5 Things You Never Knew About the B-24 Liberator
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ค. 2024
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This is the forgotten history and unknown stories of the B-24 Liberator - what you likely never knew about the bomber that helped to win the war for the Allies. This was made using the World War II flight simulator War Thunder. Hope you enjoy! Please like, comment, and subscribe. #WW2 #WWIIHistory #WarThunder
RESEARCH SOURCES: Research sources in all of my content include the United States National Archives (NARA) - and specifically, Missing Air Crew Reports, as well as combat reports and diaries from various fighter and bomber squadrons. catalog.archives.gov/
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My father had a good friend that flew B-24s. His plane was shot down over France, and he had to bail out at high altitude. His lung collapsed on the way down, and he landed In occupied France. He was handed off the Resistance, and smuggled out through Spain after he recovered. That guy had the best stories ever for a kid that learned everything possible about the war! Rest in peace, Mr Knobler.
Rest in peace.
My father was a top turret gunner in a Liberator. His crew flew missions over North Africa, Germany and Eastern Europe. They also flew in the Ploesti raid. His plane was shot down over Austria following a mission to Brux, Czechoslovakia on December 16, 1944. They ditched in the Adriatic Sea and 5 days later rescued by a British RAF pilot who saw their flare and sent a boat to rescue them.
One of my uncles served as a waist gunner in a B-24 in the 7th Army Air Force in the Pacific. He enlisted on December 8th, 1941 and served throughout the entire war being the only survivor of his gunnery class. Unfortunately, he like many others suffered from PTSD which didn't help prevent the alcoholism that lead to his poor health which finished him at age 64. He seldom spoke about his experiences during the war until about 7 years before his death, he was visiting and my dad showed him a model of a Liberator that I built and then he finally opened up more about his service and details of the plane itself.
My uncle was co-pilot in a B-24 He was KIA on a Gotha Mission Feb ‘44 He rests in the National Cemetery in Belgium.
My father was copilot in a B-24 in the 467th BG, flying missions out of Rackheath, England. His first combat mission was June 6th 1944, but because of cloud cover over the target, the Group did not drop bombs. His crew had back to back missions to Munich at 11hrs flight time. The flight surgeon ordered his crew to take flak leave in London. While there, a V1 hit just outside the hotel room he shared, blowing the window shades onto their beds. They checked out and returned to Rackheath .His last mission was Aug 13, 1944, his 22nd, and the target was the German Army escaping the advancing allies in the Falaise gap. Witnesses reported a mobile German AA gun was observed and thought to be the shooter. My dad related the story of his B-24 getting hit. One heartbeat, He was in control of the B-24. the next heartbeat, a flack burst in front of the flight deck obliterated the instrument panel, the next heartbeat, training kicks in as the plane pitches down, he pulls the yoke back, and NO resistance, the control cables have been severed. The B-24 goes into a flat spin and he and the pilot, in their heavy steel armoured seats break their seat moorings and both are flung through the stricken plane's flak burst weakened fuselage. My dad, realized he needed to unfasten his seat belt, so the heavy seat will fall away so he can open his 'chute. After the seat falls away, he pulls the rip cord and expects the jerk of his chute opening. Looking up, he doesn't see the chute above him. He realizes he was still under the waning effects of the B-24's flat spin. Eventually gravity takes over and he starts to fall towards earth below him and his 'chute opens. At this [point he finally has a chance to look around him. He sees the tail section of his B-24 (Buggs Bunny, What's up Doc? nose art). falling towards earth. He also catches sight of the inflated Life Raft carried in the B-24s in case of ditching. An eerie sight indeed. As he gets closer to the ground, bullets start whizzin by, so he has the bright idea to dump his 'chute to increase the speed of his descent to dodge the bullets coming his way. He gets closer to the ground and realizes he needs to release the shroud lines he pulled to dump the chute so it can open fully again. He admitted that at this point he "may have peed his pants" waiting for the 'chute to open fully and WORK. It Did!, When his feet touched the ground and he recovered from the impact of landing, he removed his chute, Put his GI combat boots on (they flew with thick felt boots to prevent frost bite, but tied their combat boots shoe strings together and kept the boots around the neck under the 'chute harness.), and then rolled his chute up to stash it in a ditch. And Then, A motorcycle/sidecar with 2 German soldiers rode up yelling "Rausch Mitte!" Then "Pistole?" Flight crews in the 467th quit carrying pistols after D-Day - so he raised his hands, For him the war was over. The pilot was captured miles away and my father wouldn't see him until they were put in the same PW camp barracks at Stalag Luft 1. When my dad walked through the front gates, other Airmen who had arrived much earlier would ask each new guy "What were you fling when you got shot down?". When my dad answered B-24, the heckling started."You poor SOB, too bad you weren't in a real bomber like the B-17!". To which my dad angrily retorted, "Oh yeah, if the B-17 was so much better, What are you doing here?"
