CORRECTION: In the beginning of this video, we said that the B-24 Liberator is the most produced military aircraft of all time. This is not correct. The B-24 is the most produced bomber of all time, but the most produced military aircraft of all time is the Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik.
The great Squadron Leader Bulloch points out how the US was slow in getting B-24s to Coastal Command but the author Alfred Price has pointed out that Air Marshall Harris would never release four engine aircraft destined for Bomber Command to Coastal Command. One nights losses of Lancaster or Halifax bombers could have greatly helped close the Atlantic Gap. This would have made a better contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic in the early to mid war years then the aircraft being lost over Germany. By the way, I have the utmost respect for Terrance Bulloch.
Early in the war the RAF had absolute control over all aircraft. That is why the aircraft carriers of the royal Navy had the most god-awful aircraft to go to war with. Bomber Harris was a good man but had dangerous tunnel vision when it came to aircraft and where to use them.
My dad was the nose gunner on a b24, the Shady Lady. He flew 36 missions out of southeast England. 1 crash, 1 very close call when a piece of flack came within inches of cutting him in half but he came home without a scratch. I asked him once were you scared? He said he was scared for the first 3 missions but after that he wasn’t scared because he knew they would never make it through all 35 missions. It was just a matter of when your luck was up.
I'm a high school history teacher here in the Detroit area as well as an Air Force vet. Willow Run is just down the road from where my school is. I'll be using this video when we teach WWII this year. Hopefully, I can establish some pride in our students as I have for how impactful Detroit was during the war.
Fantastic, keep the history alive. That was an incredible factory; fraught with delays initially but later moving at great production speed. Several videos out there on TH-cam about it.
My Dad was a ball turret gunner on a B-24 The Pistol Pack'in Parson that was flown out of North Africa and Italy. They were one of many cruse that were on the Polesti bombing run.
I grew up in the 60’s. My friend and I were aviation lovers and spent hours studying WWII planes and building plastic models of them. At that time I don’t know that the reputation of the B-17 had eclipsed that of the B-24. I think we considered them to be pretty much equally worthy of respect.
In a Martin Marauder B 26. My Father flew 153 missions over Europe from May 1943 to May 1945. 9th Air Force 454 Bomb Group. Two Pratt Whitney 2800 WASP engines. Four bladed Curtis propellers. The fastest bomber in WWII. Landing speed. 150 mph. Top speed in a dive without bombs 475 mph. 12-50 Caliber guns 2 in the nose ( modified) 4 belly guns forward, pilots guns. 2 top turret guns 2 tail guns 2 waist guns either side. 12 total. Most fearsome formation tactical bomber in world war two. Most missions between 10-15,000 feet. The most powerful zone for deadly 88 German flak batteries. As many Luftwaffe fighters coming and going to targets until his last mission in May 1945 over Kassel Germany. In addition, My Father led the B-26 raids over Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge breakout. This bomber could carry 6,000 lbs in bombs, the same as a B-17. 153 times where every mission was D Day.
My dad flew 98 combat missions in a B24, mostly out of Kunming China. He was 14th Air Force (Flying Tigers), original air cadre. He flew the Mudfish and then, after a crash, the Mudfish ii. I have his logbooks.
And another correction. The bomb bay doors opened OUTSIDE of the fuselage, not into the bomb bay. Interesting, and I'm not sure why this wasn't mentioned being a British video, but it was the RAF who gave her the name Liberator. The USAAC/USAAF rarely named aircraft but the RAF did, and Liberator she was. Later, both Consolidated and the USAAF adopted the name. Considering the Lib's first role in the RAF was coastal command, it should be noted that the USN also used the Liberator -- as the PB4Y-1 -- as a long range sub-hunter, as well as her development, the PB4Y-2 Privateer.
Thank you for this informative video. My father was a tail gunner in an RAF B-24, stationed in India and undertook missions over Burma as part of 159 squadron.
The Willow Run plant was not the only mile long plant that produced the B-24. The B-24's 'home' in Ft. Worth, TX is also a mile long, running north/south alongside the Carswell AFB runway.
Thank you! Excellent story. A friend told me an interesting fact. Not sure if accurate but... The B17 had all electric motors powering everything. (lot's of copper) The B24's were all hydraulic. Only problem was their seals weren't as good as today plus the hydraulic fluid was flammable. So B24's leaked fluid and when hit by a hot round, caught fire. But easy to produce, not much copper.
Great video! Ernest K Gann flew the transport version of this aircraft the C-87. Gann did not like the C-87 he and his crew flew - apparently it had been repaired after some incident. He said it was reluctant to take off & was dangerous in icing conditions far more so than the DC-2/3. However, Gann had high praise for the engines of the C-87!
American POW's said that they could tell which bomber prisoners had been crewmen in - B17 or B24, because the B24 men were all severely burned. Apparently the B17 had armoured fuel lines and hydraulic lines, which made them less prone to catch fire. If you watch film of bomber raids it is rare to see a B17 catch fire.
Jimmy Doolittle preferred the "old" B - 17. The Fortress was easier to fly; and was an far more "forgiving" aircraft than the Liberator. The B - 24 had twin tailplanes; if one of them was shot or blown away, the ship would spiral out of control. A contrario, B - 17's were able to return to base. Even with most of their single, sharply raked vertical stabilizer shot or blown away. The B - 24 was an innovative design. The ship had power assist controls. Which most ships at that time did not have. And, the B - 24 had an nose wheel. Most aircraft were "tail draggers," with an tail wheel at the rear of the aircraft. The only other aircraft with this undercarriage configuration were the P - 38 Lightning, the B - 29 Superfortress, and the German Me 262. The B - 36 Convair "Peacemaker' also had an "tricycle" undercarriage. But this ship was not flown until 1948. And not deployed operationally until 1948 As well the B - 24 did not have bomb bay doors. The ship had "louvered'" external bomb bay doors. Which retracted like a window blind. In an mid ocean ditching, the impact with the water would tear away these doors, water would build up against the aft bomb bay bulkhead, and tear the aircraft in two. The sudden deceleration would kill the crew. By snapping their necks. The same phenomenon also tended to occur when effecting an "wheels up" "belly landing." However, there are videos on TH-cam in which B - 24's "belly land" and remain intact. The aircraft also had an very high landing speed and take off speed. As an consequence, if a ship lost an engine at taxi, the pilots had an very difficult decision to make: try to take the ship up on only three engines, or attempt to abort the takeoff. But, I have seen B - 24's on final with only two engines, the portside and starboard outboard engines, running. And the landing was successful. If somewhat uncontrolled. As well non obstant the ship's high take off speed, the B - 24 may have had an very slow rate of climb. "Climbing out" after take off was very gradual. But once at altitude the ship went fast. The starboard inboard engine also provided power to the ship's internal and external control systems and avionics. For this reason, German fighters tended to aim for number 2 starboard inboard. To knock it out. And render the aircraft uncontrollable. The number 2 starboard engine on the B - 17 also provided power to the avionics and hydraulics of this ship. As well. The B - 24 had an "cousin;" the "C - 87," Liberator "Express." Used and flown by RAF "Ferry Command." The armament was removed. And the bombay and perspex nose were plated over. An large sheet of plywood was placed over the bombay compartment. And an large door was cut in the portside of the aircraft. The ship was used as an material and troop transport. As well as for transporting "VIP's." Churchill had one. And the Soviet Ambassador was also given one. Colonel Wladyslaw Sikorski, who lead the Free Polish Government in London, had one too. He died in this aircraft in an accident off Gibralter in July, 1943. In circumstances that have always been considered curious. And even sinister. There have been claims that his ship was sabotaged. And the general murdered. As an final note, the B - 24 did not have an "real" entrance and exit door. Like te B - 17. Or the Lancaster. Instead, the pilot, co-pilot, and bombardier/nose gunner, climbed in thru an hatch in the nose wheel well. The pilot then activated an switch which opened the bombay doors. The radio operator, waist gunners, tail gunner and ball turret gunner then jumped onto an narrow trestle or gantry spanning the bombay, and walked to their respective crew stations. The dorsal turret gunner could join the flight deck crew. And climb into the aircraft thru the nose gear hatch. Or also board the aircraft thru the bombbay. Presumably. Finally, the B - 24 also had an ball turret. Underneath the aircraft. However, because of the very modest clearance between the underside of the aircraft and the ground, the ball turret was retracted into the aircraft at landing. And then lowered into position after rotation.
That the B24 was produced in the greatest numbers for a bomber has very much to do with Edsel Ford deciding that Ford Motor Company could apply the lessons of mass production to building a bomber. Fighting with his father Henry on FoMoCo having anything to do with the war, Edsel brought the might of Ford engineering to focus on producing these airplanes in mass. The stress of building the plant and these planes and the fights with his father contributed greatly to Edsel Ford's too early death.
Winston Churchill preferred the Liberator but NOT as a Bomber. Churchill found he could relax better in a Liberator flying across the Atlantic. Handley Page Halifax was not given the support by historians. Lancasters = the Dam Busters. Spitfires, Goering thought all RAF fighters (Hurricanes) were Spitfires. The CREW of all these aircraft were brave.
My friend's dad was a B-24 pilot. He was shot down and spent time in a POW camp in Germany. The B-24 'Strawberry Bitch' is on display at the Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio. Free!
A great video, great commentary and I love the addition of crew memories. But please, by all that is holy… LOOK AT THE CAMERA! I know the production team said that all the cool TV documentaries do it, but that’s why we gave up TV and moved here to watch tighter, cleaner more personal videos. There’s nothing more impersonal than look away from the viewer.
I believe that it has been proven that the crew of a B-17 had a lower survival rate than those of a B-24. The B-24 was a more modern aircraft, with better placement of defensive armament (once the glass nose was replaced with a turret) BUT it did have its weaknesses. It's wing design was not capable of any great level of damage and the aircraft was prone to catching fire. Despite this, it became the basis of the Navy's Privateer which flew operational sorties long after the B-17 was history. NO bomber was anything other than a big fat target when sent in without an escort. The "bomber will always get through" fools (American as well as British) caused so many losses (20 losses? well next time we send 1000 planes and then only 200 losses!)...if only!
Excellent video, plus a human presenter/narrator. I am impressed with the correction the editors made about the number of B-24's built. I'm finding more, and more, what I define, as unscrupulous video creators and editors, which I don't think, they ever heard of an editor. They spout incongruities' with no regard, and those ridiculous robots and the mispronounced words. Enough of the dumbing down of people. Adios.
