Favorite US WWII Bomber

What is your favorite US WWII bomber?

  • Consolidated B-24 Liberator

    Votes: 10 14.5%

  • Consolidated B-32 Dominator

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • North American B-25 Mitchell

    Votes: 12 17.4%

  • Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

    Votes: 25 36.2%

  • Douglas A-26/B-26 Invader

    Votes: 6 8.7%

  • Douglas XB-19

    Votes: 2 2.9%

  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress

    Votes: 14 20.3%

  • Boeing XB-15 Grandpappy

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    69
It was my dream as a kid to be a tail gunner in a B-17. Of course that was in the 60s....
 
MickYoumans said:
What is your favorite bomber from the WWII era?
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If the XB-15 and XB-19 are eligible you missed a few more candidates; B-18, B-23, B-26, B-34, B-37, and B-40.

The WWII service of the Boeing XB-15 was hauling cargo as the XC-105.

The Douglas B-18 served as an antisubmarine aircraft and transport.

The Douglas XB-19 served as a cargo carrier.

The Douglas B-23 served as a patrol aircraft, trainer, and as a transport designated UC-67.

The B-26 of WWII was the Martin Marauder. The Douglas Invader served in WWII as the A-26. When the Air Force dropped the A for Attack designation after the war the Invader was redesignated B-26 as the Marauder was already gone.

The Lockheed B-34 served as a trainer and antisubmarine patrol aircraft.

The Lockheed B-37 was an armed reconnaissance/observation aircraft.

The Boeing YB-40 was a "gunship" variant of the B-17 used for bomber escort before the arrival of the Mustang.
 
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B26 one cool looking bomber.
 
overdrive148 said:
B-25, but the PBJ variants. Either 12 forward facing .50 cals :eek: or a 75mm M4 cannon :yikes:
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Sounds like you are confusing the cannon nose models with the PBJ. PBJ was just the USMC version. Just like the rest of the B-25s, some had the cannon noses and some had the traditional glass.

The G and H models were the ones that came from the factory with the cannon nose.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Sounds like you are confusing the cannon nose models with the PBJ. PBJ was just the USMC version. Just like the rest of the B-25s, some had the cannon noses and some had the traditional glass.

The G and H models were the ones that came from the factory with the cannon nose.
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Forgot that the G/H models had it.

The PBJ-1H being the 75mm and 8 .50's and the PBJ-1J being the 12 .50's.
Maybe too much War Thunder. :crazy: Their B-25 line only goes up to the J series. :redface:
 
I have to vote for the B-24. It was a superior heavy bomber to the B-17, did most of the work in WWII and gets almost no love now. When people romanticize about "aluminum overcast" over Europe now, they always envision thousands of B-17s, but in fact there were thousands of B-24s as well, they just don't look as cool in the painting I guess...
 
Dav8or said:
I have to vote for the B-24. It was a superior heavy bomber to the B-17, did most of the work in WWII and gets almost no love now. When people romanticize about "aluminum overcast" over Europe now, they always envision thousands of B-17s, but in fact there were thousands of B-24s as well, they just don't look as cool in the painting I guess...
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Agreed...but both are bad ass and if I had to pick one, I think I'd still go with the B-17. Have one as my desktop background.

Just to note: if any of you haven't seen the documentary about the recovery efforts for the B-29 - Kee Bird, search the name on youtube and check it out. Very interesting and sad.

Link: http://youtu.be/1u4YBwjQTds


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My grandpa still flies a B-17G for the YAM. Having flown it, I may be partial.
 
The douglas A26, hands down!its what bad ass is all about! Very versatile depending on which nose it had. Carried a lot of rockets, bombs, etc. Fast! much more effective in close air support than the B25. Also a favorite of the CIA, bay of pigs, Laos, Vietnam, etc. Used as a firefighter for years. Adapted as an executive aircraft. On and on.
 
Dav8or said:
but in fact there were thousands of B-24s as well
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^This^. My brother-in-laws father flew 35 missions over Germany as a B24 pilot (Clay's Pidgeon) in the 445th bomber group out of RAF Tibenham (Jimmy Stewart's group). He has his logbook and various AAC manuals on B24 ops, etc. Fascinating reviewing this bit of history.


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ateamer said:
B-25 - bombs, hella machine guns, cannon...multirole bomber/attack plane.
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If you really look into it......the A26 did everything much better than the B25. It's why they rehabbed fourty or so of them and used them in Vietnam. Fantastic record in combat. We even got quite a few back from the French to use in Vietnam.
 
The B-29, because my father flew as aircrew in one during the Korean conflict.
 
I'm torn between B-24 because my dad flew them and the B-25 because I have almost 30 hours in the right seat flying one (30 years ago).


Jim R
Collierville, TN

N7155H--1946 Piper J-3 Cub
N3368K--1946 Globe GC-1B Swift
N4WJ--1994 Van's RV-4
 
B17. My first and only multi-engine time. 4.5 hours spent inside a B17 in the air. As a passenger, I have about 4 hours. Cannot speak about the rest of the time.
 
I selected the B-29 because it is the beast that finally helped to crush Japan, especially the Enola Gay and Bockscar. They drove the long overdue final nail into tojo's coffin.

My very close second choice was the B-25 due to Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders who demonstrated to the japs that their precious homeland was not untouchable. What those crews did was total badass.
 
Regarding the B24.....look up george McGovern, former senator who flew 35 combat missions, left seat. . Also , when shot up badly, wounded on board , elected to land at an emergency strip less than three thousand feet long! . Squeezed it in and saved the entire crew for which he got the DFC. Jimmy Stewart also flew 35 missions also left seat in combat. Went on to be a reserve general, flew various bombers.
 
Geico266 said:
Nice! I have .75 hours stick time in a B-17 on a ferry flight from Lincoln to KC. Amazing flight.
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I logged 0.3 precious hours stick time in a B-17 from Milwaukee to Springfield. To put yourself in the place of those boys for the briefest of minutes. Awe inspiring.
 
I have PIC in the B-25, and right seat in the B-17 and B-24. The Mitch is a sweet ride. The 17 and 24 require a lot of work.
You actually left the best WWII medium bomber off the list. The Martin Marauder B-26.
It had the most missions and the fewest casualties of any bomber during the war. There are even recorded incidents where the Whore took on ME-109s, FW-190s and Zeros in dogfights and won.
 
Shepherd said:
There are even recorded incidents where the Whore took on ME-109s, FW-190s and Zeros in dogfights and won.
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LOL! The "Baltimore Whore"! No visible means of support!
 
There was an investigation into the martin marauder by the govt. It was then modified, including longer wings which gave more lift. Before that it killed a lot of young crews. It was shelved early and the A26 became the go to light attack bomber. Much better all round airplane.
 
The B-25 for me. It wasn't the fastest or most capable medium bomber, but it was very robust and versatile, from the beginning/end of the war. My favorite was the attack version with (I'm too lazy to look it up) about 12 .50 calibers aimed forward, sometimes with a 20 or 30MM cannon. Such a concentrated cone of fire was devastating to light Japanese shipping.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
There was an investigation into the martin marauder by the govt. It was then modified, including longer wings which gave more lift. Before that it killed a lot of young crews. It was shelved early and the A26 became the go to light attack bomber. Much better all round airplane.
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The Marauder was not a light attack bomber. It had more internal bomb capacity than the B-17. In any air force other than the USAAF or RAF it would have been classified as a heavy bomber.
 
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