Cool story!
There were some sad ironies , too. My dad had been offered his own crew as Pilot on another B-24, so he asked the crew what they thought and they asked him to stay, because he was good luck. All of them died that day. nMy dad wasn't even supposed to be on Buggs Bunny that day. When new Pilots rotated into the squadron, they would fly their fist mission with an experienced pilot. My dad was in another B-24 , engines running when the ops officer came to him and told him he was going back to Buggs - the reason being that Buggs was the no 3 shiop in the formation, and that day the ships were to fly very close to each other so as to maximize bomb effectivity. The problem was that the Buggs command pilot was not good at flying cross cockpit (looking to his right past the co-pilot at the ship to their right)/ OZS wanted my dad, who was good at formation flying, to come back to Buggs. did. In 1995 my dad met the Pilot who my dad bumped off Buggs when my dad returned to fly Buggs from the right seat - he was in the plane right behind Buggs and witnessed its destruction.
My grandfather was a co-pilot with the 467 out Rackheath. Gus A. Bentley. I have tried tracking some of the missions. It seems that because his plane was a Pathfinder, that he was often pumped to other planes as big (or bigger) wigs would ride co-pilot in his normal Liberator.
My great uncle was navigator in 42-29368/ "Tailwind". William Hale was his name, shot down on July 11, 1944. He and two others made it out of their bomber.
Cheers to your father. 🤘🤘. His generation and my great uncle's were absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing his story!
For anyone looking for crew info, if you Google there's a whole appx. 75mb PDF document listing all the tail numbers and their nose names, which you can then Google for further info. 😁✌️
I know the B-24 well. They were built at Willow Run in Michigan just down the road from me.also I was on Operation Climax in 1960 to retrieve the remains of the crew off the Lady Be Good that went down in the Libyan desert in 1943. There is a book written by Steven R Whitby that tells the story of the Lady Be Good and has lots of pictures two of the pictures are with me in them.
“Unbroken” gave the B-24 some Hollywood limelight much like “Memphis Belle” did for the B-17.
Salute to my late friend, R.W. Hodge, Jr., of Shreveport, LA, who was a bombardier on B-24s, flying 50 missions over Europe, including the raid on Ploesti.
When I saw the commendation on the wall in his office, I asked him why fifty missions, knowing that if you made it twenty-five, you were generally allowed to go home.
His reply, "We (his crew) were young and stupid." The entire crew re-upped for another tour.
Stupid? Maybe so, but definitely, big nuts of iron. What a great man he was. I am still honored to have called him friend.
My grandfather served very proudly in the European Theater in a Liberator. The "Pot Luck" took him into battle and brought him home on countless missions, including D-Day.
A B24 carried my Dad over Nazi occupied Europe, including Berlin, 30 times and brought him back every time. There is a special place in my heart for this airplane.
Awesome!
Mine too, 35 missions over Europe. 455th BG 15th Air Force. I was in his nut sack!
My father was a navigator in B-24s in the 90th Bomb Group over the Pacific. He said during the bomb run, sometimes the sliding bomb bay doors would start creeping back down due to the vibration of the airplane. It was his job to go down to the bomb bay area during the run and if the doors started creeping down before the bombs were dropped, there was a lever or switch he could toggle that would jolt the doors back up. He also said, unlike in the movies, you didn't hear the flak going off around the plane unless it was right next to the airplane. The engines and wind noise were so loud, that's all you heard unless someone spoke over the intercom. He was 19 during his missions, turning 20 in July of 1945. He passed away in July 2016 at the age of 91. Thanks for sharing this video.
