US Bombers of WW2

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INTRODUCTION 3
US Bombers of WW2
T
he role of the bomber has been pushed, pulled, extended and enough to stop a determined foe but it was these two characteristics
expanded over the years and, compared to those machines which would shape US bomber design for the period.
which served during the Second World War, present day The one main advantage that the US aircraft manufacturing industry
equivalents are required to perform in a wide variety of roles. had over all other countries was the ability to mass produce on a
However, the modern USAF has retained three examples of pure scale which had never been seen before. While aircraft manufacturing
strategic bombers in the shape of the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and in Britain expanded to a few shadow factories, in the US, colossal
the B-2 Spirit, while much smaller aircraft, such as the F-15E Strike Eagle buildings covering thousands of acres were established in short order
remain capable of delivering up to 23,000lb of bombs in a tactical role - and operated around the clock. Sub-contracts were issued across
that’s 3,000lb more than a B-29 Superfortress! the industry and anything up to four, sometimes fi ve, other major
The US-built bomber did not come to fruition until after the First manufacture’s would also be producing the aircraft, the B-17, B-24
World War, due mainly to the persistent efforts of characters such and B-29 are good examples of aircraft that were produced in this
as Maj Gen ‘Billy’ Mitchell, a staunch advocate of aerial bombing. It way. The numbers involved were mind-blowing, between July 1940
would take time for sufficiently powerful engines to be developed and August 1945, 3,740 very heavy bombers, 31,685 heavy bombers,
in order to realise Mitchell’s vision and it was a shame that he never 21,461 medium bombers and 39,989 light bombers were built. Out of
got to see his idea of a strategic bomber enter USAAC service in the these numbers, Britain and the Soviet Union received 13,385 and 4,031
shape of the B-17 Flying Fortress in 1938. Even this iconic aircraft bombers respectively, both nations having taken full advantage of the
would take time to evolve into the successful bomber that we are Lend-Lease system.
familiar with today and it was the combat reports that were passed While some of the bombers featured in this issue performed better than
on to the US aircraft manufacturers by the British and French during others, their prime advantage over any other was that they were available in
the early stages of the Second World War, which helped to shape the numbers when and where it counted and in all theatres of war.
designs that the USAAF would take into combat. Reliance on good Martyn Chorlton,
performance combined with good defensive firepower was never
Editor
Examples of the first mass produced
Liberator, the B-24D, of which 2,696
were built, 2,381 of them by
Consolidated, San Diego, 305 by
Consolidated at Fort Worth and ten
by Douglas at Tulsa. Via editor
Aviation Archive Series
US Bombers of WW2 Acknowledgments
Editor: Martyn Chorlton (cid:127) Design: Paul Sander (cid:127) Production Manager: Janet Watkins (cid:127) Publisher and Managing Director: Adrian Cox (cid:127) Executive Chairman: Richard Cox (cid:127) Commercial Director: Ann Saundry
Picture Credits: All photographs from the Key Archive unless otherwise credited. (cid:127) Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd: [phone] (cid:127) Printing: Warners (Midlands)
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US Bombers of WW2
6 The US bomber of WW2
12 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 41
21 Lockheed Hudson
28 Martin Maryland
30 Lockheed Ventura
34 Douglas A-20 family
41 Consolidated B-24 Liberator
81
Wichita-built Boeing B-29-45-BW Superfortress awaiting delivery to their respective USAAF bomb groups on October 18, 1944.
Nearest to the camera is 42-24727 which was allocated to the 498th BG based at Isley Field, Saipan. On March 31, 1945 the
bomber was forced to ditch in the Pacifi c because of an engine failure; one crewman was drowned in the incident. Via editor

50 North American B-25 Mitchell
70
61 Martin B-26 Marauder
70 Martin Baltimore
74 Douglas A-26 Invader
81 Boeing B-29 Superfortress
92 Consolidated B-32 Dominator
96 Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer
AboveVery rare shot of the third and final S.17 Kent built for Imperial Airways, G-ABFC
Satyrus, which joined the company 1931. The big flying-boat was the only one of
the three to complete its tour of duty with Imperial Airways which came to an
end in 1938 when the aircraft was scrapped at Hythe.
6
B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force
operating out of Foggia, Italy en route to a
target in southern Germany. Via editor
The rapid rise and rise of
the American-built bomber
Within the space of three decades, the fledgling USAAS had evolved from a service
equipped with variety of foreign-designed machines into the formidable USAAF
which was capable of delivering an atomic weapon.
