Zita Ballinger Fletcher, an award-winning author and military historian, bring us “Monty’s Flying Fortress”

As defense reporter and Forbes contributor, she writes on national security, military affairs and emerging weapons technology. She has covered NATO, the Pentagon’s integration of autonomous systems into U.S. military forces and emerging approaches to counter-drone warfare.

Zita was previously the first female editor managing Military History Quarterly (MHQ) and Vietnam magazines. After receiving her BA she became the author of the first published collection of Field Marshal Rommel’s wartime photography. In her early writing career she published books using the creative pen name Zita Steele.

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 has done research about war history across the US and internationally, visiting many key historic war-related sites including The Museum of Military History in Vienna, Austria; The Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg; The Munich Stadtmuseum, and many more places. She was awarded the 2026 USF Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognizing exceptional career achievement, service to the community and innovation.

About Monty’s Flying Fortress: 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.

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