Great Video and story, my father Lieutenant Z.B. Cruthers was a co-pilot of a B-24 in the Pacific Theater. His plane was the " Male Call" one of the Flying Circus Planes. Him and his crew including Pilot Harry Blum all remained very close friends always meeting once a year for reunions. Sadly I don't know if there are any living crew members still alive. I have his personal daily ledger of his 24 missions where he describes hunting for submarines during nighttime missions and the number and weight of the bomb load, and even some low level bombing targets that they could actually see items floating up from the explosions. Their crew retired the plane after they completed the 100 mission. Thanks
Very cool!
Not to take anything away from the fabulous Liberator, you missed out the fact that the Short Sunderland had nearly twice the range, but there were only 90 of them so the Liberator helped fill the gap.
It was actually a bomb that went through the B-24's left wing. I had seen a documentary about them and that one in particularly.The film was sent to a photographic lab using more modern techniques and it happens fast but it does show a bomb that was dropped from above that hit the left wing. Nonetheless their wings were much weaker for the reasons you stated. I love your videos and hope you will continue to put this type of content out!
I noticed that the first time i ever saw it. Theres a sequence of photographs taken from above of a b17 where the bombs take the starboard stabilizer off.
@@jeffpotipco736 Sometimes you had to worry more about the falling bombs from above than from enemy flak! Hell of a dangerous job!
Not only that, the film he shows has the wing break between the engine and the wing root, not on the area he claimed is weaker because of the landing gear.
He gets plenty wrong in his videos from using poor source material, namely Wikipedia and probably the countless books on WW2 aircraft that are highly flawed.
He's got the maximum internal load of the B24 wrong by almost half, it's maximum internal load was over 14,000 lbs, but like the B17, which had a maximum internal load as per Boeing's literature of 12,000 lbs, they never carried their maximum internal load because of the affect it had mainly on altitude, altitude was life to bombers in WW2, every 5,000 ft decrease in altitude doubled the chances of being hit by ground fire, speed and range were also affected but altitude was their biggest concern.
11:39 I came to comment the same thing.
@@donaldwrightson sure as fuck wouldn't get me up in one.
My dad was on 24's as crew chief for the 98th BG(H) 343rd Sqd in N Africa and Italy. He had quite a few stories. I have made a living flying for 50+ years and was lucky enough to get to fly Collings Foundation's J-model. Unfortunately, it was after my dad had gone west. Tailwinds, Dad! BTW, I got 'em all right. Excellent video!
Long Range B-24 anti-sub planes turned the war in the Atlantic. The stripped them of Armor, some guns and put extra fuel tanks in the Bomb Bay. Armed with Radar and Leigh lights, they would find and sink subs in day or night. It go so bad for the U boats they would surface and try to fight the B-24's in the daytime with extra anti-air craft guns.
my Dad flew 52 missions
as Tailgunner for 455th
B24 TeePeeTime Gal....
from Africa & most from near Cerignola Italy
she flew 120 missions
only to be scrapped
in Kingman Az
post war
thanks for your info!!
My uncle was a B24 pilot who flew 19 missions over Europe. His last mission, flak knocked out an engine. They lightened ship and even dropped the ball turret, which I have never heard before. A second engine quit and then a third as they arrived at their airbase. He managed to straddle a bomb crater on the runway with the wide landing gear after refusing order to go around.
Do you have more information about dropping the ball turret ? i saw it in " Master of the air " and didn't know it was a feature on American's bomber.
@@ortaonherman5936 The Liberator was able to retract the ball turret so, because of that mechanism, cutting it loose was an option not available to the B-17.
@@ortaonherman5936 I saw a video that states one of the B-17s in a Brittish museum still has the instructions for dropping the turret pasted on the bulkhead. They were required to drop it before a belly landing or the turret would break the fuselage.
I've always preferred the B-24 over the B-17. It dropped a greater tonnage of bombs than any other Allied bomber, surpassed only by the British Avro Lancaster. It flew faster than the Flying Fortress, carried a greater payload, had greater range, was more versatile and in my humble opinion was better looking.
