Flying the Consolidated B-24 Liberator Bomber in Restored Color (1943) 

My Uncle was the navigator on a B24 flying out of northern Italy.He lost his life on October 17, 1944, two days before his twentieth birthday, when the plane was shot down over Austria. I was born the day after his birthday nine years later. I was named after him. My father, his brother, carried the grief of this loss until he died.

My Dad was the top turret gunner and flight engineer in WW 2.. on the 24. He lost many of his friends but God blessed him and brought him home after the war. Very proud of those airmen

Like a number of others here my dad was a Liberator pilot but was an RAF pilot flying them as part of Coastal command. If I remember him correctly he said they had extremely long flight endurance 13 hrs plus, they had extra pilot crew on so they could rest with a galley for cooking. Presumably this was on U boat patrol, he also flew Catalinas for picking up downed pilots over the North Sea. He trained for the Catalinas in Pensacola I remember him going over to a reunion there.

My uncle was a flight engineer on B-24's in the Pacific where they flew long, over water missions. Lots of preflight checks on piston engines; on jets, you just start them and go! Lots of manual setting of various systems that became more automated in later aircraft. In their day, these were state-of-the-art aircraft and it took real pilots to fly them, not to mention how courageous these crews were. A big salute to all of them!

My dad was the flight engineer on a B24 crew with the 466th Heavy Bomber group at Attlebridge Airfield in England with the USAAF. I have all his log books from all his flights over Germany, Belgium, and France, including his handwritten checklist in a little spiral notebook. The pilot, copilot, and engineer were the 3 initial crew that went through this checklist before the rest of the crew came on for the mission. They were shot down on their last mission, but all made it back to England. These HBs had the highest casualty rate of all airforces in WWII. My dad was one of the lucky brave young guys who never knew if they would be coming back from their mission each time the took off.

My Grandmother worked on B-24s at the Consolidated plant in Ft. Worth, TX during the war. Great video, thanks for posting.

My father was a B-24 pilot flying out of Italy into southern Europe, Austria, Czechoslovakia and other countries. He also brought his plane across the Atlantic, via the Azores.

My father was a B-24 pilot and flew 35 missions in WWII. 461 Squadron, 461 bomb group out of Italy. Wow, there's more to fling one of those than I thought.

Great video, thanks for the upload. Have pics of my uncles crashed B-24, the Swee' Pea, in Italy - what s sturdy aircraft. They attached the parachutes to the plane to stop it once it hit the ground, all crew survived. At 2:30 they mention the pitot head covers being removed (and, yes, it WOULD be awkward to remove them in flight - LOL); it's believed that a malfunction of the pitot tubes is what brought down Air France 447, crashing into the Atlantic Ocean, in June 2009. Amazing to see what changes have been made since WW II and what has stayed the same.

Amazing how far they came in less then 40 years of powered flight. I was a engineer on both Navy C-118's and CV-580's. The 24 was more work than either of them. My father was a Bombardier 455th BG 720 squadron, 35 missions over target he loved the 24 and said it got a undeserved bad rap.

I know the American people with two characteristics and I respect and love them very much. First, they are very hardworking and active people, both men and women, and second, they are very brave and courageous in following unknown paths.

Tonopah Nevada was a major training base for B-24. Train well, learn your craft, team work. Never ask your ship to do what she can't. She'll do her best to return you home.

Can you imagine taxiing onto runway, seeing your indicated airspeed is "O," and asking "Hey, did anyone remove the pitot tube covers?" AWKWARD!

"If there is air combat outside the plane, ignore it until you finish these important procedures!"

I like the funky, metallic sound in the background.

Good one, Zeno-this will be incredibly valuable. Thanks!-Nick

My favorite Bomber

I knew a former Lib pilot when he was in his healthy seventies.I asked him if he could still get one in the air."Yes, I could." Then added quickly, "...but I would't want to land it. You have to fly those things hot-right on in to the ground."

Thanks!

