'24s Get Back' - B-24 Liberator Battle Damage Landings, World War II AAF Heavy Bombers Training Film
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- This rare film captures spectacular incidents of damaged B-24 Liberators coming home from combat missions. Watch for a B-24 landing with the vertical fin and rudder of another Liberator smashed on the nose of the inbound B-24. Look inside the famed 15th Air Force Liberator that had the top of the fuselage blown off by flak at the waist section. Catch a glimpse of Pacific B-24s from groups like the Bomber Barons as they fly with engines out.
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Here's a look at the Commemorative Air Force Liberator, Diamond Lil, arriving at Fort Worth in 2014: ua-cam.com/video/Sj80w8Ajt-o/v-deo.html
Thanx, Dad was a 24 Pilot, and had 12 missions in the Pacific. Made it home to tell me all the stories, and lived to age 94. Miss you Dad !
Thank you for watching, and for adding your father's story.
My Uncle Albert retired as a Lt Colonel, having flown B24 liberators over Italy in WW2. He died last October at the age of 106. Thank you for this video.
Thank you for watching, and for adding your family history to the comments.
The reality of B-24 reliability after damage, was of course overstated in this narrative. Nobody would go to war in one, if they truly understood how easily a Liberator could lose control, if damaged...maybe an overstatement. That Davis Wing design was efficient, but could not sustain damage, as a B-17 could. Veteran crews talked of the Fortress as a much more reliable platform. "The Liberator would get you there and back home faster, but the B-17 would get you back more often"...quite a sobering thought...decades-on. Thanks.
Yet there were thousands of B-24 crewmembers who were loyal members of the B-24 Liberator Club decades after the war, and who believed in their bomber. At this date, we look back on all of the airmen, both in B-24s and B-17s, as heroes. Without criticizing the B-17, it is true that as many as 60 B-17s were lost in one day. No airplane was invincible, and all played an important part. The U.S. Army Air Forces even played on the rivalry between B-17 and B-24 crews during the war. The AAF pilot's manual for the B-17 has a piece of artwork showing a B-17 making a go-around because a B-24 is crashed on the runway. And the B-24 pilot's manual has -- you guessed it -- a picture of a B-24 making a go-around because a B-17 is crashed on the runway. Hey, thanks for watching and commenting.
@@airailimages I think it depends on who you talk to. The guys who flew in B-17s thought they were the best whereas the guys in B-24s thought THEY were the best. I had an uncle who was a waist gunner in a B-24 with the 451st. Bombardment Group, 15th. Air Force based in Italy. He really liked the B-24, even when he was shot down in one fairly late in the war and wound up a POW.
He had 2 stories he told. To his mother he said it was rough and his injuries came from when he landed after bailing out but, all in all, he did OK. To one of his brothers, an uncle I was quite close to, he told him what really happened. That he was picked up by a detachment of SS and interrogated. He said they hung him up and beat him with clubs and pipes and such. The injuries to his back, legs and arms was such that he had to move down to Key West, Florida, (he lived in Maine), because the winter cold would cripple him up so he could barely move.
He was one of my favorite people in the world. He had such a good outlook on life. I never saw him angry. When he laughed it was like his whole body laughed. He passed away 1992 and the world hasn't been the same without him. I really miss him.
The original poster is correct, and this is not a debatable topic. At the end of the day, the b 24 design was not one that could withstand as much punishment as the b 17. It was made to get more bombs over germany faster, at the expense of durabilty and crew safety. There were many issues with the b 24, including the fact that they would have to fly with the bomb bay doors slightly open to let out fuel fumes that would often ignite. I personally think it looks better than the b 17, but if I was an airman over germany in 1943, I'd choose the b 17 because at the end of the day, I'd have a better chance of getting back home.
@@airailimages It is an established fact that the B24 was easier to shoot down. Dance all you want
Well, after 45 years of reading about WWII air power, I finally learn the right way to pronounce "Ploesti". Great film!
Thanks for watching. Yes, this is a good one.
Started reading Air Power over Europe in 8th grade. There is no way I can pronounce it other than Plo esti.
