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 |