The B-24 was the most widely produced bomber in world history. This video shows the sole surviving regularly flown example -- the only flying B-24 Liberator *bomber* (there is one cargo B-24 flying) left anywhere in the world of the roughly 18,000 built. This is the Collings Foundation's B-24, Witchcraft. During World War II, at peak production, factories put out roughly 10 of these aircraft per day. It was driven by four supercharged turbocharged radials putting out 1200 horsepower each. Flying with greater range than the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator bomber could drop about 8,000 thousand pounds of bombs from high or low altitude attacks. When WWII's most widely used big bomber went down, it often took all ten crewmen at a time. It was notably involved in the infamous Ploesti raid, in which more than 50 aircraft and 660 crewmen were lost. The surviving men who flew in the bomber and the men and women who produced these historic aircraft are becoming few. Talk to one, if you get the chance.

My friend rode in it yesterday.Our strip is right next to the Collings home in Stow,MA.It is a pretty regular thing for all his planes ,B-24,17,P-51,T-6 to be coming thru here at less than pattern altitudes.Collings grass strip is only used for small stuff,T-6,Stearman etc.Heavy iron uses some local Class D airports when in the area.

Bill

Another video about B-24 Liberators... one B-24 every 55 minutes; much to the credit of Henry Ford.

The surviving men who flew in the bomber and the men and women who produced these historic aircraft are becoming few. Talk to one, if you get the chance.

I have had the honor to know two B-24 crewmen who were friends of my Dad (Infantry). One was a pilot, still alive, and the other a gunner.

The pilot was incredibly young to be in command of an aircraft, I think he said he was 19 yo when he was flying out of Africa. It took me a long time to get him to talk about the experiences, some of which were harrowing; but he brought back his plane and crews from every mission even if the ac had a number of holes in it.

The gunner spent much of the war as a POW due to being shot down on the Ploesti raid, and understandably he did not talk too much about his time "over there".

Both were just country kids from Georgia at the time. Pretty gritty stuff.

TD

The Collings Foundation is making their annual tour through the PNW right now. They just finished a couple days in Port Angeles WA, and yesterday flew over to Skagit airport neat Mout Vernon/Burlington to spend a day or two there. The 17 came in to land a few minutes after I left, and made an upwind entry with an overhead break-- unfortunately for the crowd, the 24 was about 10 minutes in trail instead of in formation with the 17. There was a pretty good little crowd of people who'd been waiting for a hour or more, both in front of (and I assume inside of) the commercial terminal where apparently pax op's were gonna be centered, and inside the Kity Hawke Cafe. Never seen that big a crowd inside the cafe before- the owner & staff were awful busy but glad of it. BTW it's a nice place to eat if you get up this way.

Thanks for the reminder. I was just visiting with my uncle yesterday, who was co-pilot on B-24s for the carpetbaggers in 1944-45. http://worldwar2carpetbaggers.blogspot.com/2009/02/carpetbaggers-world-war-twos-covert.html They painted the planes black and hedge-hopped in the dark to drop spies and spy supplies in France. They were sworn to secrecy after the war, so my Uncle never talked about it. Finally, some time in the 90s, the information was declassified and the men were able to tell their stories and connect. Amazing times; inspiring men.

CAVU

CAVU wrote:Thanks for the reminder. I was just visiting with my uncle yesterday, who was co-pilot on B-24s for the carpetbaggers in 1944-45. http://worldwar2carpetbaggers.blogspot.com/2009/02/carpetbaggers-world-war-twos-covert.html They painted the planes black and hedge-hopped in the dark to drop spies and spy supplies in France. They were sworn to secrecy after the war, so my Uncle never talked about it. Finally, some time in the 90s, the information was declassified and the men were able to tell their stories and connect. Amazing times; inspiring men.

CAVU

My father flew 47 missions with the 406th NLS in B24's, would like to compare notes..
Pete

OregonMaule wrote:The B-24 was the most widely produced bomber in world history. This video shows the sole surviving regularly flown example

My favorite WWII heavy aircraft.

Its ASTOUNDING that so many were made and so few survive.

