Corgi Aviation Archive Series Diecast Model

Boeing B-17G-40 Flying Fortress – 44-6009 / WF-J ‘Flak Eater’, 364th BS, 305th BG, Eighth Air Force, RAF Chelveston, England, August 1944

1:72 Scale.  Length: 12.4”.  Wingspan: 17.25”


Limited Edition of 1,300 Models Worldwide

From the perspective of a Luftwaffe fighter pilot, the sight of hundreds of B-17 Flying Fortresses heading towards them must have been magnificent and terrifying in equal measure. As the Allies pressed home their increasing aerial supremacy throughout 1944, not only would the Luftwaffe have to contend with a wall of defensive fire from the tightly packed bomber formations they also knew that the B-17s protective fighter cover would be on them both before and after they made their almost suicidal attack run. The latest and definitive B-17G variant introduced the electrically operated Bendix chin turret which had been developed to combat the frontal attacks preferred by Luftwaffe fighter pilots against earlier models and further increased the defensive firepower of these heavily armed bombers.

Chelveston based B-17 ‘Flak Eater’ of the 364th Bombardment Squadron certainly wanted any attacking Luftwaffe fighter to know that she was equipped with the nose armament and sported distinctive ‘shark mouth’ art to act as a visual deterrent to any enemy pilot looking for a potential target. Despite the frantic nature of the European air war around the time of D-Day, the decision to apply the turret teeth was vindicated, as they helped ‘Flak Eater’ through at least twenty-eight combat missions and to survive the war relatively unscathed. The bomber returned to the US in June of 1945, where she was later scrapped at Kingman Army Airfield in Arizona, a fate which awaited the majority of aircraft which had fought so valiantly during World War II.


The Corgi Aviation Archive features a wide selection of high quality, ready-made diecast model airplanes. Each model is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, using specifications of the original aircraft. Corgi models are built with diecast metal and some plastic components.

This model of a B-17 Flying Fortress features: