Mailing List lml@lancaironline.net Message #41118
From: Walter Atkinson <walter@advancedpilot.com>
Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net>
Subject: Re: [LML] Re: F8F vx P-51 (was: Thielert Diesel Centurion 4.0)
Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:17:03 -0400
To: <lml@lancaironline.net>

On Apr 4, 2007, at 10:54 AM, H & J Johnson wrote:

the B-17 was listed as capable of lifting

17,600lbs of bombs 




You may want to check on that number.  Not with full fuel.  My B-17 POH indicates that that's high.  However if the Mosquito had a payload of 4000 (don't know anything about that one), that was still considerably less than the payload of the B-17G which is listed as 6000 pounds with full fuel.  If they could leave fuel behind on a short mission, I think they could "lift" as much as 10,200 pounds--IF it fit on the bomb racks. <g>  That's what I think you were referring to.

Based on my B-24 POH, it carried more payload than either--they carried 8000 pounds on max range missions and as much as 12,000 pounds on shorter ones.  That was the load-hauler that stopped the German production--the press the B-17 got notwithstanding.  Faster, longer, more payload.  What you hear about the B-124 not being able to take punishment is not supported by the data.  The B-17 and B-24 lost about the same PERCENTAGE of combat-mission aircraft.  The fact that there were more than twice as many B-24s produced makes the raw numbers look bad.

As a Luftwaffe FW-190 ACE told me, "I'd radder attack zee B-24s.  Even though zere guns vere better placed to shoot me, they vere lower and vee didn't have to climb as high to get zem!  Of course, once zee P-51s came, the zest was gone from attacking eizer one."

Walter
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