Road Trip, National Air Force Museum Part V other U.S. WW2 Bombers

 

B-24s over Ploesti

        Following on to the post about the Memphis Belle I have the rest of the U.S. bomber forces. The U.S. built the only bombers with a chance of survival in a daylight scenario and aggressively used them to attack the enemy at every opportunity. There is a decent argument that the daylight bombing of Germany (and the Browning M-2 .50cal HMG) broke the back of the Luftwaffe by forcing it to fight on a daily basis when the German training program could not produce enough new pilots to replace losses. The brave young men who flew in the face of a relentless and determined enemy rode these famous beasts of war into the firestorm of combat on a daily basis and were instrumental in defeating the Nazi war machine.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator

       With a longer range, higher cruising speed and heavier payload than the famed B-17 the Liberator was the most widely produced heavy bomber in the history of the U.S. Air Force. It had a reputation for being a tricky aircraft to fly and was less popular with aircrews because it lacked the ruggedness of the B-17. It was critical to the war effort and was used by all services and in all theaters. There is a very good Wiki on the plane right here.

 

 

 

North American B-25 Mitchell

       The aircraft that conducted the most famous bombing mission of the Second World War the "Doolittle Raid". The B-25 served on all fronts but most effectively in the Pacific where it's easy handling and massive forward firepower made it a spectacularly effective low-altitude anti-shipping and ground attack aircraft. This highly adaptable and rugged aircraft was loved by its crews and serves over a span of four decades in various air force world wide. A very good Wiki can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin B-26 Marauder

 

        Sleek and fast this plane gained a bad reputation because aircrews had a hard time transitioning from the wallowing B-18 trainers to this high-performance platform. Once the Air Force had worked out an effective training program the Marauder proved to be a very efficient medium bomber with the lowest loss-rate of any bomber flown by the U.S. The B-26 was one of the few U.S. bombers capable of using aerial torpedoes and deploying mines. The medium bomber units flying the B-26 in the ETO were considered the most accurate bombers on the Allied side You can find an excellent Wiki here.

 

 

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

        Famous for being the "plane that ended the war" this massive beast was built with the intention of undertaking extremely long range, ultra high altitude missions. This aircraft represented the cutting edge of design in every aspect; computerized fire control, pressurized cabin dual-wheel tricycle landing gear, it carried on in service until the early 1960s. The development costs were nearly twice that of the Manhattan Project. You can read the full history of this aircraft here.