No home-grown bombers the Breguet 14, the Caproni Ca.3, the Handley French machines lacked range or any significant
When the United States of America declared war Page O/100 and later the preferred O/400 and load-carrying capability and were usually
on Germany in April 1917, the USAAS (United the Airco DH.4. It was only the DH.4 that entered operated in daylight against supply lines or
States Army Air Service) had no military aircraft to anything close to full scale production before the troop concentrations. The few USAAS personnel
its name and the American aircraft industry had end of the First World War; the light bomber was who flew with the Italian Air Force experienced
no capacity to design, let alone produce, them produced by Dayton-Wright and Fisher Body. ‘strategic’ bombing for the first time as the
in the required quantities. Instead, a short term USAAC aircrew managed to build up some Caproni bombers crossed the Alps at 12,000ft,
solution was sought where British, French and early combat experience operating the Breguet without oxygen, to bomb targets in Austria. A
Italian fighters and bombers were purchased to 14 and DH.4 over the Western Front, while further combination of basic navigational equipment
equip the USAAS, while a select few types would early ‘strategic’ bombing experience was gained and simple bombing aids made the task of
be manufactured under licence in America. With with the Italians and their high-flying Capronis. finding the target incredibly difficult, let alone
regard to bombers, the USAAS chose to operate With regard to the Western Front, British and actually hitting it. While the Italians overcame
THE RAPID RISE AND RISE OF THE AMERICAN-BUILT BOMBER 7
The one and only Wittemann-Lewis NBL-1 ‘Barling Bomber’ designed by Walter Barling who had
also designed the Tarrant Tabor in Britain. The 42,569lb bomber was powered by six 420hp
Liberty 12A engines. Editor’s collection
these problems, strategic bombing for all parties French and was heavily infl uenced in particular
at the beginning of the Second World War was by Maj Gen Hugh Trenchard. The future ‘Father of
still proving a challenge. the RAF’ was a strong advocate of the use of large
numbers of heavy bombers and, if the First World
In pursuit of a strategic capability War had continued, he would have been given
One of the most infl uential ambassadors, with the opportunity to unleash his Independent Air
regard to the future of air power, was Lt Col (later Force which was equipped with large numbers
Maj Gen) Billy Mitchell who, on America’s entry of O/400s and DH.9s and would have received
into the war, established an Aviation Section in the giant V/1500 in quantity as well. There is no
Paris. He quickly latched onto the experience doubt that this force would have been able to
that had already been gained by the British and attack targets deep in Germany at will, decades
Initially assigned to the 390th BS, 42nd BG, B-18A Bolo 37-508 served on with the 33rd SRS, 24th SRG and was not written off until August 15, 1944 at
Waller Field, Trinidad, British West Indies. Andy Hay/www.fl yingart.co.uk
8
before the destruction that was caused during
the second great war.
The development of America’s first strategic
bomber began in 1917 when the Glenn L Martin
Aircraft Company was approached. The best that
the company could offer was the Martin MB-2
(NBS-1) which could only travel at 100mph and
had a range of 500 miles. Falling well short of
what Mitchell was hoping for, the bomber did
play a crucial role in a famous demonstration of
airpower in 1921. Already at loggerheads with
the US Navy, who were convinced that there was
no need for a strategic bomber force, Mitchell
arranged for a number of bombing trials against
a pair of redundant battleships; the German ship
Ostfreisland and the USS Alabama. While both
of the ships were sunk by aerial bombing, there
is still debate today as to the authenticity of the
actual trial and a great deal of friction was created
between the US Navy and the USAAC as result.
Mitchell also instigated the construction of the
costly Wittemann-Lewis NBL-1, nicknamed the
‘Barling Bomber’ after its designer, Walter Barling.
The 120ft-span triplane bomber was designed
to carry a single 6,000lb bomb; it achieved this
at the expense of a maximum speed of just Boeing’s first bomber, the Y1B-9A, powered by a pair of 600hp Pratt & Whitney R-1860-11 Hornet B
96mph and a range of only 170 miles. Only one engines. Only five were built, serving with the 20th and 39th BS, 2nd BG from September 1932
prototype was built at a cost of over half a million through to April 1935. Editor’s collection
THE RAPID RISE AND RISE OF THE AMERICAN-BUILT BOMBER 9
dollars and Mitchell’s dream of a new generation
of ‘super bombers’, remained just that, an idea
that was way ahead of its time.