I'm not sure if the doctrine of strategic bombing was flawed as much as it wasn't able to do as much as interwar dreamers thought. It wasn't able to deliver the knockout punch advocates claimed; but it did create production issues in the German rear. (Example: The Alkett factory being bombed in November 1943 dropped production of the popular StuG III by almost 90%, pushing them to design and produce StuG IV and Jagdpanzer 38 vehicles--quite a burden for a country that also cannot guarantee its logistical network will work on a given day.) I think the part that could better be described as flawed was the idea of "the bomber will always get through" there were enough developments seen leading up to the war and to the American involvement that that idea should have been shelved a lot sooner.
How come no one has any submarine door gunners in this comment thread? I mean everyone keeps talking about their dad or uncle being a waist gunner on a bomber or a ball turret gunner but what the submarine door gunners like my neighbor was ? He was also in the CIA , NSA , and was the last five star general but he told me all his records are classified so I would never be able to find them. I asked about people that were under his command are they still alive but unfortunately his entire command staff were killed on a weekend get together at a amusement park, a roller coaster went off the rails killing all of them .
I had the privilege of reading the flight log of a B24 crew member. It was stated in a very "matter of fact" way that the large amounts of frozen blood on the gangway made it difficult to check on the non-responsive tail gunner. And we think we have difficult jobs... 😮
0:57 its wrong! The b24 liberator was with ca.18480 pcs. Only the most built American combat aircraft of the second world war. The most built military aircraft of all times was the Polikarpov Po-2 with about 40000 pcs., followed by the Ilyushin Il-2 with about 36000 pcs. and the BF109 with about 33000 pcs. In front of the liberator came the spitfire with about 20300 pcs. and the FW190 with about 19500 pcs.
The most produced military aircraft of all-time, with over 33,000 units, was the Bf-109, not the b-24, of which 18,500 examples came off the assembly line. Do some research!
My dad, James H. Link, was a tail gunner on B-24s. Flew quite a few different planes as depending on damage from missions, you could end up in a different plane on your next mission. One of his planes I remember was the "Ain't Mis Behavin'". Flew out of North Africa and Italy. Was shot down and spent 8 months as a POW. Moved often on trains to different camps. Was in Stalag Luft III where some time before he was there, the Great Escape took place. Never talked much about any of WWII and I'm sure suffered from PTSD most of his life. I'm honored to be his son. A good man.
My grandfather was an infantryman in North Africa and Sicily and slated for the invasion of Japan. Thanks to Oppenheimer he survived the war. He didn't say anything about the war until a few years before he passed at age 85.
My uncle was there also flew on a B-24 with the 454 bomb wing Martin Farrell was his name and he was a waist gunner. Shot down only survivor on his plane.They were bombing the oil fields
@@randallraszick6001 my grandfathers brother was in the Royal Navy and did the north artic supply runs to russia, then his ship did escort service to malta, where it was torpedod, he survived but was caught by an italian fisherman and handed over to the germans. where he was a POW until the end of the war. he never said anything about his experience except for once, when he told his story to an author writing a book from different survivors perspectives. As far as i know this was the one and only time he spoke about it sadly now deceased my mother has a copy of the book, so at least his memory lives on.
My father was a B-24 pilot in WWII, flying their B-24 from the factory over to England. Named Superstitious Aloysius PJ 42-52673 in the 486th BG, 833rd at Sudbury England. A few months later the unit transitioned to B17-Gs, also named Superstitious Aloysius PR 42-97968. Completed 30 missions then home.
The reputation between the B-24 and the B-17 is kind of like the reputation between the Hurricane and the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. The B-24 like the Hurricane was more numerous and did the majority of the work but the B-17 like the Spitfire gets all the glory.
The B-17 could take more punishment (battle damage) than the B-24 especially the wings, which is why the crews liked the B-17 better. I spoke to the pilot of the Collings Foundation's B-24 and he said flying the Liberator was like flying a freight train compared to the Flying Fortress.
@@yoehonjohn4832 Imho P47 is more appropriate since the Corsair was a carrier fighter. The P47 was in service much earlier than the P51, and with aux tanks and judicious use of the throttle the P47 had more than sufficient range.
It's more about location. The unique requirements of the war over NW Europe happened to be conducive to the B-17, in the MTO and particularly the Pacific the Liberator was superior with it's longer range. During and after the war, the VIIIth AF got the most publicity so the B-17 was more retained in popular memory.
My grandmother was a warbride for a co-pilot that flew B-24s. He was killed over Austria in January 1945. Supposedly, he was filling in with different crews beyond his own, flying extra missions to fill his quota and get back to her sooner. He died on one such mission. My grandmother remarried after the war, but remained in close contact with his parents. RIP 2nd Lt. August Albregts. I wouldn't exist without your sacrifice.
sounds like straight of a series called catch-22 where a bombardier is filling in extra missions to get back but never does, they always raise the mission quota
The video has a veteran stating the Yanks only sent 4 over; most histories of the Bomber war state Bomber Harris refused to release B-24s to Coastal Command, due to his fixation with winning the war by bombing German cities to rubble. The dig about the Ploesti raid being a failure also is a subtle denigration of the American's fixation on bombing oil and transportation facilities, which deprived the German military of the fuel necessary to move tanks, and fly aircraft This especially limited training of replacement pilots, for the Luftwaffe fighters the American daylight fighters (the P-51 especially) were sweeping from the skies, starting in early 1944....
@@M80Ball I find it really weird as well because @taofledermaus is a very niche channel I watch that usually consists of him or Officer Gregg shooting custom shotgun shells of all variety.
The Consolidated B-24 was a fantastic aircraft but never reached the popularity of the B-17, the rivalry was similar to Lancaster and Halifax. My wifes father flew on the last B-24 mission of WW2 when the 392nd Bomb Group attacked Hallein Austria April 25 1945. He went on to work for Consolidated in San Diego, then renamed Convair, he helped build the F-102A Delta Dagger.
@@samsignorelli We know he worked at Convair San Diego Works near the airport. Then in 1958 he was transferred to the Convair Atlas Missile plant in Kearny Mesa and worked there into the late 70s.
@@billballbuster7186 My Dad was based at the Lindbergh plant, but did go to the Kearny Mesa on occasion....it's possible they met, at least in passing. And at Kearny, your father may have met my older brother who was in purchasing at that plant. Small world!
@@samsignorelli Small world indeed, the wifes dad was an engineer at Lindberg but had risen to a Dept Manager at Kearny Mesa. He never talked about what he actually did there.
Dad's dad was a waist turret gunner on B-24's out of Italy and we're lucky to have a photograph of their crew. He kept in touch with the tail gunner for 50 years after the war, then Dad picked up the conversation. Most people aren't necessarily familiar with the aircraft. Thanks for keeping the physical plane and its legacy.
I manned the waistgunner position on Diamond Lil last month - the only B-24 still flying/ I was amazed how tough it was to hold it aimed forward, I'd never considered the wind resistance on the barrel before. It was an amazing experience, that they hit anything from there shows how good they were!
Interesting, my father 35 missions as a bombardier with the 455th BG 720 sqd out of Italy, maybe they knew each other. His best friend..... the nose gunner.
My uncle died in a B-24 attack on the Skoda Armsworks in CZ in 1944. I got to ride in a B-24 a few years ago and it totally boosted my respect for the men that served in these planes.
The lens being cleaned at 4:05 is a “Leylight”. They had one on each wing angled to focus at the bomb aiming point. The radar would lose the Uboat at a predictable distance where the lights were powered up. Pilot kept going straight. Bombs released when the conning tower appeared in the crossed beams almost always scored a hit. They were so effective that Uboat crews believed there was a special weapon in use. RN listening stations used radio direction finding to determine location of U-boats radio signals. A bomber was directed in and used radar to find the surfaced sub.
I hate to do this, but... It's actually called a Leigh light, created by Wing Commander Humphrey de Verd Leigh. There was only one mounted on the aircraft, to illuminate ahead of the airplane. Your description of the crossed beams sounds more like the height finding downward lights of the Dambusters. Sorry to be pedantic, but I feel that accurate info is better.
Speaking of Ford and Willow Run - Ford was to build B-24s under license from Consolidated. Ford execs met with Consolidated execs in California. The Ford execs brought a suitcase to a meeting with Consolidated. Consolidated asked, "What's the suitcase for?" To which Ford replied, "To take copies of the blueprints back to Willow Run" Consolidated laughed. They gave Ford a copy of the blueprints, but it took a railroad boxcar to hold all of the plans.
It's true. There's a excellent book detailing how the US became the arsenal of democracy. Check out "Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II" by Arthur Herman.
A full railroad box car is probably an exaggeration but probably not by much. Have you ever seen the manufacturing blueprints and plans for a rifle? Let's just say they couldn't fit in a briefcase. Dozens of separate booklets and schematics. Thousands and thousands of pages. This isn't a rifle but a big plane.
My great uncle, Flying Officer VE Crowther RNZAF was an Observer with 224 squadron he did his training in Canada and he became the squadron bombing leader. He flew in an RAF Liberator MK3A, which was basically a B24D in RAF camouflage, it was fitted with the then top secret ASV radar. He and 5 other members of his crew died in an air accident on 30th October 1942. The tail gunner was the only survivor. We must remember all the aircrews that made the ultimate sacrifice during WW2.
The best depiction I've seen on a topic I'd been hearing about since I was a boy. This is because my Dad's brother and sister along with her husband built this plane in San Diego. Also, my Grandfather, John Nicholas Bergen was a foreman for Consolidated, building PBYs. He had a third grade education, but with a genius for metalworking that made him invaluable. You say ?David Davis? designed the plane? As I heard it, the plan was to give top priority to the Davis Wing, and next to the bomb bay with particular concern about the frustrating bomb bay doors that ruined flight trim characteristics at the worst possible time. That is opening flap type doors while the craft begins its bomb run. So, he? was determined to use a roll top desk approach. Only the prototype lost these roll top doors when they blew off. Time again they tried everything and failed even referring to the top aeronautical engineers. It all failed, so at a last resort, they reluctantly got my irascible Grandpa. I've many times heard him comment on the engineers he deplored... "They beat me over the head with their sheep skins, but in the end I do their job for them!" With Grandpa it was a brag that he'd so often backed up. So it was that he designed the production doors for that plane and went back to making PBYs.