My Uncle, 1st Lt Albert F Boyhan was a B 24 L pilot. Uncle Red was KIA on Feb 7th 1945 after a successful mission in Austria. Uncle red is buried in the American cemetery in Ardennes Belgium...

@ the 1:00 mark the narrator states "this is a serious film,it is NOT entertaining..." Little did they know of You Tube of course back then .

My uncle was a nose gunner in one of these during the war. I still have a picture of him and his crew standing if front of the plane. He never spoke about it when I knew him many years ago.

My neighbour was an upper gunner in 357 Sqn in Burma. Told me once about the plane ahead of his crashing on takeoff (engine failure in the intense heat) and once the smoke cleared enough his plane took off. That's just how it was during war.

Watched the whole thing! Thanks for posting.

I love these old training vids of WWII. These motion pictures make it look so easy to fly these machines. Thought the narrator states it's just for familiarization, it was the intention to get these pilots up to speed with their machines as fast as possible. It was wartime.

Thanks so much for posting this. I've seen other training films for the B-17 or B-26 with Hollywood actors doing the instruction, but none did as good of a job explaining WHY you did this rather than that. But I have to admit, I really wanted to hear the roar of those Pratt and Whitney engines.

I've always wondered how engine management was handled...I just didn't know that the pilots had to handle all of that including flying the aircraft ! Holy Moly that is A LOT of detail of which to keep track.

Excellent restoration.

Looks like this was filmed at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Az. Unmistakable Catalina, Tucson, Santa Rita and Rincon Mountains. I’m sure the bone yard also housed many of these B-24’s when they were retired. As a teen I used to drive out and explore many planes getting ready to be scrapped. Now your only lucky enough to just view the yard over dirt mounds from a distance or pay for the tour.

Unlike the war movies where it takes the pilots and crew about 30 seconds to go from getting into their aircraftt to take-off.(lol)

My father flew in the B24 bomber as a rear gunner in WWII.

And to think by 1944 they were building one B-24 Bomber per hour at Willow Run!

Really? It's awkward to remove the pitot head covers in flight? 02:30 Who knew. ;) So glad you don't have to go through a complex process each time you start or shut down your car!

For all the attention given the B-17, the Liberator actually dropped more tonnage of bombs on Germany.

I've watched the film twice ..I'm ready to fly one..

Fantastic video!!! THANKS!!

My partner's dad flew B-24s in WW2 (Jimmy Stewart was one of his flight instructors---a damned good one, too). It's not exciting, but informative. And a great restoration for the historical record.

Congratulations!

GREAT video

thank you great video

"Awkward to remove the pitot covers in flight" LOL you think?

One of my local hometown boys who did not return...On February 21st 1945, Flying Officer John Willard Thompson(of Bowden, Alberta Canada) and his crew from 223 Squadron were on a nighttime Radio Counter Measures mission over Germany dropping chaff to jam German radar. They were in an RAF B-24 Consolidated Liberator B.IV. Serial #TS520. Call sign 6G-J. They were shot down by a night fighter some 7 Km north of Bad Fredeburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. German pilot believed to be Oblt. Kurt Matzak, Stab./NJG1. 5 crew survived and were taken prisoner. The 5 crew that died were first buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Kirchrarbach, Germany. Then temporarily buried at the Allied Cemetery at Margraten, Netherlands. Final reburial 26/03/1947 Venray War Cemetery, Netherlands. F/O J.W.Thompson RCAF KIA F/S J.H.Kendall KIA F/S R.Wynn KIA F/O R.W.Johnson Injured W/O W.F.Baker Injured W/O R.A.Palmer taken PoW F/S D.Bryant KIA F/S B.Maxwell RCAF taken PoW F/S R.M.Wood RCAF KIA Sgt E.E.Whittaker KIA F/S G.R.Graham Injured F/O R.W.Johnson, W/O R.A.Palmer, W/O W.F.Baker, F/S B.Maxwell, and F/S G.R.Graham were confined in Hospital until Liberation in May 1945

Each ship a miracle of engineering genius yet only a tiny fragment of our war efforts. Oh just think what we might accomplish if mankind could only get along with one another. With hands linked in friendship rather than raised in anger.

muchas gracias, esta muy bueno el documental

Best checkout video made for WWII!