Ten MEN crewed the B-24: four lieutenants, six enlisted. Doubtful anyone was over 25 years old.
Truly, America's Greatest Generation.
At 25 years old he probably would be known as the "Old Man"! 😁
@@c.j.cleveland7475 Sargent: "You sir. You're the old man."
My uncle John flew 88 missions over Germany in a B24. Later became a high school math teacher. He flew many missions over Regensberg, where my mom worked in the Messerschmitt factory during the war.
That's an interesting twist! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Wow, your family gatherings must have been pretty wild.
My Grampa Blaine Hale flew on a B-24 during WW2. He was a top gunner and flight engineer. He used to tell some cool stories about flying.
Thanks for watching, and thanks for adding your family story. Salute to your Grampa Blaine Hale.
Thank you so much for preserving part of the great history of our beloved America. My father was with the 8th AF in England & flew the Liberator in 28 combat missions winning 3 Air Medals. Getting him to talk about his time overseas was like pulling teeth. I miss him greatly. I have taught his grand-children the great sacrifice our greatest generation gave to the world.
And thank you for watching, and adding your family story. So many people our age have a family member with a B-24 story to tell.
One correct - your father did not win his air medals; he earned them.
My dad, too, was on a B-24 out of England. What little he would ever say about his missions was to make it sound like nothing ever happened. After he died, we learned his unit had some of the highest losses in the war. I don't know whether he was trying to protect my mother or himself. After watching some film showing aerial combat losses, I asked him how they got anyone to go twice. He didn't have an answer.
It amazes me the state some planes of WW2 returned in. They were tough old birds, one of my faves is a mosquito that had half a wing and one engine completely removed. When I see a B24 I always think of the Actor Jimmy Stewart who was a Liberator pilot.
My father was in the 15th Air Force stationed near Foggia, Italy. He was responsible for maintaining and repairing the electronics on B24’s. *lad I found this channel.
Thanks for watching, and adding your family story.
I love how the narrator makes it seem like landing with all those problems seem like the easiest thing in the world.
Somehow the B17 got the limelight, but the real workhorse was the B-24, it has a graceful elegance all of its own and that wing was so capable, I had been trying to find the photo again of the B 24 with the fin stuck on its nose and was glad to hear the gunner wasnt inured, thank you for that clip , my 8 year old son like me did laugh as i am sure the crew did over a few beers. I hope they all made it back to normal society .Cheshire UK
Thanks for watching and commenting. Yes, it is good to give the B-24 some respect!
My uncle was a B24 pilot with the 8th Air Force, out of England. His ship was the Queen Bee, after my aunt Bea. Thanks for the video.
You are welcome. Always good to read family history like yours.
Fantastic video! Boy those girls sure could take a beating. No telling how many crews got back in seriously damaged aircraft. As always God bless you and yours always and thanks again for all you do! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thanks a lot!
@@airailimages You are most welcome!
My fathers younger brother died behind his guns in his Liberator, Homeward Bound, ironically on a supply run to Partisans in the Alps and not a bomb run. My father and his brothers are gone now but we the family remember the sacrifice. Flight Sergeant William Pryce, R.I.P. auld lad...
Appreciate that you added your family history. It makes the comments section interesting and gives credit to the wartime generation.
I have never seen the ,parachute from the waist gun position method,
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it.
My sister's dad was the pilot of the B-24J, #42-100262. On 31 July 1944, engines #2 and #3 were knocked out by flak during a bombing run over Ransiki. They tried to make it to the Kamiri airstrip on Noemfoor Island, but were unable to maintain altitude and had to ditch just offshore. Seven of the 10 crewmembers, including my sister's dad, were lost. According to one of the survivor interviews, it was a 15 minute ride in a PT boat to the dock at Kamiri. As far as I can tell, the wreck hasn't been located..
Thanks for adding the family history. Would be interesting to know which bomb group.
@@airailimages They were in the 321st Bombardment Squadron of the 90th Bomb Group..
I'll keep an eye out for 90th BG info and images.
