This series is dedicated to the gallant service performed by the brave airmen of World War 2 who risked all so that we may enjoy our American way of life. The phrase “Big Brother, Little Brother” refers to the way the heavy bomber and fighter escort aircraft pilots called each other on the radio chatter.
On a personal note, my father “John” served as a flight engineer on a B-25 Mitchell out of Italy in 1944 and 1945. He made it back alive, as did my father-in-law “Danny” who served as a belly gunner on a B-24 Liberator out of Libya. “Danny” was one of the few airmen who flew in both Ploesti oil field raids to Romania (June 1942 and August 1943) and did so without so much as a scratch. He flew his 25 missions and returned to the US as a gunnery instructor (Lead, Dammit, Lead!).
Finding all the caches will display a GeoArt form of the Big Brother, Little Brother relationship on your map. The caches were not meant to be difficult to find. If you can’t find a cache, it’s probably missing. Send me a picture of the location by email, I’ll accept the find and replace the cache.
B-24 Liberator
The B-24 Liberator was not only built in considerably greater numbers than the famous B-17 Flying Fortress, but it was the most extensively produced of all of the U.S. wartime aircraft. It served in all theaters of combat, delivering large bomb loads over long distances. It had easily recognizable oval-shape endplate fins and rudders, and unique 'roller shutter' doors which retracted within the fuselage when opened for attack, causing less drag than conventional bomb bay doors which opened into the slipstream.
Often compared with the better-known B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 was a more modern design with a higher top speed, greater range, and a heavier bomb load; however, it was also more difficult to fly, with heavy control forces and poor formation-flying characteristics. Popular opinion among aircrews and general staffs tended to favor the B-17's rugged qualities above all other considerations in the European Theater. The placement of the B-24's fuel tanks throughout the upper fuselage and its lightweight construction, designed to increase range and optimize assembly line production, made the aircraft vulnerable to battle damage. The B-24 was notorious among American aircrews for its tendency to catch fire. Moreover, its high fuselage-mounted "Davis wing" also meant it was dangerous to ditch or belly land, since the fuselage tended to break apart. Nevertheless, the B-24 provided excellent service in a variety of roles thanks to its large payload and long range.
Consolidated B-24J Liberator Technicals
General characteristics-
Crew: 7-10
Length: 67 ft 8 in
Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in
Height: 18 ft 0 in
Wing area: 1,048 ft²
Empty weight: 36,500 lb
Loaded weight: 55,000 lb
Max. takeoff weight: 65,000 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830 turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp each
Performance-
Maximum speed: 290 mph
Cruise speed: 215 mph
Stall Speed: 95 mph
Range: 2,100 mi
Ferry range: 3,700 mi
Service ceiling: 28,000 ft
Rate of climb: 1,025 ft/min
Armament-
Guns: 10 × .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns in 4 turrets and two waist positions
Bombs:
Short range 400 mi: 8,000 lb
Long range 800 mi: 5,000 lb
Very long range 1,200 mi: 2,700 lb
Survivors
Airworthy-
B-24A(s/n 40-2366 “Ol' 927” is and owned by the Commemorative Air Force in Addison, TX This B-24 is number 18 off the assembly line, and is one of a handful of surviving early-war aircraft.
B-24J s/n 44-44052 “Witchcraft” is owned by the Collings Foundation in Stow, MA.
B-24J s/n 44-44272 “Joe” is owned by the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, FL.
On display-
B-24D s/n 41-11825 “Hail Columbia” (nose only) at the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, FL.
B-24D s/n 42-40557 “Fightin' Sam” (nose only). Liberator GR.V formerly BZ755 of the RCAF. On display at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, GA.
B-24D s/n 42-40461 “Grumpy” (nose only) at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, VA.
B-24D s/n 42-72843 “Strawberry Bitch” at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.
B-24M s/n 44-41916 “Shady Lady” at the Castle Air Museum in Castle Air Force Base, CA.
B-24J s/n 44-44175 “Bungay Buckaroo” at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.
B-24J s/n 44-48781 “Louisiana Belle II” at the Eighth Air Force Museum in Barksdale AFB, LA.
Under restoration-
B-24D s/n 41-23908 by the Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden, UT.