Posted on 10/14/2014 9:23:00 AM PDT by dware
The World War II-era B-24 aircraft was so stiff, heavy, and hard to control that its American crews dubbed it the "flying coffin." Not only was its only exit hard to reach at the tail—leaving many trapped before being able to parachute out—but it was intended to drop bombs on bridges, train stations, and airports run by the Germans, thus living up to its name for those below it as well.
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My father flew two missions as a bombardier with the Cottontails in a B-24, before switching to a B-17 group.
Here are the relevant logbook entries:
722nd Sq. 450th GP.
APO – 520
April 4 - **
Bucharest Marshalling Yards, Rumania
B-24-H 367
Pilot – Lt. McGlaghlin
12 – 500 LB.G.P. bombs
Saw 1 fighter shot down. 1- 24 ditched in Adriatic Sea on way back Very little flak. Target well hit
722nd SQ. 450th GP.
APO – 520
April 5 - **
Ploesti oil fields, Rumania
B-24H 085
Pilot – Lt. King
12 – 500 LB. G.P. Bombs
Attacked by 30 ME 109’s Four out of seven ships in lead shot down – ours one of three left Returned with 2 slugs in no. 2 & 1 in no. 1 Several large flak holes in rear fuselage. Flak was intense Ship on right wing had vertical stabilizer damaged considerably Target well hit by our group
The second mission was obviously pretty badly shot by the enemy. I believe the command reconsidered the use of B-24s for this sort of work after that. In any case, the next mission is on April 16th, and it with the 32nd SQ. 301st Group in B-17s. I believe from what he told me that the Cottontails may have been broken up after the April 5th raid.
Snappy salute to the memory of your father’s bravery and dedication.
Reporters are so clueless and lazy these days. A few minutes with their friend Google and this reporter would have learned:
Emergency exits from the B-24 were the nose wheel hatch for those in the forward compartment, the bomb bay for the pilots and others in the mid section, and the waist gun ports for those in the rear. Unlike the B-17, the B-24 had no rear entrance door. Normal entrance on the ground was through the bomb bay.
Most crewmen who failed to exit a damaged airplane could not get out because centrifugal force prevented them getting to an exit. Life was a bitch in WWII.
The B-24 earned the nickname "Flying Coffin" in part because of the shape of the fuselage, the high incidence of fuel explosions and wing loss when hit by anti-aircraft fire, and it's poor behavior when ditching. The B-17 had a better reputation for toughness, but flew more slowly and had a lower ceiling. Many other airplanes were called "flying coffins". Gliders and the B-26 Marauder are but two other examples.
Was this the plane shot down at the beginning of the movie “Desperate Journey”?
Ditto!
That’s weird...my reply got erased! In any event, all I could find was reference to a “downed british bomber”
He was top turret gunner. He kept a diary of his missions. He was in the fifth B-24 over Normandy on D-Day. He was on Capt Kent's crew for the entire tour. The entire crew survived the war.
The wing design itself was remarkably weak (Davis wing), a few 20mm rounds from a Bf-109 and it was over.
The wing folded up and the plane rolled.
B-24J “Witchcraft” once in awhile flies through my area.
“That’s weird...my reply got erased! In any event, all I could find was reference to a “downed british bomber””
Thanks, saw the B-24 was also in RAF service. I see the B-25 had the same distinctive tail. B-25 also RAF. Guess the crew complement would make the difference. Pretty sure there were 5 survivors, but can’t remember how many died in the crash. I know the pilot did, perhaps he was the only one. Hmm, B-24 could carry 11, seems to be too many for the movie. B-25 carried only 6. If only one died in the crash, then the B-25 would likely be it, but have not been able to find that much detail in the plot/story line. Have the movie, might be time to watch it again!
That’s not the “flying coffin” I remember going and coming on R&R from Korea to Japan, 52-53. What I remember was shaped like a torpedo with two engines, and said to have no glide path.
They seem to have done things differently in the 301st Group down in Fogia. My father flew with about 10 different pilots to get to his 50 missions. They seem to have put the crews there together pretty haphazardly. Of course, there was a constant demand for replacements due to injuries and downings.
A tad OT, but check out this mind-blowing photo tour (use arrows for a 360 view) of the crew positions of the B-17 "Sentimental Journey" . It looks like there's a bail-out hatch for the tail gunner. Links are near the bottom of the page.
My father in law was the pilot of a lead crew in the 493d BG at Debach. They, and the other B-24 Groups in the 3d Bomb Division, transitioned into the B-17 because of formation issues with combat wings of mixed aircraft. Most had a favorite airplane, but both airplanes were highly respected.
Several diagrams of emergency exits for the B-24 can be found here:
http://www.missingaircrew.com/plane.asp
Got to walk thru this plane on Sunday...it was at the Chesterfield County airport here in VA (along with a B-17 and a P-51).
No, it wasn’t a B-24. I’m looking for my copy of Desperate Journey to ID it for sure, but as I recall it was a 2-engine Lockheed Hudson.
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