War-torn Warbirds: Haunting Images of B-24 Liberators:
"According to militaryhistory.about.com the B-24 wasn’t hugely popular with the air crews:
Among the issues with the B-24 was its inability to sustain heavy damage and remain aloft.
The wings in particular proved vulnerable to enemy fire and if hit in critical areas could give way completely.
It was not uncommon to see a B-24 falling from the sky with its wings folded upwards like a butterfly.
Also, the aircraft proved highly susceptible to fires as many of the fuel tanks were mounted in the upper parts of the fuselage.
In addition, crews nicknamed the B-24 the “Flying Coffin” as it possessed only one exit which was located near the tail of the aircraft.
This made it difficult to impossible for the flight crew to escape a crippled B-24.
Over 6000 B-24 Liberators were lost during WWII, 31% of all those build…"
(many more photos at link)
No comments:
Post a Comment