Fortress Song, The

DESCRIPTION: "The navigator sits in front, Surrounded by charts trow..." "The captain sits on the left side, Flying the kite at ease." The other crew are described. "Prang the bloody fortress, Prang it good and strong, Now the Hudsons are all gone."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1967 (Ward-Jackson/Lucas-AirmansSongBook)
KEYWORDS: pilot technology hardtimes
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ward-Jackson/Lucas-AirmansSongBook, pp. 173-174, "The Fortress Song" (1 text, tune referenced)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lulu" (tune)
cf. "Flying Fortresses" (subject of the B-17 bomber) and references there
cf. "A Hudson Song" (subject of the Hudson patrol plane)
NOTES [292 words]: Ward-Jackson/Lucas-AirmansSongBook lists the tune of this as "Lulu," but given the various songs of that title, I haven't tried to identify which one is meant.
For a history of the B-17 bomber, see the notes to "Flying Fortresses." The B-17 became the first important American four-engine bomber -- but it took a while to develop a workable version. The first two models, the A and B, never really saw combat. The C version was made in greater numbers. "In return for combat data 20 were supplied to the RAF, which used them on a few high-altitude daylight raids with 90 S[quadro]n of Bomber Command. It was found that the Norden [bomb]sight tended to malfunction, the Browning guns to freeze at high altitude and German fighters to attack from astern in a defensive blind spot" (Gunston, p. 342). As a result, the surviving aircraft were taken out of bombing service and diverted to coastal command or the Middle East (Munson, p. 32). They weren't all that good as patrol aircraft, either, since they weren't good at hitting small targets, but at least they didn't get shot down as much. It' wasn't until the E model that the Flying Fortress really became a capable plane.
This song is clearly of that period. It describes the Fortress's crew of about ten fairly accurately: Pilot/captain, co-pilot, navigator, wireless operator, bombardier, and a bunch of gunners, including one in the belly turret, one in the tail turret, and one in the mid-upper. Exactly where the gunners served depended on the model of B-17; the arrangement of turrets was one of the things that varied most.
The other aircraft mentioned, the Hudson, had indeed been used in the reconnaissance role before the B-17s started to arrive; for a song about it, see "A Hudson Song." - RBW
Bibliography

Gunston: Bill Gunston, The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Salamander Books, 1988, 2002
Munson: Kenneth Munson, Aircraft of World War II, second edition, Doubleday, 1972

Last updated in version 6.8
File: WJL173

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography