Top 5 US bombers of all time

I would put the B-24 Liberator in the #2 spot just ahead of the B-17.

There were more 24's built and flown than 17's.

I would add as well the B-26.
Once they got it's handling problems under control with better training and larger wings it was quite an airplane.

I think too that the B1 will catch up in the engine dept.
Improvements are always being made there.

There are more than a few good candidates from the Vietnam war, but the F4 Phantom has to be the best.
My wife's cousin flew these and had a lot of great stories about them.

If you ever drive Highway 99 north of Bakersfield and south of Fresno look for the Tulare airport that's about halfway in between the two towns.
Look to the east from the highway and you'll see an F4 as well as a B-17 parked there.
Quite a contrast and I'll bet you'll find the F4 is bigger than you thought as well as the B-17 is smaller than you thought.


As a small fwiw, I've seen the coastal patrol version of the B-24 land and get stopped in a little more than 3000' of a 5500' runway.
It looked like it could have been stopped in 2000' if it was an emergency, but that's just the view from a guy who fly's single engine pee-dinkers.

Far as the B-17's go, they used to fly one in and out of the short (2000' I believe) Indian Dunes dirt strip just west of Magic Mountain park near I-5 and Hwy 126 in SoCal.
Baa Baa Black Sheep was filmed there and it was cool to stop by after graveyard shift and watch the WW2 warbirds and slightly revamped AT6's fly as Zero's.

The 17 is known for it's high lift capabilities and when you consider the one that was doing the filming was probably stripped of most of the wartime necessities making for a lighter plane it was probably like dropping into the strip like a Cessna 150 for an experienced multi-engine pilot.

Upon further review, I have come to the conclusion that it was wrong not to include the B-29 Superfortress in my list. I must admit that my knowledge of this plane was limited. After reading several of your replies, i did some research. This was a truly innovative airfame. Also the fact that it was the 1st and only plane to drop a "nuclear" weapon in anger makes it extemely significant.

The Top 5 US bombers should be the ones that have had the greatest impact on warfare. Here is my list:

1. B-2 Spirit: With its cutting edge technology, and radar evading capibilities, the B-2 has changed bombing forever. In the words of one air force general "We used to talk about how many planes we needed to distroy a target! Now, with the B-2, we talk about how many Targets we can distroy with one plane."

2. B-29 Superfortress: The B-29 was cutting edge for it's time. Also, the B-29 brought the age of nuclear weapons to the world. If that didn't impact war, nothing did.

3. B-52 Stratofortress: brough in the age of adaptability and truely global range.

4. B-17 Flying Fortress: Set new standards for defensive weapons and armor.

5. ?

I could only think of four bombers that I feel really changed the way bombing is done.

Tim

Originally posted by ghost
The Top 5 US bombers should be the ones that have had the greatest impact on warfare. Here is my list:

1. B-2 Spirit: With its cutting edge technology, and radar evading capibilities, the B-2 has changed bombing forever. In the words of one air force general "We used to talk about how many planes we needed to distroy a target! Now, with the B-2, we talk about how many Targets we can distroy with one plane."

2. B-29 Superfortress: The B-29 was cutting edge for it's time. Also, the B-29 brought the age of nuclear weapons to the world. If that didn't impact war, nothing did.

3. B-52 Stratofortress: brough in the age of adaptability and truely global range.

4. B-17 Flying Fortress: Set new standards for defensive weapons and armor.

5. ?

I could only think of four bombers that I feel really changed the way bombing is done.

Tim

I like your list, but the only things I'd do would be to change the order a little, revise one reason and add a fifth bomber.

I'd put the B-17 first and change the reason to being it's role in history. The defensive armament and armour should't be the reason for its being included in this list. Losses of B-17s over Germany proved the need for fighter escorts.

My second would be the B-29 for exactly the reason that you give.

Third would be the B-2 again for exactly your reason.

Fourth would of course be the B-52, again the same reasons that you give.

My fifth would be the B-25 Mitchell. Its role in the Doolittle raid in 1942 not withstanding, my primary reason would be its use in the South Pacific as an attack aircraft. If you think about it certain versions of the B-25 could be considered the father of the A-10. (think 6 .50 cal machine guns and a 75 mm cannon in the nose)

Originally posted by Browno


The Convair B-58 Hustler would be a great plane to fly for the pilot but for his other 2 mates it would be a burden(due to claustrophobia/lack of daylight). Being supersonic and having fighter style cockpits and size , I would compare this with the Avro Arrow although it is a bomber. Was the B-58 replaced by the F-111?.
[edit on 26-11-2005 by Browno]

AVRO ARROW! My personal favorite. I think the B-58 was replaced more by the B-1... A supersonic, tactical bomber. The F-111 was a fighter/bomber, but I don't thing the Hustler had any AA capability.

I first need to mention that I am choosing three American bombers not because the they were the first (I suppose the Sikorsky "Ilya Murometz" was the first heavy bomber) or the most advanced for its time (again, Sikorsky's "Ilya Murometz"), but these three fought wars and usually won them.

The B-17 pounded the Third Reich into submission and beat Hitler. The Lanc was a great plane, but there simply weren't as many of them.

