B24 Bomber

B-24 Liberator at Olive Branch, MS airport. A Beautiful piece of machinery. Everything accurate as to when it flew in World War II, including machine guns in place and every detail correct. Fabulous! Thank you Collings Foundation for keeping this warbird flying. It was amazing to see in person! I loved it!!

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• B-24
• Collings
• Foundation
• WWII
• pilot
• bomb
• 13th
• air
• force
• Southwest
• Pacific
• plane
• Samar
• Nadzab
• 5th
• group
• 31st
• squadron

[Heepster1]

Thanks for the Video - my Dad was a navigator in a "J"

Dave White

[volleyballjones]

Thanks for your comment Dave. This plane was leading technology 63 years ago. I think you and I would have to be on the Space Shuttle crew today to match what our Dads were doing back then.

I made a later trip to see this B-24 and made a video to better show each station of the ten man crew. I stood inside the nose wheel well and filmed the area where the navigator and bombardier were located.

Check out my "B-24 Liberator" video on YouTube.

[keymankeys1960]

My Dad flew with the 454th also flying out of Italy.He was the " Belly gunner" in the bottom turret on " Tuff Nut Tessy" or "TNT" for short.They crash landed one plane on the runway after the plane being shot up really bad.Then on the 13th mission the crew had to parachute out as it was going down.Dad spent the next year in a German POW camp.He is still going at 84 yrs old.

[Dionysos37]

My Dad was nose gunner on "Pistol Packin' Mama" in the 464th Bomb Group flying from Pantanella, Italy, and did 52 missions---He was one of only 2 of the original 10 men who got home. I flew on the Collings B24 and it was more than I could have imagined. Under attack by fighters, he had to hang in the bomb bay and push out a stuck bomb, won the DFC for it. And what I honor most about him---that he almost never talked about it all unless asked....

[LtBartram]

Safer than a B17 or a B25! Yet, it was one of the least used planes

[Liberator74]

We went to Republic Fields, L.I. from England to fly on Witchraft in 2009 - FANTASTIC PLANE!! See my B24 Liberator Beast of Bourbon Memorial 36 BS "The Gremlins" 7/5/11 England

[7322628023]

@Dionysos37 My dad flew as a waist gunner on the" Silver Babe" 449th Bomb Group 716 Squadron out of Grataglia air base Italy. The Silver Babe was shot down due to flack over Moosbierbaum, Austria on Dec 11 1944. The crew bailed out over the Yugoslav mountains. [ all evaded capture] and returned with the help of local partisans.

[dahsuerk]

Since my dad flew a B-24 during WWII I once had four different models of the airplane. My Dad always said the B-24 got a bad rap. If they had been flown under the same conditions as the B-17 and B-25 they would look much better.

[Dealit707]

Great story....Be proud of your legacy. America needs more "real" men like your dad.

[Dealit707]

The father as a close friend of mine ran many a run over Nazi Germany as a 2nd. Lt. navigator during WWII. I've talked him a few times, but unfortunately never about his B-24 days. He was a good man.

America needs needs more guys like him to talk to the Obamites, and set them straight about the dues that they paid for their country, and what it's all about.

Unfortunately they'd probably blow him off as some sort of war monger.

[dahsuerk]

My father was station in Rackheath, England during WWII. He fixed the radios on B-24s.

[Heepster1]

My Dad was a navigator in the in the 454th - 2 planes "Late Frate" and "Hare Power"

[JTelli786]

i was at the columbus air force base also in mississippi and they roped off the b17 and b24 couldnt even get close to them.

[959970]

My Mother AJM (1926-2001) worked on the assembly line at Convair in San Diego during WWII building B-24's as a Riveter-buffer. One woman would shoot the rivet gun, and the other woman buffered it on the other side of the metal sheet.

Hence, "Rosie the Riveter" was the legendary term for these Women whom served our Country, while the men were mostly stationed at War.