B-24 War Story

[THE PILGRIM]

My FIL was sent to West Africa in early 1942.
He was a Army Air Forces Doctor.
We were mostly ferrying Airplanes across from Brazil and flying raw rubber out of the Liberia Firestone Plantations.
He was stationed at several places including Robert’s Field, Liberia.
After the North African invasion he was transferred up Marracash.
At that time we were bringing in large numbers of planes which included B-24s.
So one day there’s a B-24 unit coming in from the South.
They all arrive safely except for one. The B-24 Commander is losing patience and demanding an immediate search.
The local commander is hesitant, possible wanting more info and maybe word from friendly locals.
About this time a plane appears.
Everybody grabs their binoculars. It’s a B-24. But something don’t look right.
Then they observe that several feet of a wing tip is missing.
They indulged in some sightseeing While coming over the Atlas Mountains and hit a wingtip on a rock.
Then they decided to land in the desert and chop it off. Hence the delay.
The B-24 Commander flipped from ‘You got to find my boys’ to ‘you dumb ***.’
The next day all the B-24s departed. Except the one with the bad wing and it’s pilot.
Later, they heard that there were B-24 Wings up in Casablanca.
My FIL flew CoPilot , standing on the controls on takeoff and they flew to Casablanca.
My FIL couldn’t remember that guys name but said he was a Lawyer from Arkansas.
A few ago a Buddy gave a talk to a group of WWII Arkansas Vets. Ask them if they ever heard of a Guy who twanged a B-24 on the Atlas Mountains and lived to tell about it.
None of them had.
Here’s my FIL. Probably post Africa. He appears to be a Major and wearing Flight Surgeon Wings. He went to that school after he returned from Africa.

 

[Walter Rego]

B-24's that were destined for service in Italy were usually ferried from Mitchell Field on Long Island, NY which was a staging area and then on to Gander, Newfoundland, over to Santa Maria Island, part of the Azores, and finally across to Marrakesh Morocco, Algiers or one of the bases in Tunisia before finally crossing the Mediterranean for assignment at one of the bases in the Foggia region.

There were warnings issued to the airmen who may have spent a day or two in Marrakesh to avoid the ancient walled city section. It seems the inhabitants didn't take lightly the infidels who may be looking at their veiled women and there were reports of sword wielding locals chasing US airmen out !

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Paul Harvey Time-
So when my FIL and the Arkansas LaddieBuck arrived at Casablanca,
He announced MAYDAY, damaged B-24 needs to land.
The Tower told him they knew he was ‘damaged’ and that he took off that way.
They told him to circle the field.
The USS Ranger is offshore and launching 75 Fighters.
The Ranger was a WWII carrier assigned to the Atlantic Fleet.
It performed a number of duties including Aircraft Delivery.
It delivered planes to Africa several times.
This one was probably on 25 Feb, 1943.
75 P-40L were Landing, looking for a fight.
I think my FIL said 3-4 of them crashed on landing.
He completed his business at Casablanca and returned to Marrakesh.
The B-24s were going somewhere in North Africa, like Libya.
They flew some long and dangerous missions, like the Ploesti Oil Fields.
So when our Arkansas Sightseer finally rejoined his unit, with or without the bent wing B-24, the road ahead was rocky and difficult.
He might not have made it back home.
HAND SALUTE!

 

[DWalt]

I suppose most have heard about the B-24 “Lady Be Good” that crashed in the Libyan desert on its return from a bombing mission over Italy. It wasn’t discovered until 1958. It was the crew’s first mission and no bodies were found. Seems that everyone at the base in Libya assumed it had gone down in the Mediterranean, so they didn’t look for it on land. I remember that Rod Serling made an episode of “The Twilight Zone” about it back in the early 60s.

 

[Squarebutt]

My Uncle Rich was a navigator on a B 24 flying out of southern Italy. His aircraft was among a formation that was supposed to hit the Ploesti oil fields one night. As they reached the turning point in northern Italy they found that the other planes had gotten lost in the fog, so instead of turning for home, they hit Ploesti solo. They didn't receive any fire on approach, but the sky lit up when they dropped their payload. They made it home, and finished all their missions, notwithstanding some shrapnel and bullet holes.
God bless all those guys.

 

[toddimusnimski]

I suppose most have heard about the B-24 “Lady Be Good” that crashed in the Libyan desert on its return from a bombing mission over Italy. It wasn’t discovered until 1958. It was the crew’s first mission and no bodies were found. Seems that everyone at the base in Libya assumed it had gone down in the Mediterranean, so they didn’t look for it on land. I remember that Rod Serling made an episode of “The Twilight Zone” about it back in the early 60s.

They did find the bodies of 8 of the 9 crewmembers in 1960, many miles north of the crash site. Tough men, they died trying to reach the Mediterranean coast. They had flown 400 miles inland while thinking they were still over water.

Thanks for bringing up that historical aircraft. Its a tragic and yet interesting story.

 

[DWalt]

I did not remember that the bodies had been found. I think the verdict was that the plane was caught in a sandstorm, blown off course, and the pilot did not know whether he was over land or water. Until it was too late.

 

[Rudi]

My Great Uncle flew B24s. He was on the Ploesti raid. He said they were tough planes, could take lot of damage and still make it home.

 

[VaTom]

My Great Uncle flew B24s. He was on the Ploesti raid. He said they were tough planes, could take lot of damage and still make it home.

Faster than the B-17s and heavier bomb load. I read that when flying missions with B-17 groups out of England the B-24s gave the 17's a head start of over an hour because of speed difference and they would catch up with them as they near the coast of Europe.

The only weakness of the B-24 was at the wing root where the wing connected with fuselage. If hit there the wing could collapse. The most of any warplanes made in WWII. A good book to read is the "Arsenal of Democracy" about how Ford Motor Company built the Willow Run factory just for production of B-24's and turned out 8,600. The factory is still in use today.

 

[Greyman50]

Had a distant cousin that was a QC guy for Ford at Willow Run. He told me he got to fly on a B-24 from Detroit to near Chicago during the winter. Said he had to “ go” during flight so he was over the bomb bays on his way aft when the crew opened the bay doors. Said it was coldest he had even been, had a few choice words for crew….

 

[DWalt]

Faster than the B-17s and heavier bomb load. I read that when flying missions with B-17 groups out of England the B-24s gave the 17's a head start of over an hour because of speed difference and they would catch up with them as they near the coast of Europe.

The only weakness of the B-24 was at the wing root where the wing connected with fuselage. If hit there the wing could collapse. The most of any warplanes made in WWII. A good book to read is the "Arsenal of Democracy" about how Ford Motor Company built the Willow Run factory just for production of B-24's and turned out 8,600. The factory is still in use today.

The Ford Willow Run plant was not the largest producer of B-24s, but it was a very close second behind the Consolidated San Diego plant. Ford had the Willow Run assembly plant built in an L shape instead of linear to keep it within his property line. Making it linear would make it cross the Wayne County line, and Wayne County had far higher property taxes. The third largest B-24 assembly plant was Consolidated’s Fort Worth facility. And it is also still operating.

 

[VaTom]

Had a distant cousin that was a QC guy for Ford at Willow Run. He told me he got to fly on a B-24 from Detroit to near Chicago during the winter. Said he had to “ go” during flight so he was over the bomb bays on his way aft when the crew opened the bay doors. Said it was coldest he had even been, had a few choice words for crew….

Another difference between the 17 and the 24 is that the bomb bay doors retracted up inside the fuselage when opened on the 24s. The 17's - the doors opened downward causing drag and slowing the plane down during the bomb run.

When reading about B-24 pilots, it took more strength in arms, and back to fly the 24 than the 17. George McGovern, the Democratic Presidential candidate in 1972 was a B-24 pilot.

 

[rockquarry]

A long-deceased relative from Dallas worked at the Consolidated plant in Ft. Worth (maybe Grand Prairie?) during WWII and was involved in B24 production. I remember him talking about having to wear soft-soled slippers while performing any job that required walking on the wings.

 

[OFT II]

The Texas plant was at Liberator Village, a part of the Fort Worth area. It's now called White Settlement. I had an uncle working there.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Aircraft Plant in Ft. Worth?
‘Air Force Plant 4 is a government-owned, contractor-operated aerospace facility in Fort Worth, Texas, currently owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. It is home of the F-16 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Military aircraft have been manufactured here since 1942.’
The B -24/C-87, B-36, B-58, F-FB-111, F-16 and F-35 have been built there.
It’s across from the former Carswell AFB, now Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve Base. Air National Guard also there.
It’s a Reserve Base!
Olden Days, have been stationed at Carswell.
Have visited the Plant a number of times.
Notice it’s a Gov Plant.
Taxpayers owe it.

 

[DWalt]

For many years, Carswell AFB was a B-52 base, until it was realigned as a reserve base maybe 25 years ago. When I lived there in the 1980s, I had a neighbor who was a B-52 jockey. He would tip me off when an alert would occur so I could go watch it. There was a shopping mall located near the end of the runway, and from some parts of the mall parking lot the B-52s were leaving the runway right over your head. It was quite a thrill to be there during an alert, with two B-52s at a time roaring overhead on takeoff every 30 seconds. That part of west Fort Worth has been named White Settlement for many years, I think because that was where the first whites arriving in the area settled during the 19th Century, before there even was a Fort Worth. These days, that name is somehow seen as being racist and is recently causing some controversy. The “Liberator Village” name was unofficial but widely used, even when I was there. White Settlement was highly industrialized, with many manufacturers of aircraft and oilfield-related materials and equipment located there. It probably still is. The nearby high rise office building complex I worked in at the time has now been taken over by Lockheed Martin. Or at least I have heard it was, as I haven’t been back there for about 30 years.

 

[swsig]

Back in the '80s when Carswell was still a B-52 base, I would get my car serviced at a dealership that was on a hill just off the south end of the main runway. When the B-52s landed heading north, they would fly down the hill just a couple of hundred feet above us. The sound was deafening and whole building would shake, but it was an awesome sight. I wondered if the employees ever got used to it.

 

[sceva]

On the Lady Be Good;

There is a good display at the Museum of The United States Air Force in Ohio,

"Lady Be Good" > National Museum of the United States Air Force™ > Display

 

[Walter Rego]

I remember seeing the Twilight Zone episode when I was a kid. The star was Robert Cummings. I have seen it several times more over the years and the plane used for the set was a B-25. But it was obviously based upon the true story of the Lady be Good.

I have taken a ride on the Collings Foundation's B-24 and also their B-17 which was the one that crashed a few years ago killing 7 of the 13 on board and one person on the ground. Their Wings of Freedom tour was postponed due to Covid and their website shows nothing on schedule for 2022. If they ever get going again and their warbirds come to an airfield near you I highly recommend visiting them. You can get inside the planes for a nominal fee and maybe they will resume offering short flights for a tax deductible donation again.

 

[DWalt]

A long-deceased relative from Dallas worked at the Consolidated plant in Ft. Worth (maybe Grand Prairie?) during WWII and was involved in B24 production. I remember him talking about having to wear soft-soled slippers while performing any job that required walking on the wings.

There was another smaller B-24 assembly plant located in the Dallas area, it could have been in Grand Prarie. It was not operated by Consolidated, but I don’t know any details about it.