Just amazing Daniel. I love this sort of information . Brings my dad closer when I read this sort of information

No wonder WWII lasted so long. Took an hour just to get this beast in the air.

My dad trained as a B-24 belly gunner, but once deployed to the 93Bg of the 8Th USAAF stationed in England, he was moved to nose gunner. The belly turret was removed to increase bomb payload, so he never flew combat as belly gunner. They did 35 missions crashed twice due to flack, no serious injuries. The second crash landing was in a farm field somewhere near Belgium and they came close to crossing a road alongside the field. If they had crossed the road they would have taken out major communication lines of Gen Patton. The MP’s that picked up my dad’s flight crew told them if they had taken out those com lines, Gen Patton probably would have paid them a very unpleasant visit. It was always fascinating but rare to get stories of WW11 out of him. As of last summer he pasted away so I share his story for others to hopefully enjoy

This so interesting to see how folks did things in the 1940's. It all looks very professional.

It's a miracle these things even got off the ground... So many complex systems that could have malfunctioned, etc. What if something got shot out or disabled?

My Dad flew one in the Flying Tigers. Kings X was the name of the plane. 43 missions

My grandfather built these in San Diego during the war.

5 stars best site on web!!!

I seen B-24 in action probably in 2002 it was a water tanker, fighting forest fires in Colorado.

okay im ready to flight liberator now

Was this film done in Groom Lake? Looks a lot like it in the old days.

My Father was a B24H(Ford Willow Run Plant) Navigator 449th Bombardment 716th Squadron shot down over Yugoslavia 1/14/1944. It was not a pleasant place to be. Missions and losses were horrific. My Father's Ship was part of the Original Cadre of 62 Ships. Only 18 of the 62 Ships saw the end of the war. He always said that their Ground Crew Chief was the most important Man in the Operation of the Ship. What they do not talk about flying @ 50 below Zero for 10 hours in electric suit, putting on a 90lb flak Jacket when you came under fire, knocking icicles off your mouth as saliva froze coming off your oxygen mask, being attacked by Fighters without escort, flak exploding all around you. This looks nice on a concrete runway, but most of the time they were taking off from modified surfaces of captured Airports that were sometimes wet and muddy like Grottaglie, Italy where my Father's Group was based. Yet they kept on going all the time. May God bless all others of the Greatest Generation!

Jimmy Stuart was the most famous guy to fly a b24 he was a true hero he flew his required combat missions not a instructor only he even flew several mission in Viet nam

My friend, Bob piloted this plane in WWII, he never bought Mitsubishi products since!

Be really cool if they could have gotten Jimmy Stewart to narrate this. He was a B-24 pilot during WWII and flew 25 missions!

being a pilot in those days was more about engineering than flying i guess

Fear the rope.....I remember that part. Meant the battery wasn't charged and had to do it manual. I did complete that task and I did fear the rope when it didn't crank right up that day because we were already in air. I obviously got it done though.

A liberators came down above the moors near Burnley Lancashire England in February 1943.

How is it the same guy narrates every one of these kind of videos

I think the war will be over before these guys finish their checklist.

Just watched a video wherein they were producing a completed B24 every 55min. at their hight of production! Beat that!, you damn krauts! :D

It's amazing how primitive these video we're back then. When I got check out with the EAA' S Aluminum Overcast I was given a flight manual for the B-17G and told to study the book. Before I was able to fly I bad to fly the jump seat and watched before I could even touch the controls. Being able to fly an airplane like these is an experience of a life time when once only officers in the USAAF would fly and here I made it to SFC E7 in the US Army. If given the chance I would love to fly Witchcraft the B-24

Holy crap! I'm no pilot but that take off check list is a whopper! No wonder they preferred college boys flying these things

I read somewhere that B-17 crews use to call the B-24 the box the B-17 came in.

