Hints:

Success in B-17 revolves around taking care of and learning from your crew. Take time to notice how the computer-controlled gunners aim for the fast moving fighters and try to learn from their techniques. When you are being attacked, use 'Z' and 'X' to change to an enemy fighter, then SHIFT-F1 to see the battle from the fighter pilot's view.

Take care of your engines:

Make regular checks on the outside view to check
your engines; if your co-pilot has been hit you
don't get any warning. Fuel leaks can be critical
to the success of a mission. If necessary you need to turn off an engine or two and drop out of formation to conserve fuel. If your engines are on fire point the nose at the ground and try diving at between 350-400 mph - this is useful in later levels when one fire extinguisher per engine isn't enough.

A healthy crew is a happy crew:

Make regular checks to ensure the crew is OK and that the guns aren't jammed - it's easy to miss messages in the heat of combat. Keep at least one pilot healthy because the plane can end up in a spin if it's in a turn when the pilot is hit, giving little time to bail out. Make the radio operator send a MayDay message to improve your chances of survival when you're bailing out over the channel. Landing an engineless, bullet-ridden, flame-scorched B-17 after a mission is risky and difficult. Bail out over the channel to ensure mission success. Before landing, attempt to heal injured crew otherwise they are hospitalised. Having more than one crew member peform first aid on a casualty increases the chances of success.