The B-24 was a faster plane having a greater range and payload capacity. However, in the ETO, the B-24 operated with the B-17 which constrained the aircraft’s operating speed. The B17 was a sedate aircraft and placed fewer demands on the flight deck crew. The B-17 was also an easier aircraft to fly in formation.
What is the difference between a B-17 and a B-24?
The B-17 had a very large wing and ailerons (the moveable portion of the wing), while the B-24 used a smaller wing and ailerons for speed. Thus, the Liberator was faster, but the Flying Fortress could fly higher. Typical approach landing speeds for both planes, using full wing flaps was 120 miles per hour.
Which was larger B-17 or B-24?
The B-24 had a shoulder-mounted high aspect ratio Davis wing. This wing was highly efficient allowing a relatively high airspeed and long range. Compared to the B-17, it had a 6-foot larger wingspan but a lower wing area. This gave the B-24 a 35-percent higher wing loading.
Was the B-24 a good plane?
In time the B-24 would boast a long, tapered wing atop its fuselage, which allowed impressive long-range cruising capabilities. A B-24 could reach 290 miles per hour and carry a 5,000-pound bomb load for 1,700 miles, giving it a longer range, greater speed and a bigger payload than its B-17 cousin.
How many B 24s were shot down?
Flak varied from light to heavy and was, especially heavy over the city and very accurate. During the attack on Hamm, three B-24’s were shot down, and, for most of the crews, it was their last flight, because this would have been their thirtieth flight, earning them a return to the US.
Why was the B-24 Liberator called the flying coffin?
Officially designated the “Liberator,” the square shaped B-24 could easily turn into a death trap. It was hard to fly with its stiff and heavy controls, and so earned its name by its crews as the “Flying Coffin.”
Are any B-24s still flying?
Of the 19,256 B-24, PB4Y-1, LB-30 and other model variants in the Liberator family produced, thirteen complete examples survive today, two of which are airworthy. Eight of the thirteen aircraft reside in the United States.
Was the B-24 better than the B-17?
The B-24 was a faster plane having a greater range and payload capacity. However, in the ETO, the B-24 operated with the B-17 which constrained the aircraft’s operating speed. The B17 was a sedate aircraft and placed fewer demands on the flight deck crew. The B-17 was also an easier aircraft to fly in formation.
What was the best fighter of World War 2?
The most capable fighter of WWII was the American F4U-4 Corsair carrier-based fighter-bomber, designed and produced by Chance Vought. Between 1942 and 1953 more than 12,500 aircraft were manufactured. The fighter combined good maneuverability, very dangerous armament (six .
Did B-17 ever sink a ship?
The B-17’s greatest success in the Pacific was in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, in which aircraft of this type were responsible for damaging and sinking several Japanese transport ships.
What was the toughest bomber in ww2?
The heaviest bomber of World War II was the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, which entered service in 1944 with a fully pressurized crew compartment (previously used only on experimental aircraft) and as many as 12 . 50-inch machine guns mounted in pairs in remotely-controlled turrets.
What is the best bomber ever built?
This advanced aircraft was never offered for sale to any other country, even NATO allies.
- The B-2 is almost invisible to radars due to its sophisticated design and radar-absorbent coating.
- This plane carries a powerful array of weaponry.
- Currently the B-2 Spirit is the best bomber ever built.
What is the most feared bomber?
The Boeing B-29 was the biggest American bomber of the Second World War, but perhaps what made it the most deadly was that it was the aircraft that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which in a way makes the aircraft infamous.
Who shot down the most German planes in ww2?
Erich Hartmann
While serving in Germany’s Luftwaffe in World War II, Erich Hartmann flew more than 1,400 missions in the Messerschmitt Bf 109, enabling him to score an astonishing 352 kills. How did Hartmann get so good at dominating the skies over the Eastern Front?
What was the life expectancy of a B-17 crew?
Nothing in the peacetime lives of thousands of young Americans had prepared them for the violence that lay ahead. Although such statistics were not circulated among Army Air Forces crews, the average life expectancy of an Eighth Air Force B-17 in late 1943 was 11 missions.
What pilot was shot down the most in ww2?
| Erich Hartmann | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Bubi (“The Kid”) Der Schwarze Teufel (“The Black Devil”) |
| Born | 19 April 1922 Weissach, Württemberg, Weimar Republic |
| Died | 20 September 1993 (aged 71) Weil im Schönbuch, Germany |
| Buried | New Cemetery, Weil im Schönbuch |
What bomber was called the Widowmaker?
the B-26
The result was a rash of accidents, so that the B-26 soon acquired a reputation as a “hot” aircraft and was given the nickname “Widowmaker.” The problem was rectified in later versions by fitting longer wings at the sacrifice of some of the Marauder’s speed.
What are two reasons the B-24 was called the flying coffin?
A World War II aircraft unofficially known as a “Flying Coffin” has been found in Italy. The heavy bomber Consolidated B-24 Liberator earned its nickname when crew members found it difficult to fly, thanks to its “stiff and heavy controls,” Discovery News reports.
Why was the B-24 the flying coffin?
In addition, crews nicknamed the B-24 the “Flying Coffin” as it possessed only one exit which was located near the tail of the aircraft. This made it difficult to impossible for the flight crew to escape a crippled B-24.
How many Boeing B 17s are left?
The number varies from time to time as airframes enter restoration, or complete restoration or move to flight status. The current total of surviving B-17 bombers located in the United States stands at 40: Nine (9) B-17 planes are airworthy, such as “Texas Raiders”, “Sentimental Journey” and “Aluminum Overcast”.
What replaced the B-24?
B-24s were assigned to every combat Air Force; at peak inventory, the USAAF had 6,043 B-24 Liberators operating worldwide in September 1944. Following the end of World War II, the Liberator was rapidly withdrawn from USAAF service, being replaced by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.