Seattle, Washington State • September 21, 1942 On this date Boeing’s largest-to-date, 4‑engine heavy bomber lifted off on its maiden flight from its namesake’s airfield in Seattle, Washington. Three years earlier the forerunner of the U.S. Army Air Forces had expressed its interest in a replacement bomber for the company’s first 4‑engine heavy bomber, the…
Seattle, Washington State • July 28, 1935 On this date in 1935 a prototype 4‑engine bomber took off from Seattle, Washington’s Boeing Field on its first flight. The plane, known simply as Model 299 among Boeing employees, bristled with machine-gun mounts in its nose, sides, top, and tail. Dubbed the “Flying Fortress,” allegedly by a…
Clark Field, Philippines • May 29, 1945 On this date in 1945 3 test versions of the B‑32 4‑engine Dominators made their first combat appearance in World War II. Leaving Clark Field 60 miles/97 kilometers north of the Philippine capital of Manila, the Dominators targeted a Japanese supply depot less than a flight hour away. Four more B‑32 field…