The B-29 led us to victory in our first (please, God, let it be our last!) nuclear war, destroyed Tojo's thugs, and showed that the United States could project power globally.

The B-52 flew and fought successfully in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. If you want tons of ordnance right here, the Buff is your ticket, and has been for fifty years, and will continue to be after I'm dead.

I can't see any plane, American or any other country's, which did more to prosecute a war successfully than the three mentioned above.

I am trying to research which company actually designed and built those planes; when I find out, I will buy a lot of stock in it. I suggest that all of you do so as well.

Originally posted by Darkpr0
[I think the B-58 was replaced more by the B-1... A supersonic, tactical bomber. The F-111 was a fighter/bomber, but I don't thing the Hustler had any AA capability.

The B-58 was retired by 1970 but the B-1 didn't come along until the 1980's (B-1A flew in 1974 but was never produced) The operational replacement for the B-58 was the FB-111, a modified strategic bomber version of the F-111. The F-111 had no air to air capability whatsoever, it was strictly a ground attack /strike aircraft. The Naval F-111B was supposed to be a fighter but was a failure and remained a prototype.


OTS, don't worry about choosing American bombers, that's what the thread is about. Thats also the only reason the B-17 qualifies over the Lancaster

[edit on 2-12-2005 by waynos]

That was an extreme machine. Yah, too bad it got killed. I liked the fact that Robert MacNamara was shocked when the Air Force what to restart production.
It got points in my book since, as fragile as it looks, it took to low level flight with ease. I've seen the footage. WOW.

If the B-58 had a Vulcan gun at the front and A2A missiles(Air to air missiles) this thing could be an interceptor as well as a Bomber. I dont know why the US government wanted this bomber for only a few years in service.

Shame to see this supersonic bomber short lived. I probably would rather have it than the Lancer. I sort of like the sneaky crew compartments and the ejector seats. Consolidated Vultee which became Convair made some Aircraft, Sad fact they closed down.

If the B-58 was in service now, it may have clearer glass canopys for the two rear crew members and maybe a Vulcan gun for front self defence

It also must have been more manouverable for a bomber due to its speed and size so it would be too hard to shoot down.

The B-17 and the B-29 was a classic too, I actually have been inside a B-17 at the airshow in RAF Valley back in August 1994 when i was a kid. It had the 'Menphis Belle' logo painted on the front. I heard it was the exact one used in the film. Of course it wasnt the original one that bombed germany but it was possibly used for making of the film deffo.

I was on the beach in wales the day before the airshow. I looked to my left and i actually seen the B-17 and i was AMAZED!. I was shouting to my dad 'Look! look!, Its Memphis Belle!!!'. I just could not believe it, I will always remember that day and moment when i saw it.

Who owns the B-17 that was in the RAF Valley airshow

Anyone?


[edit on 5-12-2005 by Browno]

There was a proposal to make a twin engined Interceptor version of the B-58 to make use of the weapons system of the cancelled F-107, yet another interesting 'might have been'.

The Top 5 US bombers should be the ones that have had the greatest impact on warfare. Here is my new list (Note: A few updates):

1. B-17 Flying Fortress:This bomber made history in WW2. Among bombers the B-17 is one of the legends of World War 2.

2. B-29 Superfortress: The B-29 was cutting edge for it's time. Also, the B-29 brought the age of nuclear weapons to the world. If that didn't impact war, nothing did.

3. B-2 Spirit: With its cutting edge technology, and radar evading capibilities, the B-2 has changed bombing forever. In the words of one air force general "We used to talk about how many planes we needed to distroy a target! Now, with the B-2, we talk about how many Targets we can distroy with one plane."

4. B-52 Stratofortress: brough in the age of adaptability and truely global range.

5. B-25 Mitchell: The famous Dolittle raders. Open the door for the US war in the Pacific. Also sever as a key attack-bomber in the Pacific.


I revised my list by adding the B-25 and changing the order. Thanks for the suggestion JIMC5499. I knew the list was missing something, but I wasn't sure what.

Tim

[edit on 6-12-2005 by ghost]

Originally posted by ghost
I revised my list by adding the B-25 and changing the order. Thanks for the suggestion JIMC5499. I knew the list was missing something, but I wasn't sure what.

Ahem.... From post above

1) B-29: Brought the war right to the home islands and was for its time the most advanced bomber the world had ever seen.

2) B-17: Along with the Lancasters won the war of city busting in the European theatre and bombed Nazi Germany into submission

3) B-52: The BUFF. Big Ugle Fat .......... Fought in Vietnam, DS I, Bosnia, Afganistan, and DSII. Slow but carries alot and over a great distance, it formed the backbone of SAC during the cold war flying numerous CHROME DOME missions.

4) B-25B Mitchell: Lt. Col. J.D. Doolittle and his selected airmen flew off of the carrier U.S.S. Hornet in April of 1942 to hit Tokyo. While the damage was little, it was a huge morale booster and a wakeup call to the Japanes that the US was in the war to win.

5) B-2: Has a combat record and is the most sophisticated plane yet to fly. Stealth, able to stage from the CONUS, it is quite an impressive platform.