My dad, August 1944, China. His plane was all shot up, hydraulics gone, two engines out. He was wounded and unconscious. They were going to bail out and throw him out on a static line. Instead they threw everything out of the plane and we're able to limp to base for a belly landing. Silver star for the pilot. It was an unnamed plane. Later his crew got a new plane. They named the new plane, Miss Conduct, all this was with the 308th. He flew on Georgia Peach, Kings Ex, Tough Tittie, plus more in the 375 squadron. The mission above was in the book, Chennaults forgotten warriors, about the 308th in China. Tex Hill told my brother about it at an air show. We all got copys of the book and my dad had signed them.
Thanks for watching and adding your family story. Not as much recognition is given to the remarkable work B-24 crews did in the CBI and Pacific, compared to Europe.
My father flew 30+ missions in the B24s in Europe. He was flight engineer / top-turret gunner. He helped bring some back with 1700+ holes in them. He used to scrounge the scrap yard for spare parts needed to patch things together in flight. 8th AAF, 20th BG, Sta 146, 712th Squadron.
Waiting for a meeting and found this. What a gem. The B-24 was amazing and did much more work than the B-17 throughout the war. Beautiful plane.
Glad you found it! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Very interesting and I’m glad I came across this. My uncle was a waist gunner in the B24 Queen of peace. This plane crashed in Sweden injuries were minor. There was even an article that I found on the Internet about this. I truly regret that I never had the opportunity to talk to him about his time on this plane. Plus he never really spoke about his time in the service.
Glad you found our channel. And it's always good to hear family stories about veterans like your uncle.
My wife’s aunt married Ed Bates who returned from the war after completing his missions as a crewman on B-17’s but his brother 1st Lt Cecil Bates, the pilot of B-24 Liberator ‘Nobody’s Baby’ was shot down over Germany. An airman in another B-24 was able to take a photograph of ‘Nobody’s Baby’ leaving formation pitched down one wing bent up both engines aflame. Lt Bates ordered the crew to bail out and maintained the aircraft until they got out, but did not get out himself. Ed’s daughter Sheila has the photo on a table in the entry hall of her house along with a photo of Cecil in his uniform. She has a son who could pass as Cecil’s twin brother, the resemblance is uncanny.
Thanks for watching. And it is good to see your family history added to the comments, so all can remember what that generation went through.
Wonderful historical film.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Great upload. Can imagine pilots throwing shoes at the screen . Wonderful advice from people who have never experienced anything.
Thanks again Fred , that was a fantastic video and incredible footage. Just amazing how those B-24s got back &land with such bad battle damage is beyond me mate? Such bravery 👍👍👋🇦🇺
Glad you enjoyed it
My dad (B-24, 8th Air Force) said the Air Force started a study of damaged aircraft to see what parts of the plane were most likely to be damaged in combat and then reinforce those areas to help the planes survive. The study lasted until someone told them they were studying the wrong planes. They needed to study the ones that didn't return.
He also said the B-24 could take severe damage to the fuselage and survive, not so much in the wings.
That was great, thanks for putting it up. Such a shame that the 15th Air Force is so overlooked by most. Those guys had it rough. Not only their missions, but their living conditions in northern Italy.
I agree! My Great Uncle was with the 99th BG out of Tortorella Italy. I've heard that the conditions were terrible for them.
We have a picture of our dad standing in the top access door in diamond lill at an airshow in Arkansas before they redid it to a bomber platform. Love these original video's for sure. 😊 thanks
I will keep searching for more vintage films to go along with modern coverage. Thanks for watching!
Wow what a plane 👌🏻 the crews were incredible 😎👍🏻
Yes, this is a good film for preserving scenes of B-24s we don't usually get to see. Thanks for watching.
This is a great find. I always thought the B-24 was the best looking heavy bomber of WWII with the late Halifax a distant second. Whether in the AAF, USN or RAF/Coastal Command, my favorite heavy. I liked the parachutes for landing and throwing the ammo out to lighten the aircraft. Thanks for your work!
Glad you enjoyed this film. Yes, I have an affinity for the B-24 also.
