guns in the dorsal turret, two guns in the ventral turret, two guns in the waist, two guns in the tail, and one gun in the roof of the radio operator's position.

The B-17G entered service with the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces in late 1943.

When production finally terminated in 1945, a total of 4035 B-17Gs had been built by Boeing, 2395 by Douglas, and 2250 by Lockheed-Vega. The last Boeing-built B-17G was delivered on April 13, 1945.