In line with its strategic policy the Army Air Corps continued to develop aviation around long-range bombardment. Long-range bombers would stop an invader far from our shores and therefore the aim of our Air Corps leaders was to develop a bomber that could be used for that purpose.

The Martin BM-1, the Barling bomber, and the Keystone LB-6, developed in the twenties, were all biplanes made of wood, metal, and fabric. What the Army airmen really wanted was an all-metal, low-wing, multi-engined bomber capable of flying far out to sea, dropping its bombs, and returning to its base on land. Naturally at that time our only thoughts were of weapons for defense and the protection of our coastline from an invader.

The Martin B-10 two-engined bomber seemed to fill the Army requirements. It was a low-wing monoplane capable of carrying a ton of bombs a thousand miles at a speed of nearly 200 miles per hour. It became the Army’s standard bomber in 1934.

In the same year ten Martin B-10’s, under the command of (then) Lieutenant Colonel Henry H. Arnold, made an historic flight to Alaska. This Alaskan trip was climaxed by a nonstop flight from Juneau, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, 943 miles over water in five hours and forty minutes. Alaska’s nearness became apparent and American airpower was needed to defend it. Army officials and top air strategists went to work. The answer was a call for bigger bombers with greater range, greater bomb capacity, and greater speed.

The Boeing Company, whose B-9 all-metal, low-wing, two-engined bomber had proved sensational in 1932, produced the answer to the Army’s problem of 1935. The answer was the giant four-engined model 299, America’s first four-engined bomber. It was a mid-wing, all-metal monoplane with a wingspan of 104 feet. With a top speed of over 250 miles per hour its performance was more than sensational.

The pioneering of unusual airplanes like the Monomail, the B-9, and the 247 transport were steps toward the Boeing 299. It was a courageous step from two-engined to four-engined bombers, but the Boeing Company made it so successfully that almost instantly the United States Army Air Corps won world leadership in long-range, heavy bombardment aviation.

The exceptional speed, range, armament, and bomb capacity of the 299 quickly resulted in the dramatic name Flying Fortress. As the B-17 it flew across the country at 232 miles per hour. In 1938, six B-17 Flying Fortresses set unofficial world records for speed and range in a mass flight from Langley Field, Virginia, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and return.