Production. B-17F heavy bombers. Two girl workers in the Long Beach, California, plant of the Douglas Aircraft Company, put finishing touches on the bombardier nose section of a B-17F heavy bomber. Better known as the "Flying Fortress," the B-17F is a later model B-17, which distinguished itself in action in the South Pacific, over Germany and elsewhere. It is a long range, high altitude, heavy bomber with a crew of seven to nine men with armament sufficient to defend itself on daylight missions