My uncle was in the 44th Bomb Group out of RAF Shipdahm. . He was a ball a ball turret gunner on a Liberator called The Frog, SN 42-94962 He flew 32 combat missions and had two confirmed kills. He was shot down in May 25, 1944 over France near the French/Swiss border. He was one of only three crewmen to bail out before the plane impacted the ground. The tail gunner managed to evade and was smuggled back to England. My uncle was the last one out, but was badly burned. The 3rd man, a waist gunner broke his ankle on landing. Neither could evade and my uncle badly needed medical attention, so they waited for the German troops to arrive. They were both taken to a Luftwaffe hospital and received good medical care. They were then transferred to a POW camp in Poland, where they remained for the rest of the war. Uncle Willy passed in 1996 at the age of 79.
Thank you for watching, and for adding your family history. That makes the comments interesting.
Amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Our pleasure!
Lots of interesting things 👍 🎥
Thanks for the visit
Excellent training film! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely fantastic! Thank you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
un vrai "bijou" ce film!!! ces avions étaient vraiment solides!!!! merci
Yes, it is good to see how the B-24 crews did whatever they needed to save the aircraft and themselves. Thanks, as always, for watching and commenting.
152 / 5,000
Oui, il est bon de voir comment les équipages du B-24 ont fait tout ce dont ils avaient besoin pour sauver l'avion et eux-mêmes. Merci, comme toujours, d'avoir regardé et commenté.
Excellent.
I hope you can post more of these great orginal training films. The 24 ditching segment was also very good. Sadly a 24 like that today would be a treasure Indeed. Reminds me of the movie "The Best Years of our Lives" where Dana Andrews is walking through row after row of 17's waiting to be scrapped. Great planes that are all but gone.
JG..
More to come!
Great movie. Look closely in the scene your describing, one of the carcasses is a B-40 gunship. The hump at the radio compartment shows clearly.
@@bruceboatwright7488
Thanks for the tip..I will look..👌
My late uncle flew B-17G'S in England with the Eighth Air Force. There's still some friendly rivalry between crews on the B-24 and the B-17. Sadly many have gone home to Eternity with the Savior and tell war stories up in heaven now.
Yes, that rivalry will outlive them all. I am fortunate to have known a number of veterans of both B-24s and B-17s, and will always treasure that.
My dad always made it safely home flying the B-24, not the case with the B-17. Of course, the Germans blowing the tail off his '17' had something to do with that.
Amazing!. Lest we forget!.
My uncle, Elmer Thiessen, flew 33 missions on the B-24 "Shoot, You're Covered" in the CBI Theater. He was the belly gunner.
Thanks for watching and adding your family history. Your uncle's name reminds me of people I knew in Reedley, California and in Nebraska many years ago.
My brother in law's dad Who will be 104 in July 2022 was a bombardier on the B24 449 the bomb group out of Italy
Wow! Good for him. I recall getting to know a 449th BG vet many years ago, and copying some photos he had.
104! Much respect
Outstanding
That's one rugged airplane- especially the one with half it tail blown off- great flying to all those pilots and crew 👍👍
It really wasnt , the ruggedness was exxagerated in this video. In fact this video was made, because of the poor reputation that the b24 had for not being to survive the same amount of battle damage that the b17 could survive, which was 100% accurate.
Footage at 2:31 & 3:32 of field modified tail guns. Turret deleted and replaced with pintle mount. Standard on early B-24A models and LB-30's but some later production models modified in the field to save weight. I have read about this but, until now, have never seen footage or image other than CAF's B-24A. Good stuff!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Grandfather (Gus Bentley) was B24 co-pilot. 8th, 467BG, Rackheath, England. Believe Littleford was the pilot. Have picture with this written on it (GP-83-1-467) (16-11-44) (Crew 79) I think on that date the target was Eschweiler, Germany. Their plane on the mission was JSH42-50949, No Name. 791st squadron. It's hard to track his mission as their plane was a pathfinder & it looks like he was bounced around as higher ups periodically took the co-pilots seat with his particular crew. PS Witchcraft also flew on that mission.
That's some neat information. Thanks for adding your family story, and thanks for watching.