Saw them in Tyler Tx. At the beginning of the tour this year. Brought my 15 year old daughter and father with me. Beautiful birds to
See but if I could bottle the sound I would be rich. I was going to pay for my daughter to fly in the P-51 but the $2000 price tag shot that down.
I had a very close friend that was a navigator/gunner on the 24. He had the best stories about the WWII, it was amazing to me that anyone could survive 24 missions and live to tell about it. We lost him in 09,
Oh and there was also a ME 262 on tour with them, not sure if it was the real deal or not. Damn cool either way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjadMxpXprk

I went to look for another video and this popped up. Pretty cool shots/film of a B24 doing a ditching test. It was all controlled and even had slo motion video. Pretty cool watch.

I was extremely lucky to grow up flying all over the mid-west and west with James Press Maxwell, the famous golf architect. He flew eighty one B-24 missions out of N. Africa and Italy. After the war he flew B-25s with one of Marshal Tito's colonels getting pilots who had been incarcerated in Yugoslavia out of very remote unimproved fields.

contactflying wrote:I was extremely lucky to grow up flying all over the mid-west and west with James Press Maxwell, the famous golf architect. He flew eighty one B-24 missions out of N. Africa and Italy. After the war he flew B-25s with one of Marshal Tito's colonels getting pilots who had been incarcerated in Yugoslavia out of very remote unimproved fields.

Interesting book about some of those pilots that were rescued after being shot down there is called, "The Forgotten 500" by Gregory A. Freeman. They basically hacked a secret airfield out of the side of a mountain by hand and then flew C-47's in and out, rescuing downed American airmen - all under the noses of the Nazi occupying forces. Great read.

Thanks Mike. I'll have to get that. My information is from Press years ago. He was old then and I am old now, so there can be normal war stories errors. He never mentioned Tito's Colonel. I read that in a Colorado Golf Hall of Fame article on Press.

I treated myself to a ride in both the B-17 and the B-24. It was a beyond amazing experience. You are allowed to move throughout the aircraft to see all of the different positions. If you were even thinking about it don't hesitate you won't regret it!

Mike,

I just finished "The Forgotten 500." It was a very good history that needed to be told of the mostly B-24 airmen who bailed out over Yugoslavia who were hidden and protected from the Germans by General Mihailovich. While fighting the Germans, Mihailovich's Chetnik Serbs and Tito's Partisans were engaged in a civil war against each other. One of the Cambridge Five (Russian double agent moles) convinced the British that Mihailovich was killing downed airmen or turning them over to the Germans. Because of egg on face, both British MI-6 and American OSS, Operation Halyard was hushed up for many years and Mihailovich, never supported by the Allies, was executed as a war criminal by Tito.

The B-24 pilot I flew with many years, Press Maxwell, flew B-25s into smaller and less improved fields to get our airmen, protected by Tito's Partisans, out. Press got alsymers in the 80s and the Medal of Freedom, given Mihalovich by Truman posthumously, was not presented to his daughter until the 90s. Of course the airmen knew the true story so Press might have here it in Italy. Both rescue operations were out of the same field in Italy.

Thanks for the heads up,

Jim

contactflying wrote:Mike,

I just finished "The Forgotten 500." It was a very good history that needed to be told of the mostly B-24 airmen who bailed out over Yugoslavia who were hidden and protected from the Germans by General Mihailovich. While fighting the Germans, Mihailovich's Chetnik Serbs and Tito's Partisans were engaged in a civil war against each other. One of the Cambridge Five (Russian double agent moles) convinced the British that Mihailovich was killing downed airmen or turning them over to the Germans. Because of egg on face, both British MI-6 and American OSS, Operation Halyard was hushed up for many years and Mihailovich, never supported by the Allies, was executed as a war criminal by Tito.

The B-24 pilot I flew with many years, Press Maxwell, flew B-25s into smaller and less improved fields to get our airmen, protected by Tito's Partisans, out. Press got alsymers in the 80s and the Medal of Freedom, given Mihalovich by Truman posthumously, was not presented to his daughter until the 90s. Of course the airmen knew the true story so Press might have here it in Italy. Both rescue operations were out of the same field in Italy.

Thanks for the heads up,

Jim

Jim, glad you enjoyed it! I was amazed that the whole story had never really gotten out. It is a shame that Mihalovich's story was never represented correctly for so many years.

State Dept., MI-6, OSS, FAA; It doesn't matter what the agency or even country. Make the agency look good, assign blame, and finally accomplish the mission if you can work it in. Human nature is foul, and organizational human nature is putrid.