Even with its faults the B-24 was a very good aircraft for it's intended purposes. A close family friend was the copilot on a B-24 called "Delectable Doris" and managed to complete the 25 mission requirement and was rewarded with the 8th Air Forces "Lucky Bastard" certificate. My God, those men were so brave flying those missions - they truly did help "liberate" the world from Nazism and Fascism.
The 8th Air Force alone suffered more casualties than USMC for the entire war in the Pacific. I’ve spoken with some 8 AF Veterans. All they ever said was “We had a job to do”. Courageous and humble.
@@richardbriscoe8563The Soviets did all the real work. Over 20 million Soviets died in WWII. China too. Millions of Chinese died fighting the Japanese. The US doesn't know sacrifice or bravery
Damage control over the abysmal failure of the air force brass in sending hundreds of bombers unescorted and losing over a hundred planes and thousands of crew members on totally failed raids in 1943. After that, it was publicity campaign and movies such as Memphis Belle to boost the public perception of a terribly flawed concept. Memphis Belle was about the air crews 25th mission, how they would fly it and then be able to go home. But the truth is, dozens of its crew were killed on previous missions and only one or two members were reaching their 25th mission. And many others not in the film flew at many as 80 missions after being told 25 was the limit.
@@TheJustinJ My friend was a Master Sergeant in the Air Force Reserves. He was also a teacher, administrator and had a master's degree in history. He said he read a paper where the US could have used Mosquitos instead of Heavy Bombers for tactical bombing instead of strategic bombing to greater effect. 3 Mosquitos could carry the same amount of bombs as 2 B-17's, but with only 6 crews instead of 30. The Mosquito could also outrun most German fighters and being made of wood were less susceptible to cannon fire. They were also easier to repair. So instead of bombing German industry, which was questionable, you used Mosquitos to bomb barracks, supply depots, rail roads and fuel depots. You can build all the planes you want but what good are they if they get blown up waiting to be delivered or have no one to fly them or fuel them.
@@johnharris6655 It was the top brass who didn't like the idea of their Air Force using foreign planes. They didn't even like the addition of the Merlin engine in the P 51 even. Had to have Packard build them under license. (even though I was told that the Packards were better than the Rolls Royce Merlins)
@@TheJustinJ *_”Damage control over the abysmal failure of the air force brass in sending hundreds of bombers unescorted and losing over a hundred planes and thousands of crew members on totally failed raids in 1943.”_* Your maths aren’t up to much. ‘Over a hundred planes’ doesn’t equal ‘thousands of crew members’. Over a thousand maybe but many survived. And realistically, what choice did they have? Please give an example of ‘totally failed raids in 1943’.
B-24 was faster, had a longer range and a heavier load, and was more advanced. The US decided to use them in the Pacific and as with everything else .. what was used in the Pacific was better. The B-17 was easier to fly. My grandfather flew the P-40 & P-47. He preferred escorting B-24 missions as they flew faster which made him a harder target. Grouping them with B-17s sedated the B-24s. My grandfather flew in the TAC and said by far the best US fighter was the P-38 and the best bomber was the B-24. He flew every US fighter used in the ETO
My dad was a B-24 bombardier, in the 15th Air Force, flying out of Southern Italy in 1944. He flew combat missions in two different aircraft, because the first was destroyed in a crashlanding coming back from yet another raid on Ploesti. Interestingly, even that late in the war, the flak and fighter defense at Ploesti was so extreme that raids there counted as two missions in reaching the required total of 35 before cycling back to the States.
My Dad was also a B24 Bombardier in the 15th Army Air Corps 1944-45, based in Bari, Italy. Shot down in Austria March 1945, POW about 1 week before escaping with the rest of the crew. I hope your Dad & mine were friends. They sure were the greatest generation!
The floating mission number. Early in the war it was 25 bombing mission to complete your tour. Here you speak of 35 to go home. My father's crew arrived in England on 5 June, 1944 (what a day to show up?) and needed to complete 50 missions by that point in the war.
A terrific documentary on a very important bomber, that deserves to be better known, particularly given the record breaking numbers produced. Well done, again, to the IWM. Top video, excellent gen as always.
An old friend of my dad was a gunner on Coastal Command Liberators during the war. When he found out I was joining the RAF we had a great chat about his time on Liberators and Sunderlands. He even showed me his log book. Unfortunately he passed away not long after I joined.
My uncle, Robert, was navigator on B-24s with the 458th BG (H) out of Horsham St. Faith. He was killed on the last mission of the Group on April 14th, 1945. Eleven days later, the 458th returned to the U.S. to begin training on B-29s in preparation for deployment to the Pacific Theater. I've always been fascinated by the Liberator because of my uncle's service. Thanks for the great video.
My father was a waist gunner in a B-24 for 48 missions out of Foggia, Italy. On that mission an explosion from a nearby 88 mm shell turned the fuel delivery system into a sprinkler system. Pilot declared it was every man for himself. My father was the first man out of the plane, spent 14 days wandering around the countryside before being picked up by the Czech underground. Later the underground group was captured along with my Dad and my Dad spent the rest of the war in a German POW camp . My Dad was part of the greatest generation. RIP Guy LaFata
I had a friend who flew B-24’s, but he said the day they saved his life was when he was given a B-17. He was shot down over Yugoslavia, and said that he was able to escape the plane versus the difficulties of getting out of a B-24 would have been fatal for him.
My late father was PIC on a B24 VIP transport detail based Dorval Montreal. He made a round the world trip in late 1944, the aircraft was naned Marco Polo, I have pictures of him and the aeroplane and his log books, from RAF to BOAC til retirement as Captain.
My father flew out of Nadzab, New Guinea during the war. When Japan surrendered, a General wanted to take my father with him to the occupation of Japan. He wanted to go home so he and his crew fixed up a war weary B-24, cut orders, and flew home.
Flown by the No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron within the Coastal Command, too. And one of theirs sunk the famous blockade runner Alsterufer on December 27th, 1943.
Thank you for an honest look at the B-24 (Finally). My uncle was a pilot who flew missions out of Rackheath with the 467th BG and finished the war there. He was hoping to go to the Pacific and get behind the controls of the B-29 but it was not to be. In the Pacific the B-24 was the go to at first because the B-17 simply did not have the "legs."
My grandfather was co-pilot with the 467th out of Rackheath. I have a book about the 467th, you can find every mission flow, plane #, etc. It is based on the pilots name. My grandfathers regular plane was pathfinder, he often got bumped to other planes as some higher ups rode co-pilot. Hard to track his missions. Some of the stories i heard are documented in the book.
A family friend flew B-24’s out of North Africa and Italy. Made the Ploiesti raid (second wave as I remember it) and made it back to base. Later flew missions over Italy and Germany. I do not believe he ever flew a plane again once he came home. When asked he never said much about the war other than to tell about the happier moments.
Your family's friend may have come home with the same mindset as my father. He figured he had used up all his good luck flying 50 missions and wasn't risking getting in a plane again.
@@cdjhyoung - You may have a valid point there. If I had flown 50 combat missions back then I might have second thoughts about ever again taking a plane anywhere. My hat is off to your dad and all of his crew mates. We owe them and thousands of others like them more than we can ever pay.
My father flew in Liberators in the RAAF during WW2 from Sept 1944n till wars end. After transferring from Hudsons in 13 Squadron based in Darwin he joined 529 Squadron in the US 5th Air Force until Jan 1945 when he transferred to the all-Australian 25 , City of Perth Squadron. Much of the flying was bombing raids and anti-submarine roles. After he left the 5th Air force it began the big push with bombing raids north west into the Indian ocean over the Malay oil fields and the Philippines for which the squadrons were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Meanwhile in 25 squadron the crews were selected for special high altitude training with the intention of using stripped down Liberators to bomb Japan at high altitude above the anti-aircraft and Japanese fighters. Before this could happen the atomic bombs brought an end to the war.
Yeah, the Liberator was actually reasonably popular here. There’s a complete airframe on static display in a hangar down at Werribee, in Victoria. I’ve never seen it but always wanted to. It’s about an hour from my place.
Oddly I was always a fan of the b24 over the b17 but I think this was due to a b24 costal command airfix model I had as a kid (also never knew I only missed them on active duty by a year or so).
this is my favorite bomber (after a B-52). the '17 was over-rated and 'loved' because of its looks. appearance over substance... i had a sunday -school teacher who flew a B-24D in the 7th Bomb Squadron of the 34th Bomb Group out of Mendlesham. and i grew up and live now, about 70 miles from Willow Run. and i remember seeing this plane when i went through Air Force basic training at Lackland AFB... fabulous video! thank you for this.
I always liked the B-24 over the 17. I got a model B-24 for my birthday years ago. I did a bunch of research on it. She flew the 376 BG out of Benghazi libya., i contacted the 376 BG historical society, and they put me in contact with Col. Kieth Compton. We talked on the phone for a long time, he had tome interesting stories. He said his whole crew were volunteers who were scheduled to go home. On their way in to Polesti he said they were flying so low, the gunners were shooting up at the german haystack and train gunners. He told me that they would havr to pull up to clear field fences and when they got home the crew were pulling corn cobs out from inside the engine cowling. Rest in peace General Compton and thank you.
Had an uncle who flew copilot on a B24. 51 missions with the 15th out of Italy If he were still here and you asked him what he thought about the B24? I know for a fact that his answer would be....not much. Hard to fly, white knuckle takeoffs when fully loaded, unpressurized, caught on fire easily . Went to his grave knowing that he was damn lucky to have survived and live a full life.
My father was a B-24 pilot in the 15th, flew 30 missions plus several lone wolf missions. He would agree with your uncle on all points. Said it was exhausting to fly, you had to fight with it every second, unlike the B-17. The accounts of pilots and copilots having to be carried out of the planes after long missions were not fantasy. The 109s and 190s would scream right past the 17s and pounce on the quick to burn 24s. Dad later ferried all kinds of military aircraft, was quite familiar with the characteristics of other bombers. And yeah, he also knew he was damn lucky to have survived flying 24s.
A school friend’s dad was a tail gunner in an RAF Liberator in the Middle East and Far East. Apparently the top scoring gunner in his squadron accounting for 2 1/2 zeroes, considered a feat. I knew him over 50 years ago, so know no more than that.
My mother Gertude Fraser rivited every B24 that left Willow Run built in Ypsilanti, Mi in WWll. She never missed a day. I was at the airport a few years ago, the Yankee Air Muesum people were building another B24 from parts of planes gathered and made in all the diffeent plants the planes were made at, the side panels were the only part made at Willow Run that was collected, thats the parts my mother said she made, I got to rub a panel that day, it was amazing, of course I was tearing up, what a great experience. I haven't heard if the plane was completed, when it is finished it will be the last B24 to be built at Willow Run. The coolest thing for me is my Mother got to build part of that one too.Thanx for posting.