Great footage, thx. As a B-24 pilot, my father completed 30 missions and some Lone Wolf missions with the 15th, late '44 till the end. He did not like the aircraft one bit. Unlike the more agreeable B-17, one had to fly the 24 every second. The stories of crews having to carry exhausted pilots and copilots from the planes after long missions is not fantasy. Your chances of survival ditching over water were nil and marginal on land. Bailing out was also harder in a 24 than a 17, too. Dad said the 109s and 190s would scream right past the 17s and hit the 24s -- they burned quicker, common Luftwaffe knowledge. Not a hater, just passing along my father's experiences.
My favourite aircraft. Thanks for uploading this.
I'm with you on that... always good to see B-24s. Thanks for watching.
Great film! I think I still prefer B17, but 24 was good bird too.
Well, okay... that rivalry is as old as World War II and will go on forever. Thank you for watching, and for commenting. We appreciate it.
The B-24 crewmen I knew were not terribly fond of the plane. There is a reason why the crews nicknamed it the flying coffin, largely attributed to the Davis wing design which gave it more range, speed, and payload than the B-17, but less altitude and poorer handling characteristics. The B-24 was less forgiving than the B-17 and required a much higher approach and landing speed.
My father was a Staff Sergeant tail gunner in a B24 with the 455th based out of Italy from July to November 1944. I still have a B24 pilots manual somewhere
Thank you for watching and commenting. Always good to hear from the families of veterans.
Very good training video, now I am ready for my first combat mission...in my IL2 Flight Sim.😁
It helped close the gap in air cover over Torpedo Alley in the North Atlantic during the war. The Brits got a special long-range version. No tail or belly gunner positions. Extra fuel bladders and 20mm cannons in the nose turret. A U-Boat killer.
My Uncle Ward and 8 others went down in a B24 Liberator October 25th 1943 after leaving Henderson Field on Guadalcanal ✝️
Any idea who the narrator was for this? You hear his voice, or one very much like it, for a lot of these films. Certainly the perfect voice for them!
What a great find. Thanks for all that you do.
Thank you.
You're welcome!
My Dad Ira Shober landed a B24 with chutes for brakes May 10,1944 456th bomb group 15th Air Force. 18:14
Always good to hear from the families of veterans represented in the action in these films. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Had an uncle who flew B24's. 51 missions out of Italy with the 15th. He didn't think much of it. Load it with 8 500 pounders and it was everything you could do to just to get it off the ground. When you left for an all day mission you packed a sandwich but 40 below the bread was always frozen. Your flight suit? The battery location your chest burning but the rest of you was simply freezing. At about at best 160MPH it was like you were sitting there perfectly still. While you could fly a few MPH than a B17 24-25000 feet was about as high as you could go which made you more vulnerable to flack. Another major problem not mentioned much here......B24's caught on fire easily. They could go up like a blow torch in an moment. And I bet they didn't have to worry that the waist gunner was excess weight After a direct hit from an 88 that poor guy was long gone. I happened to come across a member of the air crew who saw that lib come back that day and said that the waist gunners where killed.
Amen. My Dad was a B-24 pilot with the 15th from late '44 till the end. He and crew completed 30 missions and some Lone Wolf missions. Not a hater but Dad, from an aviation family, despised the plane. You had to fly it every second, unlike the far more agreeable B-17. Said it elsewhere, but the stories of crewman carrying exhausted pilots and copilots out of the cockpit after long missions is not fantasy. As you pointed out, the Luftwaffe pilots knew it burned quick, they screamed right past the 17s to hit the 24s. And forget anyone on the flight deck getting out of a wounded 24. If you didn't burn to death first, the centrifugal force pinned you from bailing out. After the war Dad stayed in and ferried all kinds of aircraft, further cementing his loathing of the 24.
Interesting, but not EXACTLY what I expected by title.
What a tough bird was the B24!
This film shows examples! Thanks for watching.
I’m always amazed the bombing campaign continued in the face of the evidence that it was grossly ineffective and so costly in manpower and materiel
Read "Bomber Mafia" by Malcolm Gladwell.
@@bruceboatwright7488 thanks, I will
My dad was there on B 24 s waste gunthe he an his cerw did 49 misson
Over time, we plan to present some images of the Fifth Bomb Group that was part of the 13th Air Force, and was based in the Philippines late in the war. May take awhile, but this does! Thanks for watching.
