Consolidated B-24 Liberator (25-2534)

Witchcraft all alone. Missing her buddy Nine O Nine

'A face only a mother could love'
Marvelous airplane - my flight instructor and a cousin flew them.
So sorry for its team mate and all the crew . . .

One of these crash after shot down by the german/flak close to my town coming back from a bomb mission over germany. Only 2 survived, the others have been killed in her or killed by the germans. The airplane wrecked diseapered but there is a big rock stone along the canal with all names of these young fellows

I was flying Witchcraft that day. Still one of my all time favorite airplanes.

a family friend flew the raid on the Ploestu Oil Fields in his B-24

see https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/1519651/operation-tidalwave-ploesti-august-1-1943/

Awesome aircraft. Luckily, I was able to take a ride in her many years ago. Sadly, she will not fly again and will be a museum piece once the Collings Foundation builds a new building to house her and their other aircraft such as the B-25 and P-51D.

Sad that it's going to be a static display. Happy to have the experience of flying on it.

I have my 1929 Ford Tudor photoelectric next to this aircraft in Paso Ronles, Cafif. FORD built bunch of them.

Cant believe this has only rated 4.73 average stars, that 5 stars not just for the photo, but the aircraft.

So ugly it's pretty.

There's a good NOVA (for non-US - Public Broadcasting Network Science Program) program on recovering a B-24 wreck; unfortunately it may not be publicly available. It is on Amazon Prime at

"https://www.amazon.com/NOVA-Last-B-24/dp/B07KN3F386"

"https://www.nationalww2museum.org/about-us/notes-museum/nova-dives-story-tulsamerican" is publicly available for how they made the NOVA program.

They point out that the B-24 was a deathtrap in a crash - the high wing made the nose dig in and folded over the cockpit.
The B-17, by contrast, was more survivable because the lower wing allowed the fuselage to "just slide" to a stop.

There was a saying during WWII somewhere - the B-24 brings you home faster but the -17 brings you home more often...