The B-24, unfortunately, was built in modules assembled at other factory buildings nearby - this sped things up and made quality control more consistent. However, it also made the finished aircraft a bit more difficult to work on for some jobs. But mostly it made the B-24 easy to shoot down if you hit it in the right spot - which the Luftwaffe discovered very quickly. There's videos on TH-cam showing those unfortunate planes; the wings would fold back parallel to the fuselage and since the bombs and fuel were all close together the plane became a fireball really quickly. But the Liberator was difficult to fly, not impossible, and good crews made them work without problems. The most important rule - like the video said - was never go into enemy airspace without fighter escorts. There are precious few of these majestic warbirds still flying; I saw one a little over 10 years ago over Seattle with a B-17. Thanks very much indeed for this edifying video.
@@RockerWasRight Yeah but it flew easier missions. As a rule. In the Mediterranean. Even over NW Europe commanders gave B-24s easier missions whenever they could because they were worried higher loss rates would lower the morale of B-24 crews.
Hi You forgot to mention the RAAF, we few them in the Pacific war, used them for Air Sea Rescue for a short time. Plus one under construction in Melbourne, Vic - FYI Bills
I had the opportunity to SCUBA dive on wrecks of B17 and B24. My experience is that B17s are mostly intact, but B24s were all broken with all crew lost. Those wrecks are near the island of Vis (Croatia) in the Adriatic Sea.
My father was a belly gunner in the B-24 for the RAF, flying out of India. His plane was shot down over North Africa. Luckily, they were able to bailout behind friendly lines. One of his crew didn’t survive. After being sent to Montgomery’s Army, only two of his original crew survived the war. That is all we know of his experience in WW2, he wouldn’t talk about it and we never pressed him on it. He loved that Liberator!
Wasn't laminar flow. The davies wing was famous for having a high aspect ratio which reduces induced drag. The high thickness made it very draggy at high speed high altitude.
The laminar flow claim is performance based rather than technical. The Davis aerofoil was a unique speculative very high lift design, thick with a forward maximum thickness and strong camber, it was also in a high aspect ratio wing so it worked hard with lower drag but it really tortured the air so that it was always nearer the stall or air flow breakdown. They were extra dangerous in even light icing, the airflow broke up with much less ice than with other planes. The USAAF 8th A.F. usually removed the rubber de-icing boots from their heavy bombers. The B-24 was good for winning the war, it didn’t need to be popular.
My father flew the B-17 in the 15th Air Force out of Italy. My Uncle flew in the B-24. They used argue all the time over which was the superior aircraft. My dad called the B-24 a "flying coffin" and my uncle said the B-17 got more glory but was an inferior plane. I'm just proud that both of them enlisted right out of highschool and put their life on the line for freedom and democracy!
My uncle flew all-black, unmarked B-24 Liberators for the Top-Secret 801st/492nd Bombardment Group, “Carpetbaggers”, which was operated by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor of the CIA. He admitted to me late in life when he was in his 90s that he did indeed land behind German lines at night many times to drop off supplies for the underground, pickup downed aircrews, drop off Allied agents, etc. The aircraft did the job!
Last month I took a ride on the B-24 Diamond Lil - One of only 2 airworthy B-24s left in the world and I believe the only one currently flying. It was such an amazing experience! Its operated by the Commemorative Air Force and is beautiful. I can't recommend a ride on her highly enough, just do it!
The B-24 was also the mount of possibly one of the best-known people of the time, a certain James "Jimmy" Stewart, who was the deputy commanding the 2nd Bombardment Wing and commander of the 703d Bombardment Squadron, flying at least 20 combat missions.
My Grandmother worked in Willow Run making these! She was short, at just a hair over 5', and was petite, so her job was to install wiring in places that were hard to get to. Just for that reason, I have soft spot for the Liberator.
This describes my mother and her sister that both worked at Willow Run. My mother was also petite and assigned to the same role as your grandmother. The problem for my mother was that she was horribly claustrophobic and the job terrified her.
I remember reading that you could recognise a B-24 pilot because his stick arm would be bigger than his throttle arm, that's how physically strenuous they were to fly due to their weight. Or it could be an innuendo that went over my head 😂
it apparently had a tendency to have leaky fuel tanks requiring to be flown with the bomb bay doors open. There was a B24 crash near where I live where the plane was on fire when it was going down, attributed to a fire caused by the heaters and fuel fumes
Consolidated Aircraft company became Convair after the war, and then General Dynamics. The B-24 was a SHADOW of the B-17 when it came to survivability; The B-17 was a SHADOW of the B-24 when it came to bomb load, range, and especially speed. -The B-24 had the Davis wing. The designer was brilliant but a drunkard, and he inspired the character in Star Trek who first achieved "warp" from Earth, triggering the Vulcans to make first contact. When I was a kid I liked the B-17 because of it's looks, but I hated the B-24 because it was fat and stupid looking, despite the fact that the majority of these airplanes were built at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan, about 10 miles from where I grew up on Grosse Ile. The B-24 was not the airplane that you wanted to be in during a ditching, because the deep fuselage would always flip over and break apart. The B-17 just skipped on top the surface and then did a Sully. Great video!
Grandpa flew out of Italy sometimes as far as Poland. Crashed and ruined three b24 s. In the last was shot down over Viena and was a pow until the end of the war. Hill afb in ogden utah has a great af museum with many planes. Free admission and a great way to spend a day.
You've just reminded me of my mother bless her, who used to sing Mairzydotes to us as children. Its something I'll never forget. Mareseydotes, and Doeseydotes, But little lamseydivey, A kiddleydivey too, Wouldn't you?
As target distance was growing, the b17 payload was diminishing rapidly, much more than the b24's. The b24 was much more modern and complexe so it required more work and skill from the crews. But overall it was a much more capable aircraft.
10:20 "thousands of men lost their lives in the skies over europe executing the flawed doctrine of strategic bombing" The UK bomber command crews were treated very poorly after the war. For a great period of time, strategic bombing was the only way to attack Nazi Germany in the western theatre, helping the Soviet Union to barely remain in the war in its darkest moments. To belittle this as a "flawed doctrine of strategic bombing" lets down an otherwise interesting and informative video.
Worth mentioning, I think- the last of those men are nearly all passed now, the WW2 veterans. Our club was proud to count Dickie Troyer among its number, veteran of 2 tours in the 24, mostly in the Mediterranean. Gone a few years now, he was always ready to get stuff done.
Fascinating little video. Been an aviation fantatic all my life and learned new stuff from this: 1. "Hot Stuff" being the first aircraft to complete 25 combat missions - I always thought it was the Memphis Belle. 2. The sheer number of B24s built - I googled this, and 18,000 of these compared to 12,000 B17s, and interestingly less than 8000 Lancasters. When I think of World War II bombers, I imagine the airfields being populated with Lancs, B17s, and perhaps Wellingtons, and of Course B29s in the latter part of the war in the pacific theatre. Tend to forget the b24 all together!
Memphis Belle was actually the third crew to make it to 25. The first one crashed as she said, the second plane (another B17) was named "Hell's Angels". The powers that be didn't think that was a family friendly name so the crew of the Memphis Belle got the credit and notoriety.
Great video. The video touches on this briefly, but I think the majority of pilots preferred the B-17. I think it was McGovern who said 'The Liberator is like flying a pig with wings'. After these missions the pilots were exhausted just from fighting the 24s controls. I've read this in several places, but I think the best sources for this are George McGovern's book "My life in the service" and Ambrose's "The wild blue". Both great reads.
CORRECTION: In the beginning of this video, we said that the B-24 Liberator is the most produced military aircraft of all time. This is not correct. The B-24 is the most produced bomber of all time, but the most produced military aircraft of all time is the Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik.
I was just about to comment on that. Glad you caught it.
The Soviet Union lied about everything. not lying could get a person killed.
No worries 🙂
You caught and corrected the mistake halfway through your excellent video. A plane I knew very little about. Thank you.
Thank you
A great video , shedding light on an aircraft that deserves more recognition for its efforts during the second world war.
She's my favorite.
The great Squadron Leader Bulloch points out how the US was slow in getting B-24s to Coastal Command but the author Alfred Price has pointed out that Air Marshall Harris would never release four engine aircraft destined for Bomber Command to Coastal Command. One nights losses of Lancaster or Halifax bombers could have greatly helped close the Atlantic Gap. This would have made a better contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic in the early to mid war years then the aircraft being lost over Germany. By the way, I have the utmost respect for Terrance Bulloch.
Early in the war the RAF had absolute control over all aircraft. That is why the aircraft carriers of the royal Navy had the most god-awful aircraft to go to war with. Bomber Harris was a good man but had dangerous tunnel vision when it came to aircraft and where to use them.
My dad was the nose gunner on a b24, the Shady Lady. He flew 36 missions out of southeast England. 1 crash, 1 very close call when a piece of flack came within inches of cutting him in half but he came home without a scratch. I asked him once were you scared? He said he was scared for the first 3 missions but after that he wasn’t scared because he knew they would never make it through all 35 missions. It was just a matter of when your luck was up.
I'm a high school history teacher here in the Detroit area as well as an Air Force vet. Willow Run is just down the road from where my school is. I'll be using this video when we teach WWII this year. Hopefully, I can establish some pride in our students as I have for how impactful Detroit was during the war.
Detroit was the beating heart of the "Arsenal of Democracy" during the war.
Fantastic, keep the history alive. That was an incredible factory; fraught with delays initially but later moving at great production speed. Several videos out there on TH-cam about it.
It got my grandfather home safe....Sgt Floyd Jerzak 6th Air Force VI Bomber Command Panama Canal Zone...he was a U-Boat hunter
My Dad was a ball turret gunner on a B-24 The Pistol Pack'in Parson that was flown out of North Africa and Italy. They were one of many cruse that were on the Polesti bombing run.
I grew up in the 60’s. My friend and I were aviation lovers and spent hours studying WWII planes and building plastic models of them. At that time I don’t know that the reputation of the B-17 had eclipsed that of the B-24. I think we considered them to be pretty much equally worthy of respect.
What was your favorite model? Revel or Monogram?
My wife’s Grandpa was a B-24 pilot, flew out of North Africa, Italy, Germany
In a Martin Marauder B 26.
