Famous weapons in WW2

[Mike Abberton]

The B-24 had better performance characteristics as a bomber (better range, bigger payload, etc.) than the B-17, but it was a more fragile airplane. The high wing design meant a nice big airframe to hold stuff, but it was a structurally weaker design than the low-wing B-17.

Not sure about flying characteristics, though. I've heard that the huge single tail of the B-17 made it "interesting" to fly in a cross-wind (watch the takeoff scenes in the remake of "Memphis Belle" and watch the B-17s yaw when they leave the ground), but it obviously could fly with a huge amount of damage, which implies it had power and lift to spare (without bombs on board at least).

Mike