All them 50 FALs have got to hit the ground at some point. My Father, who was in a exempt occupation (farmer) in the UK told tales of it raining casings and anti-aircraft rounds tumbling to the ground near Plymouth, Devon during German raids.
Thank you
You're welcome
Drag shutes on a b24... Did not evin knew
Wow thats the old James River Bridge in Newport News Va, my hometown
They forgot to show all the B-24s going down....Like 58 in one day at Ploesti. Some genius decided to bomb that refinery at 300 feet, and the Germans shot at them even with pistols. German flak battalions had a field day. Those planes were cut to pieces, and the crews couldn't bail out when that low. It's tough to land a plane in a refinery. Some ended up in cornfields, however.
On another note, read the book or watch the movie "Unbroken", the author was a navigator on a B-24 in the Pacific. When one engine conked out on a search and rescue mission (while looking for another B-24), someone accidentally feathered the wrong engine, leaving two running, and down it went. Big splash. Three survivors who floated in a raft for a month (two survivors). Only to be captured and send to Japan, where they were treated terribly.
It's only fitting to mention the planes were built by Consolidated Aircraft Co. Buffalo, NY.
At San Diego, Fort Worth, and also by contractors at Willow Run, Dallas, and Tulsa
@@airailimages I figured there were other assembly plants. Good info, thanks.
The brave and great generation
Should do research beforehand, I think that the B24, and the Wellington had the huge I beam wing support.
What part of Thurungia is Truk located? How's the lager?
See if you can fine me things about the 13 air core in ww ll in the pillapines
At around 12:00 they recommend that if you've got one main gear tire shot out, that you can prevent swerving while landing by just going ahead and intentionally shooting out your own other main gear tire....
wow....okay....
5th Bomb Group did that in the Pacific. They had a coral runway with drainage ditches parallel to it ti handle torrential showers, and any B-24 wandering off the runway was liable to buckle upon hitting the ditch. The tire shot worked. Hey, thanks for watching.
Don't show Gaijin Entertainment this, the way they've used bombers in game, is that if a single 8mm rifle round hits your bomber, the tail automatically separates itself from the fuselage in fear and the enemy gets a kill.
Do you have stats on hours flown, targets, survival comparisons to other allied aircraft?
Of course they would never include that in this video, becauase its just a propoganda video designed to give airmen false faith in a plane that they knew was inferior to the b 17, durability wise.
🔰🇺🇸 All well and good…to have 20-20 hindsight, However, the narrator wasn’t in the cockpit. It’s not as easy as it looks.
Hence the name; "Flying Boxcar"
Used to call them flying coffins too.
I don't think they had to do one like this on the B-17.
The Army Air Forces played off the rivalry between B-17 and B-24 aircrews deliberately, and maybe with a bit of humor. In the B-17 pilot's manual, for the section on the procedure for doing a go-around for a missed approach, the artwork shows a damaged B-24 on the runway as the cause of the B-17's need to go around. In the B-24 pilot's manual, the go-around artwork depicts an obvious B-17 disabled on the runway as the reason the B-24 must go around.
3:44 😳
Positive Various B17s only bomber aircraft for USAAF units ever to get home with serious battle damage. What do ya know?
Photos depict seriously damaged B-24s with a hole in the wing large enough for a man to sit in; entire top of waist section blown off, etc., and returning to bases in Italy.
@airailimages Thanks for your work. B24 fan since growing up with SWPA combat vet. Paying for everything. Good books around indicating 5thAF got the utmost out of this aircraft. Enjoyed the films Very Much! Thanks!
You are very welcome!
What happens when an engine is lost taking off with a full pay load. ?
You die. My uncle flew the December 11th 1943 mission to Bremen I think, and a B-17 had a Number Three engine failure. All ten men killed at the end of the runway.
@@raymondvia3786 That was the likely fate of all bombers suffering that misfortune. Loaded to the max weight . Did you know that the RAF Lancasters armed with the 22,000 lb Grand Slam Bomb had orders to bring them back if the target could not be seen , because they were so expensive.