Battle of the Bombers

About this episode

The episode features a debate on the best WW2 heavy bomber between the B-17 and B-24, hosted at the American Air Museum.

In this episode, we visit the American Air Museum at Duxford for a hotly contested debate: which was the best WW2 heavy bomber? Was it the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress or was it the Consolidated B-24 Liberator? The museum is home to the biggest collection of American military aircraft on public display outside the USA. And it is the only place in the UK where you can stand side by side between a Fortress and a Liberator. We discuss the merits – and sometimes fatal flaws – of both iconic planes with museum curator Dr Hattie Hearn. We debate their armaments, their bomb loads – and the ability of each aircraft to successfully complete a mission and return home. And we find out what it was like for the crew during combat – including inside the ball turret. The museum stands as a memorial to the 30,000 American servicemen and women who died while flying from Britain between 1942 and 1945. Their names appear on a special digital Roll of Honour, which draws names and photographs from the museum archive into the exhibition space.  Please do subscribe to the Mighty Eighth Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts – and if you like what you hear, please do leave us a review. To…

People in this episode

Hosts: Johann Tasker, Mike Peters

Guest: Dr Hattie Hearn

Topics covered

• WW2 heavy bombers
• American military aircraft
• air combat
• museum exhibits
• aviation history

Keywords

• B-17
• B-24
• heavy bombers
• American Air Museum
• WW2 aviation
• military history
• combat experience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Air Museum

Products: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator

Places: UK

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