As Luftwaffe fighters preyed on British aircraft during World War II, the unconventional General Bernard Law Montgomery was determined to acquire a formidable American B-17 Flying Fortress bomber aircraft for his travel security. In 1943, Monty made a daring wager with American leadership to win a Fortress as a prize in exchange for victories in North Africa. Monty's quest for the Fortress would see him defy official channels and fight a series of bloody battles across Tunisia with ruthless precision. A motley assortment of young American aviators from diverse walks of life were destined to join Monty in his B-17 as his crew. Most had never traveled outside the United States. All had already distinguished themselves for heroism in combat. None expected to be assigned this unusual duty. An unlikely bond formed between Montgomery and his US crewmen. American aviators who served with Monty would recall their adventures with him as among their most memorable wartime experiences. After the war, the true story of the Fortress and the transatlantic friendship it brought about was forgotten amid political backbiting and jealousy from other Allied commanders. Now published for the first time in one volume is the full story of Montgomery and the American airmen who protected him during the war, previously lost to history, with details about the furious conquest Montgomery staked on winning the Fortress and biographical details about the intrepid US aviators who accompanied him. AUTHOR: Zita Ballinger Fletcher is an award-winning author and military historian. She has written over 100 military history articles and more than 10 books, under the creative pen name Zita Steele, including the first published collection of Field Marshal Rommel's photography in the Erwin Rommel: Photographer series, and Bernard Montgomery's Art of War, which won a Silver Medal Award from the Military Writers Society of America. Zita is fluent in German and has done research at historic sites and battlefields across Europe and the USA. She served as the Editor of Military History Quarterly (MHQ) and Vietnam magazines and was the Chair of the Friends of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum in Warwickshire. As a defense reporter, she has provided news coverage of the Pentagon, U.S. Congress, the global defense industry, and all branches of the U.S. military for Defense News and Military Times. She served proudly as the official historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and has written in German as a guest historian for the German War Graves Commission, which she supports. She holds an M.A. in Military History with Distinction from the University of Birmingham Centre for War Studies. 20 b/w illustrations