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A local airport was recently host to these excellent aircraft. I was able to take many detailed photos.

Starting with my personal favorite, the B-24 Liberator.






Close up of the B-24's left most engine.






Forward turret.



Shot from the front. Because the gate was up I couldn't step back any farther. So I had to squeeze as much aircraft into photo as I could.



This is an attempted photo of the lower nose on the B-24. You can't go into the B-24's cockpit or nose, so I tried to get an outdoor shot of its Norden bombsight. Sorry for the glare.



You enter the B-24 from a hatch near the back. This is a shot towards the tail standing on the hatch ladder.



Picture of me standing in the right waist gun port.




Picture of the B-24's unique ball turret. The turret could be retracted into the bomber during non combat operations.




Again, you were restricted from entering the cockpit. Most of the B-24 was pretty spacious though the bomb bay was VERY tight, moreso than the B-17.




Beneath the cockpit and navigator's cabin is a small crawlspace that the bombardier and front turret gunner use. As you can see, they share the space with the nose wheel.



Picture of the navigator/radio station.



Next up, the B-25.





Close up of nose compartment. Like the other two, the nose compartment is accessed by a crawlspace beneath the cockpit, though the B-25's nose seems much more spacious and comftorable.



The B-25's right engine.



Left waist.



You were not allowed to enter the B-25 though you could look inside. This is a picture towards the tail looking in from the floor hatch.



Right waist gunner station, from the same hatch.



The B-25's left engine nacelle.

The star of the show. One of the most known aircraft in history, the B-17. I could only run through this aircraft once, because the line was so long it took upwards of 10 minutes to get on it.



The B-17's outer right engine.





Standing beneath the nose compartment getting a shot of the turret and Norden bombsight.







Trying to get a photo inside the tail gun compartment, which was again, not accessible.





The B-17 is entered by a hatch beneath the cockpit.



The nose compartment.



Navigator's station.



Cockpit shot standing from the crawlspace between the pilot's/co-pilot's seats.



Throttle assembly and instrument panel.



Looking up into the dorsal turret from the crawlspace.






Looking out the cockpit's left window.



Inside the dorsal turret.



Where I had been standing moments before.



The bomb bay.



This photo is to give you an idea of the catwalk. Which was only the width of a foot. I can only imagine what it must been like to manually open the doors if they malfunctioned.



Radio room from the bomb bay.



Radio station.



The B-17's ball turret.



Good shot of "Ma Deuce".



This is as far back into the waist as you could go. The tail compartment was closed off by some kind of pin up sheet. Also note the tailwheel assembly.



An unknown device in the compartment. I should have asked about it. It was right behind the left waist gun.

Nice pics. It seems like the waist guns have an awfully small field of fire.

Maybe it's something along the lines of an APU?

Awesome pics. Shame you couldn't go in the nose sections.

[R_H] wrote:Maybe it's something along the lines of an APU?

Looks like it. Most aircraft have it near the tail section IIRC.

Excellent photos. I'm amazed you got as much access as you did! This looks like the same tour of these three aircraft that were in my area a month or two ago, but I couldn't make it. Now I really regret not being able to go.

Awesome pics...lots of uh..."Homo's" on the B-24...

It's funny to note that despite the B-17 being the largest of the aircraft, it was quite easily the least spacious. Getting around in that aircraft was a pain, the cockpit was the biggest hurdle. The B-24 and 25 on the other hand were like hotel rooms in comparison. The B-24's waist was so spacious you could hold your arms up and barely be able to touch the ceiling.

Though it should be noted that the B-17 appears to have the most mass, it is very long. The B-24 on the other hand is shorter, but much taller.

CaptHawkeye wrote:It's funny to note that despite the B-17 being the largest of the aircraft, it was quite easily the least spacious. Getting around in that aircraft was a pain, the cockpit was the biggest hurdle. The B-24 and 25 on the other hand were like hotel rooms in comparison. The B-24's waist was so spacious you could hold your arms up and barely be able to touch the ceiling.

Though it should be noted that the B-17 appears to have the most mass, it is very long. The B-24 on the other hand is shorter, but much taller.

Don't forget, when those aircraft were used operationally, each crewman had on a bulky flight suit, parachute (except for the ball turret gunner--there was no room for the 'chute), boots and gloves. They were hooked up to oxygen and at times had to wear flak helmets and jackets. Just imagine trying to move around the confines of those aircraft with that gear on!

Incidentally, I once read something, somewhere, that B-17 crews referred to the B-24 as "the crate that ours came in."

As another aside, I especially like the B-25. It's a beautiful aircraft. Unfortunately, “Tondeleyo" above is missing its upper turret, which I think adds to the B-25's appeal. But it is still a gorgeous machine.

Oh, and CaptHawkeye:

Starting with my personal favorite, the B-24 Liberator.

You might be interested to know that this B-24 has worn different paint schemes over the years. One of the most spectacular was this incarnation as "The Dragon And His Tail":

I know that. The guys at the show were eager to tell everyone. It's still the one and only B-24 Liberator still flying. Their are people who think the 13+ B-17s still flying today have got it hard.

CaptHawkeye wrote:I know that. The guys at the show were eager to tell everyone. It's still the one and only B-24 Liberator still flying. Their are people who think the 13+ B-17s still flying today have got it hard.

Heh, I bet! There are about 40 airworthy B-25s, I believe. It's quite impressive that there are as many of these aircraft still flying as there are, inclusive.

I've seen the single flyable LB-30 (an early B-24 used as a cargo/VIP transport conversion) in person, but not the B-24 you saw.



It's armed with a single weapon in the nose and has incredible artwork on both sides.

Addendum/Correction:

I just read that "Diamond 'Lil'" was repainted in May 2007 and now seems to be carrying a few extra weapons in the waist positions as you can see in the picture at this link. The picture I took above was from June 2004.

More information available here.

<object width="550" height="309"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id= ... llscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id= ... llscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="550" height="309"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/2010979">Air show at Beverly Airport</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user847859">Mark Lovett</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

You can't use HTML tags on a BBcode board.

Looks like the dummy tail guns for the B-25 are welded copper pipes!

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2010979
"Air show at Beverly Airport from Mark Lovett"

This is nosho's video post for anyone who wanted to see it. It looks to be a video walkaround of 44-44052 at an airshow - streaming HD for anyone with bandwidth limitations.

I last saw the Collings ships eight years ago, back when 44-44052 was still "Dragon and His Tail" to starboard and "All-American" to port.

B-17 44-83575, former nuclear test object:








(Click for bigger)







B-24 44-44052: