The most mass-produced Heavy bomber of all time! My Father Navigated a H Model Ford Willow Run. Shot down 1/14/44. POW Stalag Luft 1 until May 1, 1945. God Bless the Greatest Generation who Crewed & flew these Ships!
My grandpa flew 38 combat missions out of Seething, England on a B-24 named "My Buddy." Made it back alive, then made my mother a year later with help from Grandma! A great man. Hailed from Baudette, Minnesota and Detroit, Michigan. RIP
Excellent video ! Very well done. I had the opportunity to fly in it last year. Ride of a lifetime ! My uncle flew B-24 called Ronnie from the 446th. He flew 36 missions, including D-Day. His group is immortalized at the air museum in Tucson, AZ.
My brother flew a B24 during WWII as a radio operator. They were shot down over Germany and he was a prisoner of war. Little Audrey was the name they gave the plane. Wonderful to see this.
Every time I see a B 24 I recall that stomach jolting film of a B 24 getting hit by flak and having the wing burn through and fall off. Even though it happened 75+ years ago, it still affects me that I’m seeing young men die in action. God bless all young Americans who flew missions in WW2. They had an abundance of guts and bravado only the young have. They saved our world!
My Father was a 24 Navigator and did the math of current % of losses per mission and the required 25 for rotation Home, when his Squadron got their Combat Orders and knew the odds of making 25 was not in the cards, and told his Brothers before leaving, there is a very good chance you may not see me again. He was shot down on his 5th Mission, but survived as a POW. He never admitted to having guts or bravery and was always scared before and after missions, He told me he always threw up the coffee and donuts they received after they returned, before going to debriefing. IMHO they were all brave American Hero's serving their country, but you will never find that they felt that way in all the memoirs written by those who flew Combat Missions in 17's or 24's., but once they got airborne as the Navigator, he was so busy, he lost his fear and just did his job to the best of his abilities.
I would like to take a walk through of one of those. My Mom had a brother who served in one in WWII. Unfortunately I never got to meet my Uncle because his plane was shot down in China in August of 1943.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the B-24 is a bit homely compared to the more sleek B-17 and B-29, but it holds a nostalgic beauty for me because my uncle, Lester Lock, was a B-24 pilot in World War two. He and his crew were lost on a bombing run and I never got to meet him. From everything I have heard about him he was a wonderful man who was sad about the loss of life inflicted by the bombs they dropped. I still have a picture of him and his crew by a B-24.
Sorry to hear about your Uncle, my Father was a 24 Navigator who was shot down, but was lucky and became a POW and survived the War. The 24 was faster, held a bigger bomb load and longer range. It did not have the ceiling of the 17 and was harder to keep in tight formations, but this was a calculated trade-off for the other advantages the 24 bought to the table and why it was the most mass produced Heavy Bomber of all time
The naval version was the PB4Y PRIVATEER and had a single tailplane. The last one, flown by French Navy crews was shot down over DIEN BIEN PHU in May 1954.
Grampa flew in one of these in the war over Germany funny story grampa hated spam my gramma would send it not knowing so he tried to give her a clever hint with a funny comic strip but it got lost in the mail so he kept getting it he never ate spam again after the war
My father piloted these in the war. He liked the plane, said the B-17 was cruder in the cockpit. Compared them to a fancy Buick and a Ford business coup.
Just imagine how much runway one of those would have used during the war when carrying a full load of bombs, fuel, crew, armour plate, machine guns. They would have been a handful and to think young men flew them into harms way every day.
I am still partial to the B-17. But the B-24 had longer range, and could carry a bigger payload. So it gets credit where credit is due. The B-17 could suffer more damage and make it home.
I'm surprised that many of you folks thinks that this is the only B-24 flying! Sorry but there is another one and she is diamond lil and has been seen in my town of SAN DIEGO CA.
The one in Australia is flyable, it's just that there is so few of them in australia. one of it's last takeoffs was abouted becuase they couldn't get enough engine boost
What is the cost per hour to operate this big puppy? Thanks for an outstanding video. My favourite bomber of WW-II. Wonder what this puppy would have with for Merlins, Allison or royal Royce hung under the wings
Can't forget the Ploesti raid in or history of WW2 and the B-24 bombers had scored direct hits and the oil refineries were left burning after the bombing run was complete.
Ugly and hard to control, but it did the job. The 17, couldn't do what this jalopy did. The numbers are there as well. We produced more B-24's than any other bomber because they were reliable, although unsteady. Took insane amounts of damge and came home. If I could go back in time, I would choose a 24 over a 17 anytime.
+Thomas Reinert I'll agree with hard to control. Ugly i'll dispute. The Lib is one of my favorite air frames from that war. Consolidated built another of my favorites, too. The Catalina.
All depends on point of view. The 17 crews loved their planes. The 24 crews theirs. Truthfully both were fine aircraft that could pound the enemy, take a hell of a lot of damage, and still bring their crews back. I'm happy to see either one today!
Both aircraft are amazing, the amount of damage that they could and still return home is incredible. The plus of the 24 is that it could carry a heavier bomb load and the ball turret is raised into the fuselage unlike the 17 , if that were damaged the gunner was trapped
I saw this plane in person a couple of years ago.One of the Collins guys said that it orginally flew with the British.Many year later it was located in India in very rough condition.