Naa,she was a ugly duckling,with that 'fat waiste' and thin arms, sure she could do some things better than the 17 (faster,further, heavier bomb load) but considering the 17 was an older design, the 17 was better looking and toughther, those broad thick wings could soak up more punishment,but where the 24 shone was in the war against the U- boats i'll give you that much!
I agree 100% buddy the B-24 was beautiful if you ask me
I think it was ugly but at the same time cool. It gets short shrift from history. I’m not sure why the B-17 is remembered while the B-24 is mostly forgotten. Doesn’t make sense as they were very similarly abled planes.
B-17A to B-17F could carry 17,600lb and could lug this load 1,170 miles, admittedly at a mere 6,000ft (not that this was a sensible option over western Europe). Or they could climbed to 25,000ft but with a range reduced to a mere 790 miles.
@@ditto1958 I think one of the reason the B-17 gets all the lime light is because it was the first bomber to complete a tour of 25 missions. This was a Flying Fortress called “Hells Angels” unfortunately congress felt the name was blasphemous. So instead the first B-17 to be credited with completing a tour was the “Memphis Belle”. Had it been a B-24 to completed this feat, no doubt the Liberator would of received all the public adoration that the fort does.
The exact same thing has happened here in Britain. The Spitfire is often heralded as the saviour of Britain during the battles of Britain. Whilst the Hurricane with its more dumpy appearance has been almost neglected entirely. Despite the fact during the battle, around two thirds of all Luftwaffe aircraft shot down we’re credited to the Hurricane.
Thank you for this video. My uncle Lysle Elfrink piloted a B24 in the 454th BG and was shot down on his 11th mission. All crew were KIA. I wish I’d known him.
This is a Good video. I have some input. My Dad was a pilot with the 30th BG 7th AF, Pacific theater. He Came up through the Marshalls to the Marianas. Last missions over Iwo, lead the Group his last couple missions. And Decorated. Couple of points, the Davis Wing by Consolidated, this aircraft was built around it. It was an exteremely strong wing for load, i:e Catalina, B32 were others. The Long high lift wing gave the B24 all the attrubutes mention, Bomb load and carrying capacity and distance. Another point, pilots claimed the B24 pilots had huge left bicepts! The four 1200 HP P&W R1830 Twin Wasp(I believe that is correct) turned clockwise(from the pilots perspective). My Dad's last missions were from Guam to Iwo, they were 12 hr. long and 1600 miles. Thanks for the voice for my Father.
One of my favorite uncles was a ball turret gunner in the 44th Bomb Group flying out of RAF Shipdahm. He flew 23 missions and scored 2 confirmed kills before his Liberator was shot down over France in April 1944. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW.
"The B-24 was a great plane but the B-17 had a better Press Agent." Actor, Air Force General and B-24 pilot Jimmy Stewart.
I got to meet Gen. Stewart in 1984 at the Utah U.S. Film Festival (UUFF) dinner honoring the great film director Frank Capra. UUFF was later sold and renamed the Sundance Film Festival. I was part of the design team that did all the graphics and promotional materials.
I got a chance to ride in one back in 2018. ($450 yow!!) I immediately learned why my dad, a B-24 navigator, was hearing impaired. I could not hear myself shout when I tried to say something during the flight - there was nothing but sheet metal between me and four giant radial engines just a few feet away. And the exhaust fumes were really bad. The interior was jammed with oxygen bottles for the crew and ammunition boxes for the guns, leaving practically no room to move around. And my flight was only 30 minutes, not hours and hours like on WW2 missions. You don't understand what they went through until you try it yourself. He was shot down, bailed out, and won the DFC and a Caterpillar Club pin. His story is published in a book called, "Flights Into History" by Ian McLachlan. His picture is on the cover: far left in the crew photo with the wreckage.
The B-24 had a nasty tendency to burst into flames from combat damage as the hydraulic fluid used was highly flammable. The gas tanks also leaked constantly so the crews would fly with the bomb bay doors cracked slightly open to keep the fumes below combustible levels. Typical of flawed weapons systems used in wartime the air force kept using them as there were not enough B-17's to handle the horrendous tonnage of high explosives delivered to the enemy. The crews were brave beyond measure.