My Father flew 153 missions over Europe
from May 1943 to May 1945.
9th Air Force 454 Bomb Group.
Two Pratt Whitney 2800 WASP engines.
Four bladed Curtis propellers. The fastest bomber in WWII. Landing speed. 150 mph.
Top speed in a dive without bombs
475 mph.
12-50 Caliber guns
2 in the nose ( modified)
4 belly guns forward, pilots guns.
2 top turret guns
2 tail guns
2 waist guns either side.
12 total. Most fearsome formation tactical bomber in world war two.
Most missions between 10-15,000 feet.
The most powerful zone for deadly
88 German flak batteries. As many Luftwaffe fighters coming and going to
targets until his last mission in
May 1945 over Kassel Germany.
In addition,
My Father led the B-26 raids over Bastogne
during the Battle of the Bulge breakout.
This bomber could carry 6,000 lbs in bombs, the same as a B-17.
153 times where every mission was
D Day.
My dad flew 98 combat missions in a B24, mostly out of Kunming China. He was 14th Air Force (Flying Tigers), original air cadre. He flew the Mudfish and then, after a crash, the Mudfish ii. I have his logbooks.
And another correction. The bomb bay doors opened OUTSIDE of the fuselage, not into the bomb bay.
Interesting, and I'm not sure why this wasn't mentioned being a British video, but it was the RAF who gave her the name Liberator. The USAAC/USAAF rarely named aircraft but the RAF did, and Liberator she was. Later, both Consolidated and the USAAF adopted the name. Considering the Lib's first role in the RAF was coastal command, it should be noted that the USN also used the Liberator -- as the PB4Y-1 -- as a long range sub-hunter, as well as her development, the PB4Y-2 Privateer.
Great video, well done, thank you!
Thank you for this informative video. My father was a tail gunner in an RAF B-24, stationed in India and undertook missions over Burma as part of 159 squadron.
My father was a tail gunner on a Liberator, flew out of North Africa and also was in the pacific theater.
The Willow Run plant was not the only mile long plant that produced the B-24. The B-24's 'home' in Ft. Worth, TX is also a mile long, running north/south alongside the Carswell AFB runway.
Thank you! Excellent story. A friend told me an interesting fact. Not sure if accurate but... The B17 had all electric motors powering everything. (lot's of copper) The B24's were all hydraulic. Only problem was their seals weren't as good as today plus the hydraulic fluid was flammable. So B24's leaked fluid and when hit by a hot round, caught fire. But easy to produce, not much copper.
Very cool presentation. I was unaware that B-24s were used by India, let alone used until the 1960s.
Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart and the B24.
Great video! Ernest K Gann flew the transport version of this aircraft the C-87. Gann did not like the C-87 he and his crew flew - apparently it had been repaired after some incident. He said it was reluctant to take off & was dangerous in icing conditions far more so than the DC-2/3. However, Gann had high praise for the engines of the C-87!
American POW's said that they could tell which bomber prisoners had been crewmen in - B17 or B24, because the B24 men were all severely burned. Apparently the B17 had armoured fuel lines and hydraulic lines, which made them less prone to catch fire. If you watch film of bomber raids it is rare to see a B17 catch fire.
You encapsulated in under 13 minutes what many couldn't accomplish in an hour's documentary. King Solomon was honored: "Let thy words be few."
Jimmy Doolittle preferred the "old" B - 17. The Fortress was easier to fly; and was an far more "forgiving" aircraft than the Liberator. The B - 24 had twin tailplanes; if one of them was shot or blown away, the ship would spiral out of control. A contrario, B - 17's were able to return to base. Even with most of their single, sharply raked vertical stabilizer shot or blown away.
The B - 24 was an innovative design. The ship had power assist controls. Which most ships at that time did not have. And, the B - 24 had an nose wheel. Most aircraft were "tail draggers," with an tail wheel at the rear of the aircraft. The only other aircraft with this undercarriage configuration were the P - 38 Lightning, the B - 29 Superfortress, and the German Me 262. The B - 36 Convair "Peacemaker' also had an "tricycle" undercarriage. But this ship was not flown until 1948. And not deployed operationally until 1948
As well the B - 24 did not have bomb bay doors. The ship had "louvered'" external bomb bay doors. Which retracted like a window blind. In an mid ocean ditching, the impact with the water would tear away these doors, water would build up against the aft bomb bay bulkhead, and tear the aircraft in two. The sudden deceleration would kill the crew. By snapping their necks. The same phenomenon also tended to occur when effecting an "wheels up" "belly landing." However, there are videos on TH-cam in which B - 24's "belly land" and remain intact.
The aircraft also had an very high landing speed and take off speed. As an consequence, if a ship lost an engine at taxi, the pilots had an very difficult decision to make: try to take the ship up on only three engines, or attempt to abort the takeoff. But, I have seen B - 24's on final with only two engines, the portside and starboard outboard engines, running. And the landing was successful. If somewhat uncontrolled. As well non obstant the ship's high take off speed, the B - 24 may have had an very slow rate of climb. "Climbing out" after take off was very gradual. But once at altitude the ship went fast.
The starboard inboard engine also provided power to the ship's internal and external control systems and avionics. For this reason, German fighters tended to aim for number 2 starboard inboard. To knock it out. And render the aircraft uncontrollable. The number 2 starboard engine on the B - 17 also provided power to the avionics and hydraulics of this ship.
As well. The B - 24 had an "cousin;" the "C - 87," Liberator "Express." Used and flown by RAF "Ferry Command." The armament was removed. And the bombay and perspex nose were plated over. An large sheet of plywood was placed over the bombay compartment. And an large door was cut in the portside of the aircraft. The ship was used as an material and troop transport. As well as for transporting "VIP's." Churchill had one. And the Soviet Ambassador was also given one. Colonel Wladyslaw Sikorski, who lead the Free Polish Government in London, had one too.
He died in this aircraft in an accident off Gibralter in July, 1943. In circumstances that have always been considered curious. And even sinister. There have been claims that his ship was sabotaged. And the general murdered.
As an final note, the B - 24 did not have an "real" entrance and exit door. Like te B - 17. Or the Lancaster. Instead, the pilot, co-pilot, and bombardier/nose gunner, climbed in thru an hatch in the nose wheel well. The pilot then activated an switch which opened the bombay doors. The radio operator, waist gunners, tail gunner and ball turret gunner then jumped onto an narrow trestle or gantry spanning the bombay, and walked to their respective crew stations. The dorsal turret gunner could join the flight deck crew. And climb into the aircraft thru the nose gear hatch. Or also board the aircraft thru the bombbay. Presumably.
Finally, the B - 24 also had an ball turret. Underneath the aircraft. However, because of the very modest clearance between the underside of the aircraft and the ground, the ball turret was retracted into the aircraft at landing. And then lowered into position after rotation.
That the B24 was produced in the greatest numbers for a bomber has very much to do with Edsel Ford deciding that Ford Motor Company could apply the lessons of mass production to building a bomber. Fighting with his father Henry on FoMoCo having anything to do with the war, Edsel brought the might of Ford engineering to focus on producing these airplanes in mass. The stress of building the plant and these planes and the fights with his father contributed greatly to Edsel Ford's too early death.
I had a great uncle retired AAF as an O-6 and flew 31 missions in a B-24 over Germany.
Winston Churchill preferred the Liberator but NOT as a Bomber. Churchill found he could relax better in a Liberator flying across the Atlantic. Handley Page Halifax was not given the support by historians. Lancasters = the Dam Busters. Spitfires, Goering thought all RAF fighters (Hurricanes) were Spitfires. The CREW of all these aircraft were brave.
ALSO, Jimmy Stewart (the classic actor) flew and led B-24s during his combat tour over Europe.
My grandmother made B-24's in Willow Run Michigan USA till the end of the war.
My friend's dad was a B-24 pilot. He was shot down and spent time in a POW camp in Germany. The B-24 'Strawberry Bitch' is on display at the Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio. Free!
My Great grandpa actually flew a liberator!
A great video, great commentary and I love the addition of crew memories. But please, by all that is holy… LOOK AT THE CAMERA! I know the production team said that all the cool TV documentaries do it, but that’s why we gave up TV and moved here to watch tighter, cleaner more personal videos. There’s nothing more impersonal than look away from the viewer.
They were extremely well-made. I heard a rumour that Britain's Barnes-Wallace was involved in the structural design.
I believe that it has been proven that the crew of a B-17 had a lower survival rate than those of a B-24. The B-24 was a more modern aircraft, with better placement of defensive armament (once the glass nose was replaced with a turret) BUT it did have its weaknesses. It's wing design was not capable of any great level of damage and the aircraft was prone to catching fire. Despite this, it became the basis of the Navy's Privateer which flew operational sorties long after the B-17 was history. NO bomber was anything other than a big fat target when sent in without an escort. The "bomber will always get through" fools (American as well as British) caused so many losses (20 losses? well next time we send 1000 planes and then only 200 losses!)...if only!
Excellent video, plus a human presenter/narrator. I am impressed with the correction the editors made about the number of B-24's built. I'm finding more, and more, what I define, as unscrupulous video creators and editors, which I don't think, they ever heard of an editor. They spout incongruities' with no regard, and those ridiculous robots and the mispronounced words. Enough of the dumbing down of people. Adios.
Good Video/Info.
I'm not sure if the doctrine of strategic bombing was flawed as much as it wasn't able to do as much as interwar dreamers thought. It wasn't able to deliver the knockout punch advocates claimed; but it did create production issues in the German rear. (Example: The Alkett factory being bombed in November 1943 dropped production of the popular StuG III by almost 90%, pushing them to design and produce StuG IV and Jagdpanzer 38 vehicles--quite a burden for a country that also cannot guarantee its logistical network will work on a given day.)
I think the part that could better be described as flawed was the idea of "the bomber will always get through" there were enough developments seen leading up to the war and to the American involvement that that idea should have been shelved a lot sooner.
How come no one has any submarine door gunners in this comment thread? I mean everyone keeps talking about their dad or uncle being a waist gunner on a bomber or a ball turret gunner but what the submarine door gunners like my neighbor was ? He was also in the CIA , NSA , and was the last five star general but he told me all his records are classified so I would never be able to find them. I asked about people that were under his command are they still alive but unfortunately his entire command staff were killed on a weekend get together at a amusement park, a roller coaster went off the rails killing all of them .