Awsome

I drove one of these planes about thirty years ago. My uncle was a Pratt (Pratt & Whitney) the plane was called the liberator. I have Jewish Roots. He ran the Ghost Squadron and collected old planes....I wish I could find the one with the bird with the flame...the Louisiana Belle. I was only 10-12 and it was literally Uncle Lenard Pratt turning off the engine and me having to crank and level it without dying. It instilled a Commander Personality in me kind of like sink or swim.....fly it or die. He knew how to work on the engines since his family made them and I doubt we were suppossed to be in the air with it lol. I am so curious to climb into one again.

Thank up movie!!

"well i'm just rare'n to go!"

Oh my, how procedures have changed. I would'nt stand a change flying this old bird.

These airplanes were made by the same factories that would make 1950s cars, you can see the beauty correlates!

Whoever flew these ? Aircraft? Should have been awarded the medal of Honor. Way too many discrepancies with all ground and flight operations.

Does anyone know what the duties of a B-24 navigator were, besides navigation? I want to know, because my father didn't tell me he flew 49 missions over the Japanese during WW2 until the last few weeks of his life, and I can't find out through an Internet search. Thanks.

I subbed

Damn it. I forgot to open the cowl flaps when I landed and burned up all four motors. Glad I drive a Toyota.

Start up the putt putt, daddy's home!

The narrator sounds like Andy Griffith.

My Uncle was a Waist gunner on the Queen of Peace. I have a picture of him in uniform but I wish I would’ve found a group shot. The only group shot I had was when they posed in Sweden when the plane crashed there, with no major injuries thank God.

"Picturizing"??? 😳

Many of these were built in the city I'm from, Tulsa. There's a cool history of the hangar there at the airport, at least for me it's interesting. Driving around the area and wondering why it is the way it is now, from an event/need 80 years ago. Kind of bummed, I was supposed to go see FiFi (B29) and Diamond Lil (B24), and was a keystroke away from buying a ride in Lil.....event got cancelled. I'd rather ride in a B17 so maybe something is in the future for me. I understand these are ancient, 80 year old planes, and better cancel than sorry!

READY TO GO........ THE WARS OVER

So, back in WWII was there no dye in the fuel? I suppose it wasn't needed until jet fuel came along because except for the octane rating there was no wrong fuel.

Pitot covers awkward to remove in flight? Really????

The B-24 was a dog to fly. I have known two pilots that flew multiple bomber types. They both hated the 24

If they're had time controls could of been better

Apparently, the narrator recorded this in a tunnel.

I dont know if...during the war,all thoses procedures were follwed. They must skipped a fiew of them.

B24……..the box the B17’s came in🤣

Soo...what you are saying here is that she is not exactly Gas n Go eh ?

Checkout the Lady Be Good unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2017/06/16/lost-and-found-the-story-of-lady-be-good-and-her-crew/

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Tonopah Nevada B - 24 familiarization and four engine qualification training base. U.S. Army Air Corp pilot operations instructional film for B-24 flight requirements. Groom Lake Nevada heavy bomber training field. “ the garden spot of the south west “ Pilots upon successful completion of training would be issued orders to the field of operations South Pacific or European areas. There they would be assigned crew members trained in their particular assigned positions. Crew of ten normally. The required twenty five operational missions oft fraught with perils of all types. Just flying normally pre GPS was challenging enough. Enemy action damaging vital components making it an increasingly daunting task indeed. When I see a missing man formation of the old girl well,,, It’s interesting to see these aircraft in pristine condition.

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If only the B-24 had hydraulic controls.

Wow......couldn't they just download an APP that would do all this for them?

Seems to me a Liberator, was Winston Churchill’s choice of ‘plane whenever he felt the need to fly. His was painted all black as they flew mainly at night. He always had the same American aircrew. i thought that to be rather strange fro a man who believed everything British to be best. Does anyone know why this was?