Could have been a simple fix. The fuel piping connections were oval and where they were crimped, they almost always leaked. If the connections had been designed round instead of oval it would have saved lots of lives.
When it came down to actually buying the airplanes, the AAF bought three B-24s (over 18,000) for every two B-17s (12,000).
Dad was a ball turret gunner on the B-24. Africa and Italy.
Growing up my Dad had a mechanic friend who had flown B24's back to the US. as the flight engineer he would stand in the top turret to see the engines and said that the wings moved up and down like a bird flying.
The B24 had high-lift wings which meant if just 20% of wing was lost one just one wing the plane could not stay airborne, the B17 did not suffer from a high-lift wing design which is why see many pictures of B17s that returned home with massive holes in the wings that would have doomed a B24
Thank you TJ for giving this underrated gem of America's WW2 arsenal its overdue credit. For a good book on the B-24 I highly recommend The Wild Blue by the late Stephen Ambrose (Band of Brothers author). For a good novel I recommend Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott although it mostly revolves around a B-24 pilot trying to evade capture after being shot down.
Eighty One Days Below Zero is good too.
Though there were better... I just love this wide winged baby ❤.. and all the crew that flew bomber command all deserved a war medal !! Amazingly brave! 😮
True story about the bomb bay doors, my father a bombardier 15th AF in Italy left a mud covered field. By the time they got to Poland the doors were frozen closed. He salvoed the load through the doors smashing them and leaving them hanging w/2 bombs wedged in the bomb bay. After climbing on the catwalk no chute because of room he kicked the bombs overboard, took the wires from his heated suit, closed them enough and tied them shut with the wires enabling them enough aerodynamics to make it home with minimum drag. I have the proof with his DFC and letter stating such.
Yeah, he was my legitimate hero. Took his final flight in 2011 at age of 85. I saw him cry once, when he got word in the 60's that his nose gunner his best friend on the crew died.
The last B-24 variant to be destroyed in action was Tanker #123, originally a Navy PB4Y Privateer, flying as a heavy firefighting tanker with the former Hawkins and Powers Aviation of Greybull, WY.
While dropping retardent on a fire near Estes Park, CO, in 2001, Tanker 123 suffered a catastrophic failure of the wing carrythrough structure, causing a wing to separate from the aircraft. Both crewmembers died in the ensuing crash. I'm told that the failure was attributed to a manufacturing flaw that, over many years, had progressed into accelerated fatigue cracking of the critical structure. This area was hidden by the retardant tanks in the fuselage and could not be readily seen. Proper inspections could only be performed by first removing the tanks, and this was not happening.
This accident, plus similar failures of two Hawkins and Powers C-130As, sent the flawed but fascinating company into bankruptcy and closure. Their fleet of five PB4Ys were the last WWII bombers to be used in firefighting service. The remaining four are now in private hands. I believe one may still be parked at the previous Hawkins and Powers facility in Greybull WY.
I absolutely love the B-24 . It was such a fantastic plane. Thank you for this video. It is usually the B-17 they always play
Bomb load weight carried was dependent on the distance range of the mission. The longer the mission, the lower the bomb load carried
B-24s did not taxi with bomb bay doors closed. The fuel fumes were over powering and were not closed until takeoff roll. As told to me by my father, 33 combat missions as top turret/flight mechanic with the 15th AF flying out of Italy.
At age 17 my Dad lied to the Army Air Corps about his age to enlist. He wanted to be a fighter pilot, but bomber pilots were where the need was. He was put in a B-24 "Short Fat & 4F" and was stationed out of Cerignola, Italy. I don't know much about his service as it hurt him deeply to think or talk about it.
@@RWilson-gl8wf , He was stationed near my dad's base. My mom told me dad had nightmares from his missions when he got home. He would wake her up screaming bandits at some clock position. No one that flew in bombers came home without terrible and horrific memories. Our dad's were just one of the thousands of war heroes of the air campaigns.