Significant steps
While the whole idea of an aerial bomber force
languished for most nations during the 1920s
while all parties licked their wounds, in America,
the concept was put back on track by Boeing and
it’s YB-9, a development of the Monomail. A twin-
engined, all-metal monoplane, only seven were
produced, although five of them did see limited
service with the 20th BS (Bomb Squadron) and 2nd
BG (Bomb Group) between 1932 and 1935. Martin
was quick to follow with their more successful B-10,
which became the first mass-produced bomber
to enter USAAC service and was faster than a
fighter.Described by Gen Henry H ‘Hap’ Arnold
as ‘the airpower wonder of its day’, the B-10 was
capable of more than 200mph, could reach 25,000ft
and carry a 1,000lb bomb load over 700 miles;
the Americans had finally got their first capable
strategic bomber. The bomber was a huge success
at home and abroad and 348 were built between
1933 and 1940, 182 of them were export variants
Designed by Peyton M Magruder (who later designed the B-26) and first flown on February for the Argentinian, the Chinese Nationalist, Royal
16, 1932, the Martin B-10 was an excellent bomber for its day. With excellent performance, Netherlands East Indies (121 ordered), Philippine,
the type was only marginally superseded by the Douglas B-18, which was actually inferior to Royal Thai Sir Force and the Turkish Air Forces.
the final B-10 variant. Via editor
With a wing span of 149ft and a maximum take-off weight of
70,706lb, the Boeing XB-15 was an intimidating looking bomber for
the mid-1930s which was let down by a serious lack of horsepower.
The sole aircraft, nicknamed ‘Grandpappy’, served with the 2nd BG
at Langley Field and later, after being re-designated as the XC-105
transport, with the 20th TCS (Troop Carrier Squadron). The giant
aircraft was retired on December 18, 1944. Editor’s collection
10
The XB-15 set a number of ‘payload to height and speed/weight over distance’ records including
the international 5,000km speed record with a 2,000kg payload. Editor’s collection
The idea of a ‘super bomber’ was fully revived in B-10 replacements
April 1934 when Boeing was awarded a contract Just a few weeks after Boeing signed the contract
for a heavy bomber with a range of 5,000 miles. for the XB-15, the company responded to a USAAC
Capable of carrying up to 12,000lb in bombs, the specification for a multi-engined bomber capable
aircraft, designated the XB-15, was let down by its of carrying a ‘useful bomb load’ to replace the
Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines which could only Martin B-10. Other key points of the specification
generate 850hp apiece. With a cruising speed of just stated that the aircraft should be capable of
152 mph and a maximum speed, when empty, of reinforcing American forces based in Alaska,
197 mph, the huge 149ft-span bomber remained Hawaii and Panama, be able to reach speed of
a single prototype and the project was cancelled. 250mphs and have a range of 2,000 miles. The prototype crashed that the DB-1 was brought
For Boeing,the whole exercise had gained them a result was the Model 299, more familiarly known forward as an alternative. Based on the DC-2 airliner,
large amount of experience in building large aircraft as the B-17 Flying Fortress which would evolve the medium bomber, designated the B-18 Bolo in
which was later applied to the Model 314 flying- into one of the USAAF’s most celebrated strategic USAAC, plugged an important gap and remained in
boat and eventually the B-29 Superfortress, via the bombers which embodied the Mitchell’s post-First operational service into the early war period.
Y1B-20 (Model 316), which never left the drawing World War bombing strategy. The B-17 was an impressive bomber when it first
board but laid the foundation blocks for a new Douglas also competed to the same specification entered service but there was an overconfidence
generation of bombers. as the B-17 and it was only when the Boeing that the aircraft could easily out-run and/or carry
sufficient defensive armament to deal with an
enemy fighter attack. However, the reality of war,
especially in the European Theatre, proved that the
long-range strategic bomber would still have to
rely on a fighter escort and even then, this could
not thwart a determined attack.
The B-17, in company with the B-24, formed the
backbone of the USAAF’s 8th Air Force, both types
operated during the daylight hours while the RAF’s
Bomber Command kept up the pressure at night.
Despite operating in various formations, each was
designed to provide the most effective defensive
firepower, losses were insufferably high. Of the B-17
alone, almost 5,000 of 12,731 built between 1936
and 1945 were lost in combat, while nearly 4,000
were lost in flying accidents. Generally operating
Douglas B-18A Bolos over Floyd Bennett Field, New York, on August 8, 1940. Editor’s collection above 20,000ft, the 8th Air Force tactic was for both