Just wondering which heavy bomber everyone thinks was the best the Liberator the B-29 or the Lancaster? (:-) (:-) (:-) (:-) (:-) (:-)

what about the b-17?
what do you mean by the best? if you're talking about bomb load, the b29 can carry more bombs, followed by the lancster, b24 and b17.

Hands down, has to be the Lancaster (IMHO)

I am partial to the B-24's.

This is not a slight against the B-17 in my opinion it was more of a medium bomber due to the bomb load .Beleive me i can't even imagine the courage that it took for these crews to fly mission after mission thinking that today could be the day they don't make it back to base. (:-) (:-) (:-) (:-) (:-) (:-)

Lancaster - perhaps the B29 could carry more actual weight of bombs but it couldn't have carried the Tallboy or Grand Slam. The pilot couldn't do aerobatics in it either! I've heard the Lanc described as a "4-engined Spitfire", and no heavy could rate higher than that!

What you also need to bear in mind is that the Lanc was designed for night ops and the B17's and B24's were used during the day so perhaps the Lanc was the best Heavy night bomber and you then need to decide which is the best day bomber out of the B17 and B24.
Just my 2¢ worth
Pete

Emotionally the B-17. Practically the B-24. But in real life, it has to be the B-29 Superfortress, the most advanced aircraft of WWII. Effective remote control gun turrets, fast, very long range, high bomb load, pressurized fuselage. Some teething problems, but that was due to being rushed into action before it was fully tested.

-Charlie

In terms of technology it has to be the B-29. It was veyr advance for its time but took from many of the lessons learnt from the other bomber designs.

In terms of importance to the allied war effort it has to be the Lancater. Despite the 8th Air Force having more B-17's it never carried the bomb loads that the Lanc did. It caused a far amount of the devastation that was wrought on germany during the combined bomber offensive.

Lanc's cos me dad flew in them,serious though it was a great bomber high payload and very aerobatic a chap in work is reading a book where they used it for low level precion bombing almost like a dive bomber

Well, I will suggest either the B-26 or Mosquito for sheer beauty....nice loking aircraft.
DJ (:-)

Best heavy bomber? the Lancaster of course. Lancasters dropped 2/3 of all tonnage of bombs dropped in the ETO.
Mal

Well, it really would depend on the criteria. Bomb load? Length of mission? Manuverability? Overall, I would have to vote for the B-29 Superfortress.

the B-29 is was much more advanced than than Lancaster...though the Lancaster's bomb raids were amazingly successfull and there is a special place in the history of aviation saved for those bomb raids

The initial temptation is to say the Lancaster or for that matter the B-17.

However, it's a bit like comparing apples to oranges...

The B-17 was developed for a different 'philosophy' - daylight bombing in large, interlinked defensive formations.The Lancaster was part of a strategy for night bombing therefore they were both succesful in their respective (and very different fields).

Due to its technological sophistication, the B29 has to be the most influential aircraft of WW2 being the progenitor of an entire 'family' of aircraft which has culminated in the (continued) development of the B52.

Therefore, (as usua)l the question boils down to 'horses for courses'...Jim

Do I detect a slight 'sneering' attitude in one of the previous posts? It's the Stirling by the way, not the 'Sterling' ...Jim

Having flown in the only B-24 still able to fly...I have to throw my vote towards the B-24. Nothing quite like flying for an hour and a half to the Pensacola Naval Air Station from central Alabama one afternoon with a B-17 off our wing as a companion...

Hotlink to the Collings Foundation, owners of the bomber, which is about to once again change the paint sceme on this beautiful lady...
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/tour_b-24j.htm

It was one helava flight, as my crew members had not flown in nearly 50 years, on the Consolidated B-24J Liberator..

So, thats my vote.

Funny how some Americans never seem to be able to credit any other achievements/equipment than their own... But then they did win the war... Even if they always turn up late for them...

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Well maybe a few other countries helped...

Lancaster the best heavy bomber... cos it aint American...

RedBaron is that REALLY a helpful addition to what was an interesting thread?..Jim

My Dear Friends--- we stick to the topic on this Forum. I am going to shut down what is a superb discussion if we cannot be more civil. No call for nationality name calling. If this is your sense of humor, it is easily misunderstood and not in keeping with established policies. Get back to speaking about the Lancaster. Someone post a photos of this uniques aircraft. Get back to the topic.
DJ

ok....i re-edited...my mistake...there ya go mate...

wow...great looking plane...My mum was a WAFF under the RAF and served as a plotter in the during part of the war... her best friend was a radio operator during the dam busting campaign and was on air with her boyfriend(a pilot) when his plane crashed during the raid. One of mom's many stories....



she's now in her eighties and even though she has dementia, still recalls those years with fond memories.

Wow, I am out to lunch here. Glad you posted the picture. I thought a Lancaster was the bomber that is featured in the Dam Busters. The posted photo just does not look like the aircraft I envisioned. Does someone have a name and type aircraft that participated in that raid?
thanks
DJ

well said DJ,

the picture kev posted is infact a halifax, and you are correct about the dambusters

the three main British ww2 heavy bombers were

lancaster



the halifax



the stirling



regards

joe

Sorry Tom, what the hell is that supposed to mean
If as an American you can think that the B-29 was the best, then surely it makes sense for me as a Briton
to think that the Lancaster was the best. We have had this discusion several times, my answer is and always will be the same and I could give you a million reasons why. Living in a village has nothing to do with it.


The Lancaster did infact carry out the raids on the dams. They were modified to take the bouncing bombs. Something I don't think even the great B-29 could have done :-)
Mal

[quote]

Sorry Tom, what the hell is that supposed to mean
If as an American you can think that the B-29 was the best, then surely it makes sense for me as a Briton
to think that the Lancaster was the best. We have had this discusion several times, my answer is and always will be the same and I could give you a million reasons why. Living in a village has nothing to do with it.
[quote]
Mal-- we all agreed to drop this line and return to the subject at hand.
DJ