Great story and history about the B-24 Liberator TJ3 you should do the history of Zirkus Rosarius KG200 the Germans that fly captured allied aircraft during ww2.
I might well do that!
Pop was a lead Bombardier out of Attlebridge England. 35 combat missions over occupied Europe. His B24 brought them through but eventually the plane was decommissioned due to extensive battle damage. The Davis wing was the technology that made a lot of difference and was soon used on the P51 Mustang.
Always impressed with the graphics/photography. Hard to tell sometimes which is real.
The first 'Liberators' to England were not B24's
These first deliveries were designated LB30. They cab be identified by the lack of the air intakes on the sides of the engine cowlings. It was these air intakes that gave the cowlings the oval shape so well known on B24's
The LB30 had round cowlings, without these intakes & one LB30, I think 'Diamond Lil' still flies with the CAF. It survives because the manufacturer, Consolidated, retained the aircraft at the factory & tacked an additional aircraft on the end of the deliveries to make up for Number 6 [?] that they kept throughout the war.
I'd like to challenge the logic on why the wings failed. I can't remember the reference, and if desired I can try to find it to send over, but I the weakness stemmed from the location of the wing being higher on the fuselage causing more of a stress on the spars. This is why most of the videos showing a wing collapse happens between engines 2 or 3 and the main body of the aircraft, Not between 1 & 2 or 3 & 4 which would have been the case for where the wheels folded in.
Other than this Great documentary, I always love watching your videos and usually learn at least 1 nugget from them. :)
b 24 liberator is perfect for the next expandables movie
I got all of them, one thing not mentioned here was the weakness of the front oleo/wheel setup. There were issues with them collapsing. Another interesting fact is that the B24 had a Davis wing profile that featured a high aspect ratio and laminar flow. A great aircraft.
Good Stuff... Thanks for Sharing
World War II combat aircrafts’ configurations, operating speeds, and volumes of units in service; collectively assured that era will remain the most spectacular “up-close-and-personal” aerial conflict in the history of mankind. For all the terror bombers could bring to an enemy,, their crews were often sitting ducks. Thanks for posting these nuggets about the B-24. Its retracted main gear’s detriment to its wings’ survivability (and that of an afflicted crew); was the most poignant of the 5. This video was worth the time spent viewing. 👍👍
In addition to ASW and numerous clandestine roles, the B-24 was indeed used for low-level strafing in both the European and Pacific theaters. Matte black versions with the belly turret removed and flown by OSS "Carpetbaggers" were also used in night missions to insert agents into occupied Europe. Another unfortunate flaw was the aircraft's propensity to explode when the landing gear was lowered. This was due to an accumulation of gas fumes.
All German fighters aces agreed that shooting down a B24 tended to be easier than shooting down a B17. They would catch fire faster or a wing would break off after a good burst !
Their rugged shape also made them an easier target to shoot at.
That question was often being asked to German pilots after the war.
Thanks for another wonderful video! I’m so glad I can be a part of filming these, and I get to learn so much! I got 4/5 on the quiz as well, I didn’t know about KG-200.
Thanks for the help!
Found out one of my relatives fought for the Luftwaffe in ww2. A fighter pilot with 4 kills. I'm an American.
Wow! That is super cool.
I didn't know about the Pearl Harbor B-24. Very interesting.
I absolutely love those what you Never knew type of videos. It would be Nice seeing some jets in this series like the sabre or f84...
Keep up the good work!
Jets coming soon!
I have to correct you on one point.
You state the B-24 was sent to Britain as the brits had nothing that could fly as far and protect shipping. This is entirely incorrect.
research the Short Sunderland. Over 700 built and a range almost doubt that of the B-24. It did sterling service with coastal command and is often overlooked and forgotten.
Only issue is, they couldn't make enough, quick enough. Enter the B-24 for the shorter range missions.
Your videos are exceptional Sir. I always learn something. Thank you!
Great video. I got all your questions right. My father was on 18 missions in the pacific in B-24's. He was also on 7 missions in B-32's (which hardly anyone knows about). I hope you do (or perhaps have already done) videos about the 1 August raid on Ploesti. So many amazing stories there. Get familiar with the book on Ploesti by Michael Hill, it's a very thorough history of that epic and tragic battle.
one of the most unknown facts about the B24 is the Carpetbaggers' OSS missions
The Lib was tough to fly and less battle damage resistant.
