On paper, the B-24 was a better aircraft than the B-17. But as is the case with architecture, function alone does not determine what we remember. That is why we remember the Flying Fortress and not the Flying Boxcar.
The transcript for the episode can be found here.
If you want to learn more, here are some links to follow:
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Disney’s Der Fuehrer's Face and Victory Through Air Power
Memphis Belle (1943)
Memphis Belle (1990)
Special Thanks to:
Theodore Kirkpatrick
The Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing
John Cotter
Jeff Foltz
Nancy Kwiecien
Ole Nygren
Voice work by Michael Corley
Music by Chris Zabriskie
Logo by Julie Pizzo Wood
And as promised, here's a slideshow of B-17s and B-24s:
vintage photo of Boeing B-17
vintage photo of Consolidated B-24
vintage photo of B-17s in formation
390th Bomb Group Crew #38 (Isaac Leslie Hightower is the second from the left on the bottom row)
crash site of Hightower's B-17 (note the bent propeller resting against the wall at left)
wreckage of Hightower's B-17 (remnants of the vertical stabilizer are at left)
the "Texas Raiders" B-17 (as flown by The Commemorative Air Force)
