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 109s 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.
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”?
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.
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.
While everyone is focused on the “flying coffin” aspect, here is more of the story:
It turns out the fragments found in Selva del Lamone belonged to a B-24H from the Air Force’s 736th Bomb Squadron, which operated out of southern Italy.
It had taken off in March 1944 with 276 other bombers and was part of an 18-bomber formation that dropped 25 tons of bombs on an airport.
...only two sergeants managed to parachute out, though both ended up in German prison camps.
My father was trained at Harlingen, Texas, to be a B-24 nose gunner. During training the “war wearies” that were used for training, he was in two plans that had engine fires. He bailed out the first time; decided to ride it down the 2nd time (bailing out once was enough he said) and crashed on takeoff a third time. During all of this he was injured and after surgery was declared non-deployable. Of course he added, his injuries were found after he received all of his shots for the South Pacific.
You can see the Diamond Lil at her hanger at the Flying Museum in Ft Worth, sometimes over in Addison, and even ride her at selected occasions: http://www.cafb29b24.org/#!cockpit-tours/c217l
I had the great privilege to assist some gents from the 410BG board her and sit up front a few years ago.
ping- interesting ww2