I had the privilege of reading the flight log of a B24 crew member. It was stated in a very "matter of fact" way that the large amounts of frozen blood on the gangway made it difficult to check on the non-responsive tail gunner. And we think we have difficult jobs... 😮
My dad flew B24's and the wings always leaked inside the fuselage since the wing went through it.
How DARE you call us nibbly! I say, "Good day," to you, sir.
0:57 its wrong!
The b24 liberator was with ca.18480 pcs. Only the most built American combat aircraft of the second world war.
The most built military aircraft of all times was the Polikarpov Po-2 with about 40000 pcs., followed by the Ilyushin Il-2 with about 36000 pcs. and the BF109 with about 33000 pcs.
In front of the liberator came the spitfire with about 20300 pcs. and the FW190 with about 19500 pcs.
The most produced military aircraft of all-time, with over 33,000 units, was the Bf-109, not the b-24, of which 18,500 examples came off the assembly line. Do some research!
My dad, James H. Link, was a tail gunner on B-24s. Flew quite a few different planes as depending on damage from missions, you could end up in a different plane on your next mission. One of his planes I remember was the "Ain't Mis Behavin'". Flew out of North Africa and Italy. Was shot down and spent 8 months as a POW. Moved often on trains to different camps. Was in Stalag Luft III where some time before he was there, the Great Escape took place. Never talked much about any of WWII and I'm sure suffered from PTSD most of his life. I'm honored to be his son. A good man.
Respect to your dad and all veterans.
My grandfather was an infantryman in North Africa and Sicily and slated for the invasion of Japan. Thanks to Oppenheimer he survived the war. He didn't say anything about the war until a few years before he passed at age 85.
My father fought in WW2 and I have no doubt it affected the rest of his life. For 1 thing he hated Spam wouldn't let it in the house.
My uncle was there also flew on a B-24 with the 454 bomb wing Martin Farrell was his name and he was a waist gunner. Shot down only survivor on his plane.They were bombing the oil fields
@@randallraszick6001 my grandfathers brother was in the Royal Navy and did the north artic supply runs to russia, then his ship did escort service to malta, where it was torpedod, he survived but was caught by an italian fisherman and handed over to the germans. where he was a POW until the end of the war. he never said anything about his experience except for once, when he told his story to an author writing a book from different survivors perspectives. As far as i know this was the one and only time he spoke about it sadly now deceased my mother has a copy of the book, so at least his memory lives on.
My father was a B-24 pilot in WWII, flying their B-24 from the factory over to England. Named Superstitious Aloysius PJ 42-52673 in the 486th BG, 833rd at Sudbury England. A few months later the unit transitioned to B17-Gs, also named Superstitious Aloysius PR 42-97968. Completed 30 missions then home.
The reputation between the B-24 and the B-17 is kind of like the reputation between the Hurricane and the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. The B-24 like the Hurricane was more numerous and did the majority of the work but the B-17 like the Spitfire gets all the glory.
True. Another one to compare on which would be better would be the p51 Mustang or F4U Corsair.
No, the B-24 was the high performance airplane. Faster and carried a larger bomb load. It took three B-17s to carry the same bomb load as two B-24s.
The B-17 could take more punishment (battle damage) than the B-24 especially the wings, which is why the crews liked the B-17 better. I spoke to the pilot of the Collings Foundation's B-24 and he said flying the Liberator was like flying a freight train compared to the Flying Fortress.
@@yoehonjohn4832 Imho P47 is more appropriate since the Corsair was a carrier fighter. The P47 was in service much earlier than the P51, and with aux tanks and judicious use of the throttle the P47 had more than sufficient range.
It's more about location. The unique requirements of the war over NW Europe happened to be conducive to the B-17, in the MTO and particularly the Pacific the Liberator was superior with it's longer range.
During and after the war, the VIIIth AF got the most publicity so the B-17 was more retained in popular memory.
My grandmother was a warbride for a co-pilot that flew B-24s. He was killed over Austria in January 1945. Supposedly, he was filling in with different crews beyond his own, flying extra missions to fill his quota and get back to her sooner. He died on one such mission. My grandmother remarried after the war, but remained in close contact with his parents.
RIP 2nd Lt. August Albregts. I wouldn't exist without your sacrifice.
sounds like straight of a series called catch-22 where a bombardier is filling in extra missions to get back but never does, they always raise the mission quota
@@Schneizel00
And also a book. Lol.
Kind of like how Hamlet is "also" a play.
The Liberator did a great job for RAF Coastal Command.
Brought my dad back home safely.
The video has a veteran stating the Yanks only sent 4 over; most histories of the Bomber war state Bomber Harris refused to release B-24s to Coastal Command, due to his fixation with winning the war by bombing German cities to rubble. The dig about the Ploesti raid being a failure also is a subtle denigration of the American's fixation on bombing oil and transportation facilities, which deprived the German military of the fuel necessary to move tanks, and fly aircraft This especially limited training of replacement pilots, for the Luftwaffe fighters the American daylight fighters (the P-51 especially) were sweeping from the skies, starting in early 1944....
@@michaelcevasco3587 I dont think Harris preferred the B24 He would not release Lancasters
Excellent presentation! Well done Emily.
It’s odd to run into a comment out in the wild from another channel. Bring back the test tubes!
agreed! She's a very well informed, fluent and erudite speaker :D
@@M80Ball I find it really weird as well because @taofledermaus is a very niche channel I watch that usually consists of him or Officer Gregg shooting custom shotgun shells of all variety.
Surprised to see you here! Cheers
The Consolidated B-24 was a fantastic aircraft but never reached the popularity of the B-17, the rivalry was similar to Lancaster and Halifax. My wifes father flew on the last B-24 mission of WW2 when the 392nd Bomb Group attacked Hallein Austria April 25 1945. He went on to work for Consolidated in San Diego, then renamed Convair, he helped build the F-102A Delta Dagger.
Wonder if he worked with my father, who was a Convair engineer for over 30 years.
@@samsignorelli We know he worked at Convair San Diego Works near the airport. Then in 1958 he was transferred to the Convair Atlas Missile plant in Kearny Mesa and worked there into the late 70s.
@@billballbuster7186 My Dad was based at the Lindbergh plant, but did go to the Kearny Mesa on occasion....it's possible they met, at least in passing.
And at Kearny, your father may have met my older brother who was in purchasing at that plant.
Small world!
@@samsignorelli Small world indeed, the wifes dad was an engineer at Lindberg but had risen to a Dept Manager at Kearny Mesa. He never talked about what he actually did there.
Dad's dad was a waist turret gunner on B-24's out of Italy and we're lucky to have a photograph of their crew. He kept in touch with the tail gunner for 50 years after the war, then Dad picked up the conversation. Most people aren't necessarily familiar with the aircraft. Thanks for keeping the physical plane and its legacy.
Waist gunners on the Liberator didn't have a turret.
I manned the waistgunner position on Diamond Lil last month - the only B-24 still flying/ I was amazed how tough it was to hold it aimed forward, I'd never considered the wind resistance on the barrel before. It was an amazing experience, that they hit anything from there shows how good they were!
@@garywayne6083 : I thought the B-24 "Witchcraft" is still flying as well. No?
@@tempestfury8324 It may be but all recent info I found about it on the net listed it as airworthy but not currently flying
Interesting, my father 35 missions as a bombardier with the 455th BG 720 sqd out of Italy, maybe they knew each other. His best friend..... the nose gunner.
My uncle died in a B-24 attack on the Skoda Armsworks in CZ in 1944. I got to ride in a B-24 a few years ago and it totally boosted my respect for the men that served in these planes.
The lens being cleaned at 4:05 is a “Leylight”. They had one on each wing angled to focus at the bomb aiming point. The radar would lose the Uboat at a predictable distance where the lights were powered up. Pilot kept going straight. Bombs released when the conning tower appeared in the crossed beams almost always scored a hit. They were so effective that Uboat crews believed there was a special weapon in use.
RN listening stations used radio direction finding to determine location of U-boats radio signals. A bomber was directed in and used radar to find the surfaced sub.
I hate to do this, but... It's actually called a Leigh light, created by Wing Commander Humphrey de Verd Leigh. There was only one mounted on the aircraft, to illuminate ahead of the airplane. Your description of the crossed beams sounds more like the height finding downward lights of the Dambusters. Sorry to be pedantic, but I feel that accurate info is better.
@@doolie1779 As do I
Speaking of Ford and Willow Run -
Ford was to build B-24s under license from Consolidated.
Ford execs met with Consolidated execs in California. The Ford execs brought a suitcase to a meeting with Consolidated.
Consolidated asked, "What's the suitcase for?"
To which Ford replied, "To take copies of the blueprints back to Willow Run"
Consolidated laughed. They gave Ford a copy of the blueprints, but it took a railroad boxcar to hold all of the plans.
I hope this is true.
It's true.
There's a excellent book detailing how the US became the arsenal of democracy.
Check out "Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II" by Arthur Herman.
A full railroad box car is probably an exaggeration but probably not by much. Have you ever seen the manufacturing blueprints and plans for a rifle? Let's just say they couldn't fit in a briefcase. Dozens of separate booklets and schematics. Thousands and thousands of pages. This isn't a rifle but a big plane.
My great uncle, Flying Officer VE Crowther RNZAF was an Observer with 224 squadron he did his training in Canada and he became the squadron bombing leader. He flew in an RAF Liberator MK3A, which was basically a B24D in RAF camouflage, it was fitted with the then top secret ASV radar. He and 5 other members of his crew died in an air accident on 30th October 1942. The tail gunner was the only survivor.
We must remember all the aircrews that made the ultimate sacrifice during WW2.
The best depiction I've seen on a topic I'd been hearing about since I was a boy. This is because my Dad's brother and sister along with her husband built this plane in San Diego. Also, my Grandfather, John Nicholas Bergen was a foreman for Consolidated, building PBYs. He had a third grade education, but with a genius for metalworking that made him invaluable. You say ?David Davis? designed the plane? As I heard it, the plan was to give top priority to the Davis Wing, and next to the bomb bay with particular concern about the frustrating bomb bay doors that ruined flight trim characteristics at the worst possible time. That is opening flap type doors while the craft begins its bomb run. So, he? was determined to use a roll top desk approach. Only the prototype lost these roll top doors when they blew off. Time again they tried everything and failed even referring to the top aeronautical engineers. It all failed, so at a last resort, they reluctantly got my irascible Grandpa. I've many times heard him comment on the engineers he deplored... "They beat me over the head with their sheep skins, but in the end I do their job for them!" With Grandpa it was a brag that he'd so often backed up. So it was that he designed the production doors for that plane and went back to making PBYs.
