Re: Wings Of Freedom NNG

Hi,

If I recall correctly, The B24 and the B17 were different expressions of the same basic need for a heavy bomber for Europe. The two togerther were definitaly the highest produced. I am sure you are right that the B24 was the highest produced. The B17 was the most forgiving. It is said that only the B17 could get the crew home with 3 engines gone. The only requirement was that the remaining engine had to be an inboard one.

Unlike the shorter distances in Europe, the Pacific had much larger distances and the development of the B29 during the war had made both the B17 and the B24 obsolete before the V-E day.

Oddly enough, the longest lasting WW II bomber design of WWII was the B26. First feilded in 1942, they were redesignated to A-26 and then back to B26 for political reasons and were last used in the 1960's in Vietnam. The Jets were too jast for the pilots to find the target and drop the bombs through a jungle canopy. Jet could not slow down enough compared to the prop driven B26s.

FWIW

Doug vV