b24 vs b17 range and payload

NOTES: Shapes below depict aircraft from wingtip-to-wingtip / nose-to-tail assuming aircraft are being viewed from overhead perspective (the nose pointing towards the top of the screen). At Ford's Ypsilanti, Michigan based Willow Run Bomber plant alone, one B-24 was being produced every 59 minutes at its peak, a rate so large that production exceeded the military's ability to use the aircraft. It carried a larger bomb load than the B-17, and. The wing carried four supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35 Twin Wasp engines mounted in cowlings borrowed from the PBY Catalina (similar except for being oval in cross-section allowing for oil coolers mounted on each side of the engine) that turned 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers. Liberators were also used as anti-submarine patrol aircraft by RAF Coastal Command. The C-87 had a large cargo floor, less powerful supercharged engines, no gun turrets, a floor in the bomb bay for freight, and some side windows. B-17 data. [13] The 44th Bomb Group flew the first of its 344 combat missions against the Axis powers in World War II on 7 November 1942. The planes service ceiling of 25,000 to 35,000 feet (7,500 to 10,500 metres), depending on the bomb load, put it above the worst of the German antiaircraft artillery, but, firepower notwithstanding, formations of B-17s proved unable to fight their way unescorted to targets deep inside Germany in the face of determined fighter opposition without incurring excessive losses. ea. In the China Burma India Theater (CBI), the C-87 was used to airlift cargo and fuel over the Hump (the Himalayas) from India to China. Corrections? It proved to be quite vulnerable to icing conditions, and was prone to fall into a spin with even small amounts of ice accumulated onto its Davis wing. Reply. Considered one of the best examples of precision bombing of the war, the raid on Gotha devastated German aircraft production and established the B-24 as one of the Allies most trusted bombers. ", Bhargava, Kapil, Group Captain (ret'd). Consolidated finished the prototype and had it ready for its first flight two days before the end of 1939. ", https://web.archive.org/web/20090304014706/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b24_27.html, "Indian Ocean New Guinea Kangaroo Service 19501946. [29] The B-24 came to dominate the heavy bombardment role in the Pacific because compared to the B-17, the B-24 was faster, had longer range, and could carry a ton more bombs.[30]. Since the aircraft had been designed to be a bomber that dropped its loads while airborne, the C-87's nose landing gear was not designed for landing with a heavy load, and frequently it collapsed from the stress. At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. The B-17 had a notably smaller bomb bay than the Lanc (impressive though the B-17's payload was at the time of its design) - although the 22,000lb figure is for the Grand Slam carrying Lancs rather than the standard maximum load (which was, IIRC, about 14,000lb). Aircraft had the ability to undertake surprise air attacks against surfaced submarines. No other American combat aircraft in history was produced on a larger scale. The 859 BS was converted from day bombardment to these operations and then transferred to the 15th Air Force. These aircraft flew between the United Kingdom and Egypt (with an extensive detour around Spain over the Atlantic), and they were used in the evacuation of Java in the East Indies. The introduction of Very Long Range (VLR) Liberators vastly increased the reach of the UK's maritime reconnaissance force, closing the Mid Atlantic Gap where a lack of air cover had allowed U-boats to operate without risk of aerial attack. The B-17 was designed by the Boeing Aircraft Company in response to a 1934 Army Air Corps specification that called for a four-engined bomber at a time when two engines were the norm. B-17G - Range vs Bomb Load; B-17G - Service Ceiling; B-17G Standard Aircraft Characteristics; The Norden consisted of a gyroscopically stabilized telescopic sight coupled to an electromechanical computer into which the bombardier fed inputs for altitude, atmospheric conditions, air speed, ground speed, and drift. The 44th destroyed both of its assigned targets, but lost 11 of its 37 bombers and their crews. The VLR Liberators sacrificed some armor and often gun turrets to save weight, while carrying extra aviation gasoline in their bomb-bay tanks. Compared to the B-17, it had a 6 feet (1.8 m) larger wingspan but a lower wing area. [28] The B-24 was vital for missions of a radius less than 1,000mi (1,600km), in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters where U.S. Navy PB4Y-1s and USAAF SB-24s took a heavy toll of enemy submarines and surface combatants and shipping. 