Quote:
Originally Posted by Karl
I feel the B24 certainly lacks the looks of the 17 but was by far the more versatile of the two which is why they made more B24s than any other bomber during the war. The B17 bomb load was also considerably less than the B24's. However the B17 was certainly a fortress knocking down 23 fighters per 1000 sorties way ahead of any thing else including escort fighters ! -Karl
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Thanks to Ford Motor Co and others, there were a lot of B-24s built and a fair amount of Privateers for the Navy. It's true that the B-24 had a lot more room to carry bombs with two bays but a person has to remember that they were going long distances so more often they had to sacrifice payload for fuel. Bomb loads were not that much more on average unless the target was closer. The P&W R1830 engines were about the same HP (1200) but the B-24 was a more modern wing design. It also had tricycle gear so it could take off at a faster speed and it had a good 40 to 50 MPH more overall cruise speed than the older B-17 design depending on the configuration. Both ships normally had a 10-man crew. If 10 ships got shot down, the cost was 100 men out of action or dead. Certainly a rough way to make a living.