A large heavy bomber passes outward bound from England over the French coast through the thin, cold air at 21,000 feet. Inside, the ten men of the crew finger their guns, listen to the roar of the engines, and scan the sky for the small black dots which will bring battle. It is late fall 1942. The plane is a B-17 Flying Fortress, known to those who fly her, defend her, and depend upon her, as the Queen Of The Skies

B-17 is designed primarily as a solitare game, pitting you and your crew against the German air defenses. Your goal is to complete 25 missions and earn that ticket home.

Each mission begins by selecting that target city. The B-17 marker is then moved across the Strategic Map Board, zone by zone, from England to the target and back. In each zone, however, there is a chance that enemy fighters will appear. Die rolls determine the number, type, and position of the fighters. You must allocate defensive machine gun fire, hoping to knock down the fighters or spoil their aim. After the bomber fires, the fighters get their chance. Charts are consulted to determine if hits are made, where the damage is, and how serious. The Queen is an incredibly tough plane and can take a lot of punishment, but there is always the chance of that lucky hit that will bring her down. As the mission grinds on, you start to sweat--wounded crewmen, low ammunition, burned out engines, oil leaks...and more enemy fighters!