Even with its faults the B-24 was a very good aircraft for it's intended purposes. A close family friend was the copilot on a B-24 called "Delectable Doris" and managed to complete the 25 mission requirement and was rewarded with the 8th Air Forces "Lucky Bastard" certificate. My God, those men were so brave flying those missions - they truly did help "liberate" the world from Nazism and Fascism.
For all her faults she was like the Sherman tank, they could be built in record time.
The Willow Run factory was turning out one B-14 every 55 minutes. @@garysilver718
B-24. Excuse my 70+ year old fingers.
The 8th Air Force alone suffered more casualties than USMC for the entire war in the Pacific. I’ve spoken with some 8 AF Veterans. All they ever said was “We had a job to do”. Courageous and humble.
@@richardbriscoe8563The Soviets did all the real work. Over 20 million Soviets died in WWII. China too. Millions of Chinese died fighting the Japanese. The US doesn't know sacrifice or bravery
"The B-24 was just as good as the B-17, but the B-17 had a better press agent." Jimmy Stewart, actor and B-24 Pilot.
Damage control over the abysmal failure of the air force brass in sending hundreds of bombers unescorted and losing over a hundred planes and thousands of crew members on totally failed raids in 1943. After that, it was publicity campaign and movies such as Memphis Belle to boost the public perception of a terribly flawed concept.
Memphis Belle was about the air crews 25th mission, how they would fly it and then be able to go home. But the truth is, dozens of its crew were killed on previous missions and only one or two members were reaching their 25th mission. And many others not in the film flew at many as 80 missions after being told 25 was the limit.
@@TheJustinJ My friend was a Master Sergeant in the Air Force Reserves. He was also a teacher, administrator and had a master's degree in history. He said he read a paper where the US could have used Mosquitos instead of Heavy Bombers for tactical bombing instead of strategic bombing to greater effect. 3 Mosquitos could carry the same amount of bombs as 2 B-17's, but with only 6 crews instead of 30. The Mosquito could also outrun most German fighters and being made of wood were less susceptible to cannon fire. They were also easier to repair. So instead of bombing German industry, which was questionable, you used Mosquitos to bomb barracks, supply depots, rail roads and fuel depots. You can build all the planes you want but what good are they if they get blown up waiting to be delivered or have no one to fly them or fuel them.
@@TheJustinJ Yeah, thanks Col Cathcart
@@johnharris6655 It was the top brass who didn't like the idea of their Air Force using foreign planes. They didn't even like the addition of the Merlin engine in the P 51 even. Had to have Packard build them under license. (even though I was told that the Packards were better than the Rolls Royce Merlins)
@@TheJustinJ
*_”Damage control over the abysmal failure of the air force brass in sending hundreds of bombers unescorted and losing over a hundred planes and thousands of crew members on totally failed raids in 1943.”_*
Your maths aren’t up to much. ‘Over a hundred planes’ doesn’t equal ‘thousands of crew members’. Over a thousand maybe but many survived.
And realistically, what choice did they have?
Please give an example of ‘totally failed raids in 1943’.
B-24 was faster, had a longer range and a heavier load, and was more advanced. The US decided to use them in the Pacific and as with everything else .. what was used in the Pacific was better. The B-17 was easier to fly. My grandfather flew the P-40 & P-47. He preferred escorting B-24 missions as they flew faster which made him a harder target. Grouping them with B-17s sedated the B-24s. My grandfather flew in the TAC and said by far the best US fighter was the P-38 and the best bomber was the B-24. He flew every US fighter used in the ETO
My dad was a B-24 bombardier, in the 15th Air Force, flying out of Southern Italy in 1944. He flew combat missions in two different aircraft, because the first was destroyed in a crashlanding coming back from yet another raid on Ploesti. Interestingly, even that late in the war, the flak and fighter defense at Ploesti was so extreme that raids there counted as two missions in reaching the required total of 35 before cycling back to the States.
You had a great Dad!
My Dad was also a B24 Bombardier in the 15th Army Air Corps 1944-45, based in Bari, Italy. Shot down in Austria March 1945, POW about 1 week before escaping with the rest of the crew. I hope your Dad & mine were friends. They sure were the greatest generation!
The floating mission number. Early in the war it was 25 bombing mission to complete your tour. Here you speak of 35 to go home. My father's crew arrived in England on 5 June, 1944 (what a day to show up?) and needed to complete 50 missions by that point in the war.
Awesome, he may have known my father a 24 bombardier 455th BG 720 squadron, 35 and home. I'm proof of that, I was with him in his nut sack!
@@cdjhyoung 50? unless Col Cathcart had anything to say about it
A terrific documentary on a very important bomber, that deserves to be better known, particularly given the record breaking numbers produced. Well done, again, to the IWM. Top video, excellent gen as always.
An old friend of my dad was a gunner on Coastal Command Liberators during the war. When he found out I was joining the RAF we had a great chat about his time on Liberators and Sunderlands. He even showed me his log book. Unfortunately he passed away not long after I joined.
My uncle, Robert, was navigator on B-24s with the 458th BG (H) out of Horsham St. Faith. He was killed on the last mission of the Group on April 14th, 1945. Eleven days later, the 458th returned to the U.S. to begin training on B-29s in preparation for deployment to the Pacific Theater. I've always been fascinated by the Liberator because of my uncle's service. Thanks for the great video.
You are right to research and to pass on to your family the history of your Uncle, and to honour him, he deserves all of that and more.
My father was a waist gunner in a B-24 for 48 missions out of Foggia, Italy. On that mission an explosion from a nearby 88 mm shell turned the fuel delivery system into a sprinkler system. Pilot declared it was every man for himself. My father was the first man out of the plane, spent 14 days wandering around the countryside before being picked up by the Czech underground. Later the underground group was captured along with my Dad and my Dad spent the rest of the war in a German POW camp . My Dad was part of the greatest generation. RIP Guy LaFata
1:00 "and became the most-produced military aircraft of all time"
1 Ilyushin Il-2 - 36,183.
2 Messerschmitt Bf 109 - 34,852. ...
3 Supermarine Spitfire/Seafire - 22,685. ...
4 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 - 20,051. ...
5 Polikarpov Po-2 - 20,000 to 30,000. ...
6 B-24 Liberator - 18,482.
Yeah, that was a bit of a goof.
Terrific commentary Emily, thankyou for such a professional delivery.
I had a friend who flew B-24’s, but he said the day they saved his life was when he was given a B-17. He was shot down over Yugoslavia, and said that he was able to escape the plane versus the difficulties of getting out of a B-24 would have been fatal for him.
My late father was PIC on a B24 VIP transport detail based Dorval Montreal. He made a round the world trip in late 1944, the aircraft was naned Marco Polo, I have pictures of him and the aeroplane and his log books, from RAF to BOAC til retirement as Captain.
The stories he could have told...
My father flew out of Nadzab, New Guinea during the war. When Japan surrendered, a General wanted to take my father with him to the occupation of Japan. He wanted to go home so he and his crew fixed up a war weary B-24, cut orders, and flew home.
Flown by the No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron within the Coastal Command, too. And one of theirs sunk the famous blockade runner Alsterufer on December 27th, 1943.
Thank you for an honest look at the B-24 (Finally). My uncle was a pilot who flew missions out of Rackheath with the 467th BG and finished the war there. He was hoping to go to the Pacific and get behind the controls of the B-29 but it was not to be. In the Pacific the B-24 was the go to at first because the B-17 simply did not have the "legs."
My grandfather was co-pilot with the 467th out of Rackheath. I have a book about the 467th, you can find every mission flow, plane #, etc. It is based on the pilots name. My grandfathers regular plane was pathfinder, he often got bumped to other planes as some higher ups rode co-pilot. Hard to track his missions. Some of the stories i heard are documented in the book.
A family friend flew B-24’s out of North Africa and Italy. Made the Ploiesti raid (second wave as I remember it) and made it back to base. Later flew missions over Italy and Germany. I do not believe he ever flew a plane again once he came home. When asked he never said much about the war other than to tell about the happier moments.
Your family's friend may have come home with the same mindset as my father. He figured he had used up all his good luck flying 50 missions and wasn't risking getting in a plane again.
@@cdjhyoung - You may have a valid point there. If I had flown 50 combat missions back then I might have second thoughts about ever again taking a plane anywhere. My hat is off to your dad and all of his crew mates. We owe them and thousands of others like them more than we can ever pay.
My father flew in Liberators in the RAAF during WW2 from Sept 1944n till wars end. After transferring from Hudsons in 13 Squadron based in Darwin he joined 529 Squadron in the US 5th Air Force until Jan 1945 when he transferred to the all-Australian 25 , City of Perth Squadron. Much of the flying was bombing raids and anti-submarine roles. After he left the 5th Air force it began the big push with bombing raids north west into the Indian ocean over the Malay oil fields and the Philippines for which the squadrons were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Meanwhile in 25 squadron the crews were selected for special high altitude training with the intention of using stripped down Liberators to bomb Japan at high altitude above the anti-aircraft and Japanese fighters. Before this could happen the atomic bombs brought an end to the war.
Yeah, the Liberator was actually reasonably popular here. There’s a complete airframe on static display in a hangar down at Werribee, in Victoria. I’ve never seen it but always wanted to. It’s about an hour from my place.
The landing gear wells created a weak point in the wings, footage of wings folding up from minor flak damage is common.
All true, but the B-24 did have a lower max altitude than the B-17, making it more vulnerable to flack.
Thank you, good history. The US Navy develope the B-24 into long-range patrol bomber designated PB4Y-2 Privateer. My dad flew that plane during WW2.
Oddly I was always a fan of the b24 over the b17 but I think this was due to a b24 costal command airfix model I had as a kid (also never knew I only missed them on active duty by a year or so).
I was the opposite. The Airfix B17 artwork was so good I never noticed the B24.
this is my favorite bomber (after a B-52). the '17 was over-rated and 'loved' because of its looks. appearance over substance...
i had a sunday -school teacher who flew a B-24D in the 7th Bomb Squadron of the 34th Bomb Group out of Mendlesham. and i grew up and live now, about 70 miles from Willow Run. and i remember seeing this plane when i went through Air Force basic training at Lackland AFB...
fabulous video! thank you for this.
B-24's sank more u boats (72) than any other type of plane in British service.