4 x Wright Cyclone R-1820-97 radial piston engines developing 1,200 horsepower each driving three-bladed propeller units. It had been sent to the Central Pacific for a very long-range reconnaissance mission that was preempted by the Japanese attack. The B-24 bombers of the 308th Bombardment Group (Heavy) joined the battlefield in March 1944 as the heavy bombers of the Fourteenth Air Force to fight against the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War (WW2 in China). The attack became disorganized after a navigational error which alerted the defenders and protracted the bomb run from the initial point. A total of 287 B-24D, B-24J, B-24L and B-24M aircraft were supplied to the RAAF, of which 33 were lost in action or accidents, with more than 200 Australians killed. Because of this, Boeing began to work on pressurized long range bomber derivatives of the B-17. [48] By 1945, Ford made 70% of all B-24s in two nine-hour shifts. We have invested in developing and demonstrating hypersonic technology for over 30 years. [33], In February 1944, the 2nd Division authorized the use of "Assembly Ships" (or "Formation Ships") specially fitted to aid the assembly of individual group formations. The B-17s actually delivered more bombs to the target than B-24s. Many of the surviving Liberators originated in this Command. As built, the XB-24 top speed was only 273mph instead of the specified 311mph. After the Fall of France the French orders were in most cases transferred to the United Kingdom. 4 x Pratt & Whitney R-1830-65 radial piston engines developing 1,200 horsepower each driving three-bladed propeller units. The B17 was a sedate aircraft and placed fewer demands on the flight deck crew. In a joint venture between the Army Air Forces and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) code-named Operation Carpetbagger, pilots and crews flew specially modified B-24Ds painted with a glossy black anti-searchlight paint to supply friendly underground forces throughout German-occupied Europe. This was the B-24's most costly mission. [56], Data from Quest for Performance,[57] Jane's Fighting aircraft of World War II,[58] General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors[59], Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era. pp. The B-24 was the platform for the pioneering use of the Americans' Azon laterally-guidable precision-guided munition ordnance design, a pioneering Allied radio-guided munition system during World War II. Pilots and crews slept on 1,300 cots at Willow Run waiting for their B-24s to roll off the assembly line. Other C-87 designations were the U.S. Navy designation RY and Lend Lease Liberator Cargo VII. Later versions started at 60,000lbs and by the end of the war, using special flying techniques that had been developed they were being flown at up to 67,000lbs. Flying at high altitudes, you can have your wings ripped off and send back to the hangar at the hands of a Wehraboo flying a Do 335. 3. [47] Bell Aircraft built the B-24 under license at a factory near Marietta, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta. The PLAAF had two B-24Ms captured from the Chinese Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War and operated until 1952. Designed to help the U.S. and allies leverage emerging technologies to create a resilient multi-domain network. The payloads for the B-52H and B-2 are usually given as about 70,000 lbs. Deep raids were called off in mid-October 1943 and were not resumed until February 1944, when long-range escort fighters such as the P-51 Mustang became available. These aircraft were redesignated LB-30A. The gradual arrival of many more VLR and in October, PB4Y navalized Liberators for anti-submarine missions over the Mid-Atlantic gap ("black pit") and the Bay of Biscay was an important contribution to the Allies' greater success. . Though produced in smaller numbers than its partner the B-24 Liberator, the B-17, with superior high-altitude performance and greater resistance to battle damage, was the mainstay of the strategic bombing campaign. In addition, the small number of Liberators operated by No. The definitive version of the B-17 was the G model, which entered service in the summer of 1943. Because of their special skills, they were called upon to fly fuel to General George Patton's army during the summer and early autumn of 1944 when it outran its fuel supply. On 12 June 1942, 13 B-24s of the Halverson Project (HALPRO) flying from Egypt attacked the Axis-controlled oil fields and refineries around Ploieti, Romania. The conversion had a hinged cargo door at the nose eliminating transparent nose and large cargo doors installed in the waist area. Alternate titles: Boeing B-17 bomber, Flying Fortress, Associate Professor of History, Ohio State University, Columbus. Intercepted just short of the target, the B-24 came under attack from JG1's Messerschmitt Bf 109s. In late June 1943, the three B-24 Liberator groups of the 8th Air Force were sent to North Africa on temporary duty with the 9th Air Force:[13] the 44th Bomb Group joined the 93rd and the 389th Bomb Groups. Just a month earlier, B-24s had participated in the first attack on German soil, bombing a submarine yard in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, but what awaited the Liberators over Gotha would be the ultimate test of the bombers abilities. The Double Sunrise route across the Indian Ocean was 3,513mi (5,654km) long, the longest non-stop airline route in the world at the time. The B-24H was 10 inches (25cm) longer, had a powered gun turret in the upper nose to reduce vulnerability to head-on attack, and was fitted with an improved bomb sight (behind a simpler, three-panel glazed lower nose), autopilot, and fuel transfer system. 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