Photographs by Dan Patterson, text
by Paul Perkins and Michelle Crean.
The
B-24 never received the same press and publicity bestowed
on the B-17. The 24 was a military tool, a "Soldier",
that started as a superior performer to the B-17, flying
faster and further. The realities of aerial combat dictated
more guns carried in powered turrets, greater armor
protection for the crew, and a heavier bomb load. Late
model B-24s, when fully combat ready, couldn't fly as
high or any further than the B-17. The B-24 had changed.
What did not change was the courage of the men who
flew these bombers into enemy skies. It was the crews
that brought these airplanes to life, that flew them
into combat and came back with stories of their survival
and the stories of their friends who did not return.
The
Living History Series takes you inside some of the great aircraft
of World War II. Members of the Association of Living History carefully
research the uniforms of the period, with the intention of portraying
these planes as true to the times as possible. With wonderfully
detailed photographs of various positions, instrumentation, engines,
and armament, along with archival WWII photos, you'll fly with the
pilots and crews of these aviation classics.
The
Living History Series takes you inside some of the great aircraft
of World War II. Members of the Association of Living History carefully
research the uniforms of the period, with the intention of portraying
these planes as true to the times as possible. With wonderfully
detailed photographs of various positions, instrumentation, engines,
and armament, along with archival WWII photos, you'll fly with the
pilots and crews of these aviation classics.