I lost an uncle over Saipan who was crewing one.
You could add that the B24 was still being refined when the Willowrun plant started production. Henny Ford told them to stop changing things.
Flaps and landing gear controls were side by side, leading to more than a few crashes with wheels down and flaps up.
My Grandfather was a B-24 Bombardier. The maximum INTERNAL bomb load is 5,000 pounds. The additional 3,000 pounds, to reach the stated 8,000 pounds, was utilizing wing racks. These were ONLY used for very short range missions. The B-17's bomb load was 4,000 pounds for a normal mission. So, still the Lib could carry more.
"The box the B-17 comes in"
My Dad was in the 449thBG (718th), i have never heard the story of 'Sunshine' German capture/conversion.
Hey great videos!
A video about my favorite big beautiful bomber! Thank you TJ!
Thanks for watching!
I find your claim at 09:00 that the RAF lacked aircraft with the necessary range to patrol the North Atlantic to be factually inaccurate.
B-24:
Range: 1,540 mi (2,480 km, 1,340 nmi) at 237 mph (206 kn; 381 km/h) and 25,000 ft (7,600 m) with normal fuel and maximum internal bomb load
Ferry range: 3,700 mi (6,000 km, 3,200 nmi)
Avro Lancaster:
Range: 2,530 mi (4,070 km, 2,200 nmi)
Handley Page Halifax (used by RAF Coastal Command):
Combat range: 1,860 mi (2,990 km, 1,620 nmi
My father flew in one of these in India as a navigator and map plotter in the RAF to bome Japan but because of his ability to dra up maps from scratch and as weather he mostly served in the Met office
My sister's husband's grandpa was either a ball turret or tail gunner in a B-24 Liberator in WWII. Not sure how a plane stays aloft with a crew possessed of huge iron balls like that.
Bro I love the b-24, especially in the Pacific doing low level, and even some troop support (more rare than the norm). Plus the PB4Y-2 with the added guns and unique turrets… love the bird
Love the B-24. The B-17 had a better reputation. My Dad was a flight engineer and gunner in the 15th USAAF. 465th Bomb Grp, 780th Sqd. Those planes brought him home safely. In a strange twist he his crew actually returned to the US bringing a plane back instead of leaving it behind. He'd gone over to North Africa by ship.
Several years ago I met a B-24 bomber pilot that brought his crew home in a modified B-24 after they completed their missions. I even took him up flying in a Cessna 150. He loved it. Any chance your Dad’s pilot was a fellow named Sherman Beard??? They flew into Canada first and then down to Bradley Field in CT. He was in the same area in N. Africa during the war.
@@UncaDave Dads pilot was a gentleman from Connecticut if I remember correctly, his name was Bradley Bradstreet.
My father flew 35 bombing runs over Germany, his crew took flak and had to force land twice in farm fields, once almost cutting through Pattons main communication lines. The MPs that picked them up said they were lucky the stoped short, otherwise Patton would have personally paid them a very unpleasant visit.
The “Sunshine” B-24 they mention in here is the Hemphill crew plane, part of the 449th bomb group, 717th Squadron. The Pilot was Gifford T. Hemphill. Taken POW March 24, 1944. This plane was apart of my Great Uncle’s Bomb group.
My late Uncle was a waist gunner on the Queen of Peace. this plane crashed and Sweden and they had a big article about him and his crew there. I wish I could’ve talked more about his time on this plane.
Thanks for another great video TJ3. I managed 4 of 5 on the quiz which is a lot better than my typical score.
Very nice!
Great video, I had no idea they had weak wings. I got about 3/4 questions correct, I thought the B-24 had a weak cockpit (frontal attack)
I know nothing of your questions! Thank you for an enlightening video!
Thanks for watching!
I got all correct my great-grandfather was a navigator aboard a B-24 known as Sky pirate
You know taking part in the filming actually means I already know some stuff which is fun
Presidential hopeful ex Senator George McGovern flew 35 combat missions out of Italy in WWII. Also B-24s out of Libya flew the ill-fated Low Level bombing raid on the Romanian oil refineries at Ploiesti in 1943.