I always liked the B-24 over the 17. I got a model B-24 for my birthday years ago. I did a bunch of research on it. She flew the 376 BG out of Benghazi libya., i contacted the 376 BG historical society, and they put me in contact with Col. Kieth Compton. We talked on the phone for a long time, he had tome interesting stories. He said his whole crew were volunteers who were scheduled to go home. On their way in to Polesti he said they were flying so low, the gunners were shooting up at the german haystack and train gunners. He told me that they would havr to pull up to clear field fences and when they got home the crew were pulling corn cobs out from inside the engine cowling.
Rest in peace General Compton and thank you.
Had an uncle who flew copilot on a B24. 51 missions with the 15th out of Italy If he were still here and you asked him what he thought about the B24? I know for a fact that his answer would be....not much. Hard to fly, white knuckle takeoffs when fully loaded, unpressurized, caught on fire easily . Went to his grave knowing that he was damn lucky to have survived and live a full life.
My father was a B-24 pilot in the 15th, flew 30 missions plus several lone wolf missions. He would agree with your uncle on all points. Said it was exhausting to fly, you had to fight with it every second, unlike the B-17. The accounts of pilots and copilots having to be carried out of the planes after long missions were not fantasy. The 109s and 190s would scream right past the 17s and pounce on the quick to burn 24s. Dad later ferried all kinds of military aircraft, was quite familiar with the characteristics of other bombers. And yeah, he also knew he was damn lucky to have survived flying 24s.
A school friend’s dad was a tail gunner in an RAF Liberator in the Middle East and Far East. Apparently the top scoring gunner in his squadron accounting for 2 1/2 zeroes, considered a feat. I knew him over 50 years ago, so know no more than that.
My mother Gertude Fraser rivited every B24 that left Willow Run built in Ypsilanti, Mi in WWll. She never missed a day. I was at the airport a few years ago, the Yankee Air Muesum people were building another B24 from parts of planes gathered and made in all the diffeent plants the planes were made at, the side panels were the only part made at Willow Run that was collected, thats the parts my mother said she made, I got to rub a panel that day, it was amazing, of course I was tearing up, what a great experience. I haven't heard if the plane was completed, when it is finished it will be the last B24 to be built at Willow Run. The coolest thing for me is my Mother got to build part of that one too.Thanx for posting.
The B-24 needs to receive the recognition it deserves.
The B-24, unfortunately, was built in modules assembled at other factory buildings nearby - this sped things up and made quality control more consistent. However, it also made the finished aircraft a bit more difficult to work on for some jobs. But mostly it made the B-24 easy to shoot down if you hit it in the right spot - which the Luftwaffe discovered very quickly.
There's videos on TH-cam showing those unfortunate planes; the wings would fold back parallel to the fuselage and since the bombs and fuel were all close together the plane became a fireball really quickly. But the Liberator was difficult to fly, not impossible, and good crews made them work without problems. The most important rule - like the video said - was never go into enemy airspace without fighter escorts.
There are precious few of these majestic warbirds still flying; I saw one a little over 10 years ago over Seattle with a B-17. Thanks very much indeed for this edifying video.
@@DavidSmith-ss1cgYet the 24 had a slightly BETTER loss ratio.
@@RockerWasRight
Yeah but it flew easier missions. As a rule. In the Mediterranean. Even over NW Europe commanders gave B-24s easier missions whenever they could because they were worried higher loss rates would lower the morale of B-24 crews.
@@Ben-zr4ho The likes of Jimmy Stewart might have disagreed with you.
Hi You forgot to mention the RAAF, we few them in the Pacific war, used them for Air Sea Rescue for a short time. Plus one under construction in Melbourne, Vic - FYI Bills
I had the opportunity to SCUBA dive on wrecks of B17 and B24. My experience is that B17s are mostly intact, but B24s were all broken with all crew lost. Those wrecks are near the island of Vis (Croatia) in the Adriatic Sea.
In defense of the engineers, they were building an aircraft and not a ship.
I get what you mean
My father was a belly gunner in the B-24 for the RAF, flying out of India. His plane was shot down over North Africa. Luckily, they were able to bailout behind friendly lines. One of his crew didn’t survive. After being sent to Montgomery’s Army, only two of his original crew survived the war. That is all we know of his experience in WW2, he wouldn’t talk about it and we never pressed him on it. He loved that Liberator!
Wasn't laminar flow. The davies wing was famous for having a high aspect ratio which reduces induced drag. The high thickness made it very draggy at high speed high altitude.
*Davis* wing but otherwise you're correct.
@@tempestfury8324 as long as you can get the gist
The e was an autocorrect
The laminar flow claim is performance based rather than technical. The Davis aerofoil was a unique speculative very high lift design, thick with a forward maximum thickness and strong camber, it was also in a high aspect ratio wing so it worked hard with lower drag but it really tortured the air so that it was always nearer the stall or air flow breakdown. They were extra dangerous in even light icing, the airflow broke up with much less ice than with other planes. The USAAF 8th A.F. usually removed the rubber de-icing boots from their heavy bombers. The B-24 was good for winning the war, it didn’t need to be popular.
My father flew the B-17 in the 15th Air Force out of Italy. My Uncle flew in the B-24. They used argue all the time over which was the superior aircraft. My dad called the B-24 a "flying coffin" and my uncle said the B-17 got more glory but was an inferior plane. I'm just proud that both of them enlisted right out of highschool and put their life on the line for freedom and democracy!
My uncle flew all-black, unmarked B-24 Liberators for the Top-Secret 801st/492nd Bombardment Group, “Carpetbaggers”, which was operated by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor of the CIA. He admitted to me late in life when he was in his 90s that he did indeed land behind German lines at night many times to drop off supplies for the underground, pickup downed aircrews, drop off Allied agents, etc. The aircraft did the job!
Last month I took a ride on the B-24 Diamond Lil - One of only 2 airworthy B-24s left in the world and I believe the only one currently flying. It was such an amazing experience! Its operated by the Commemorative Air Force and is beautiful. I can't recommend a ride on her highly enough, just do it!
The B-24 was also the mount of possibly one of the best-known people of the time, a certain James "Jimmy" Stewart, who was the deputy commanding the 2nd Bombardment Wing and commander of the 703d Bombardment Squadron, flying at least 20 combat missions.
I thought he flew Mitchell's
Nope, 24's@@kevvoo1967
My Grandmother worked in Willow Run making these! She was short, at just a hair over 5', and was petite, so her job was to install wiring in places that were hard to get to. Just for that reason, I have soft spot for the Liberator.
This describes my mother and her sister that both worked at Willow Run. My mother was also petite and assigned to the same role as your grandmother. The problem for my mother was that she was horribly claustrophobic and the job terrified her.
I remember reading that you could recognise a B-24 pilot because his stick arm would be bigger than his throttle arm, that's how physically strenuous they were to fly due to their weight. Or it could be an innuendo that went over my head 😂
it apparently had a tendency to have leaky fuel tanks requiring to be flown with the bomb bay doors open. There was a B24 crash near where I live where the plane was on fire when it was going down, attributed to a fire caused by the heaters and fuel fumes
To survive 25 missions over occupied Europe only to crash on the way home once again shows just how unfair life can be.
Consolidated Aircraft company became Convair after the war, and then General Dynamics.
The B-24 was a SHADOW of the B-17 when it came to survivability;
The B-17 was a SHADOW of the B-24 when it came to bomb load, range, and especially speed.
-The B-24 had the Davis wing. The designer was brilliant but a drunkard, and he inspired the character in Star Trek who first achieved "warp" from Earth, triggering the Vulcans to make first contact.
When I was a kid I liked the B-17 because of it's looks, but I hated the B-24 because it was fat and stupid looking, despite the fact that the majority of these airplanes were built at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan, about 10 miles from where I grew up on Grosse Ile. The B-24 was not the airplane that you wanted to be in during a ditching, because the deep fuselage would always flip over and break apart. The B-17 just skipped on top the surface and then did a Sully.
Great video!
Grandpa flew out of Italy sometimes as far as Poland. Crashed and ruined three b24 s. In the last was shot down over Viena and was a pow until the end of the war. Hill afb in ogden utah has a great af museum with many planes. Free admission and a great way to spend a day.
My uncle was a B-24 tailgunner in Europe. His B-24 was named Marezydoats (one of several with that name). He made it home, but never talked about it.
You've just reminded me of my mother bless her, who used to sing Mairzydotes to us as children. Its something I'll never forget.
Mareseydotes, and Doeseydotes,
But little lamseydivey,
A kiddleydivey too,
Wouldn't you?
As target distance was growing, the b17 payload was diminishing rapidly, much more than the b24's.
The b24 was much more modern and complexe so it required more work and skill from the crews. But overall it was a much more capable aircraft.
10:20 "thousands of men lost their lives in the skies over europe executing the flawed doctrine of strategic bombing"
The UK bomber command crews were treated very poorly after the war. For a great period of time, strategic bombing was the only way to attack Nazi Germany in the western theatre, helping the Soviet Union to barely remain in the war in its darkest moments. To belittle this as a "flawed doctrine of strategic bombing" lets down an otherwise interesting and informative video.
Worth mentioning, I think- the last of those men are nearly all passed now, the WW2 veterans. Our club was proud to count Dickie Troyer among its number, veteran of 2 tours in the 24, mostly in the Mediterranean. Gone a few years now, he was always ready to get stuff done.
Fascinating little video. Been an aviation fantatic all my life and learned new stuff from this: 1. "Hot Stuff" being the first aircraft to complete 25 combat missions - I always thought it was the Memphis Belle. 2. The sheer number of B24s built - I googled this, and 18,000 of these compared to 12,000 B17s, and interestingly less than 8000 Lancasters.
When I think of World War II bombers, I imagine the airfields being populated with Lancs, B17s, and perhaps Wellingtons, and of Course B29s in the latter part of the war in the pacific theatre. Tend to forget the b24 all together!
Memphis Belle was actually the third crew to make it to 25. The first one crashed as she said, the second plane (another B17) was named "Hell's Angels". The powers that be didn't think that was a family friendly name so the crew of the Memphis Belle got the credit and notoriety.
Great video. The video touches on this briefly, but I think the majority of pilots preferred the B-17. I think it was McGovern who said 'The Liberator is like flying a pig with wings'. After these missions the pilots were exhausted just from fighting the 24s controls. I've read this in several places, but I think the best sources for this are George McGovern's book "My life in the service" and Ambrose's "The wild blue". Both great reads.