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What Was The B-24 Advantages

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What was the B-24 mostly used for? Which countries used the B-24? How was it different than other planes in this time such as the B-17? What were some of the B-24’s vulnerabilities? Why was the B-24 so important and popular? How was the B-24 built? What happened to the B-24 after the war? These are all good questions to ask. This plane was an essential piece of World War Two and a very interesting plane. The B-24 was a very efficient and effective plane in World War Two. The B-24 was used especially for bombing, and was the biggest plane of its kind. In the beginning of the war it was just used for cargo transport, because it did not have a self-sealing fuel tank. This was before the Pacific war began, when there were super far missions to …show more content…

Because it could not fly as high as other planes, it was easily hit by German flak. The Germans had many ways of making their flak very deadly. They used their radar to help find exactly where our planes were, to make their shots more accurate. They also would fly their planes right up to our bombers to find our altitude. The B-24’s were also very prone to fire, so if the flak hit them, they would burst into flames and fall to the ground in a smouldering ball of fire. It was also very uncomfortable for the crew members. It was very cold, and only small heaters were placed in. Most gunners had to sit on the ground which was also very cold. It was very awkward for all the crew members in the plane to walk around in all of their equipment on in the plane, and very often crewman would run into equipment in the plane. Also, when the plane was being refueled, it filled with gasoline fumes and the bomb bay doors would have to be opened so that they would be filtered out. The B-24 was also very prone to accidents, and was also nicknamed “The Widowmaker.” Just in 1943, 850 people in B-24’s were killed, due to 298 accidents. There was a thing called “Black Thursday,” which was an awful day. 750 B-24s went to attack Berlin in broad daylight, which was not a smart idea. Out of the 750, sixty eight planes did not return. The American bombers were getting shot down very easily, so the U.S. had to do something to fix …show more content…

After the war, lots of B-24s were converted to C-109s and used for many other things. Some of the planes were used in the Berlin Airlift. The planes were also used in the Coast Guard. They were mostly used for rescue missions and weather detecting. They served in the Coast Guard until the late 1950’s. Most of the B-24s were salvaged from the Indian Air Force. When the war was over, we found lots of old planes in India. This was because after the war the British just ditched most of their planes. They left almost all of them in the Chekeri Airport in India. They completely destroyed lots of them with heavy machinery, splitting all the fuel tanks and pouring sand into all of the engines. But the Hindustan Aircraft Limited still went and retrieved 42 aircrafts, and took them to a factory to be refurbished. They were finally restored to the point where they could fly again. Five B-24s are left in museums in America, Canada, and the United Kingdom (Dwyer). So all in all, the B-24 was a very interesting plane. It helped the U.S. win the war and helped us wreak havoc on enemy countries. It was very popular and for a good reason. The B-24 was very advanced and very powerful at the time. It was manufactured right here in America, and only used by our allies. It was mass produced because of its popularity and importance, and was an all around superstar in helping us win the war. This plane was a one-of-a-kind, and there

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