9:30 The RAF Sunderland had almost twice the range of the b24
Another fun fact that I read somewhere about the Lib is that that controls were so heavy that you could spot a pilot by his one arm being bigger than the other - you can imagine the jokes that arose from that 😂 He's either a Liberator pilot or he's Liberating himself 😂
Common thing especially for fighter pilots a of aircraft like the Thunderbolt.
An actual B-24 pilot, one Sherman Beard, told me that. Not an easy plane to fly. Google his name to read about him. In his final years I took him flying in a Cessna 150 over his farm in Hillsboro, WV. Of course I gave him the controls and he loved it. A great guy and an honor to have known him.
One of the best.
My uncle was a ball turret gunner-50 missions.
All but the last one.B-24 guys called the B-17 a good medium bomber.
Hey TJ, I have seen all of your videos and a couple include captured aircraft. Can you make a video about the KG 200 and other captured planes?
Might add that one to my list!
My wife’s great uncle
Was a dorsal gunner/radio operator on a B-24 flown by the 449. Thunderbay Babe was shot down over Austria in 1945. Spent the rest of the war in Stalag 17.
My dad just recently passed away at 101 and he was a pilot for the Jolly Rogers Heavy Bomb Group B-24 in the South Pacific 5th 320th Bomb Group
They also had a bad reputation for being difficult to put down on the water. Was a great aircraft for many reasons but like every other one there are drawbacks as well
All planes putting down on water is difficult. Duh
Oh look, mr. Know-it-all chimed in
Considering Consolidated based their design off a flying boat, as well as being known for their flying boats, I find your comment ironic 😂😂
Video suggestion: The Leo K. Thorsness F-105 MOH mission
Will check it out!
That video was tougher.Only got 3 questions right.😁
another weakness was it was the first to use hydraulic control surfaces with an open system so any problems caused coplete system failure . I had a farther in law that spent years in german prisoner of war camp . He told me he had to bailout 3 times but was only shot at only once !
Read the strategic bombing survey (post war)you were several percentage points more likely to survive your 35 mission tour in a Lib.then a b-17 fact!
My father-in-law flew with the RAF or RCAF out of India against the Japanese.
They flew B-24s because allegedly the English heavy bombers couldn't handle the humidity in the region. Ironic.
These guys were real heroes: they flew English aircrew meaning NO copilot - they did things like skipping bombs into the sides of ships at 50 feet height!
This with no copilot in a plane that was notoriously heavy on the controls.
My father was also on Liberators and stationed in India. A tail gunner in 159 Squadron.
“Sunshine “, as shown in the photo,
( IF it was the real photo ), show us a B-24 J, and all the animation show us a B-24 D.!!!
Which one is correct.???
Gramps loved his bird♥️
Great Job! I only got around 2 questions correct. Could you please do a video about the No. 80 squadron in the Med Theater, in April 1941?
I'll check them out!
My Great Uncle Jack Byron Newman flew for the 449th upon the B-24 Thunderbay Babe of Alpena, Mi. Ridgeway crew. His airplane shot down over Austria.He was taken prisoner of war at Stallag-17 for 18 months. One of the longest held POW’s. My grand mother and great aunt were Rosie’s while he served and worked at the Waterford, Mi plant making the Helldiver. My Great Grandfather was able to fly upon the Thunderbay babe II when she was commissioned.
Remember,Boeing's B-29 copied the "Davis wing"from the B-24 Liberator.
My dad's brother was killed, with half the crew, in a training crash in Florida, April 1942. He didn't make it to combat, but his remains were sent home to Kansas. The men who died over-seas are still there.
I love your posts, and learn from every one of them! But on the B-24 weakness in the wing because of the landing gear you showed us the wrong rl downing: That B24 was hit between the fuselage and nr 3 engine, so had nothing to do with weakness of the wheel-well...
The footage you used of the wing getting blown off was actually from a bomber above it dropping a bomb onto the wing. It's well documented!!
Thanks!
Thank you!!