A superb historical WWII video, with excellent focus on the B-24, and, especially, how to deal with a damaged B-24 : really awesome ! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv6D8_p7ozw
Good stuff!! While the 24 was certainly a tough ole bird, I have often wondered why there were more B-24's produced during the big war than the B-17? The only answer I can come up with is because it was tricycle geared landing gear system and because it would carry 2,000 lbs more bombs. Maybe it was because the 24 was faster and the ones who make those decisions felt like it would be better for the fatigue factor on crews who flew them. I am sure it was easier to train a pilot on the 24 than the 17 because of the the nose wheel. I suspect that all of these answers had something to do with that, plus the political pressure back home may have played a part.
The vice-president of one of the companies I did some flying for, flew 24's and his comment to me one day was just this: "worst flying aircraft he ever flew in his life". I don't know about that, all I know is, they must have been a handful as I had comments from other pilots who flew it during the big war, pretty much the same! I think maybe the fact that the landing gear tires on the mains and nose wheel were larger made it easier to fly from ill-prepared landing strips. I guess on paper, it was the easier choice between it and the B-17. The B-17 had better short field takeoff and landing ability than the 24, and I guess the 17 was a tougher aircraft of the two, as time and again the 17 got crews home with battle damage that would stop a 24! Of course, I realize that will bring up an argument, but just basing my comment on damage reports and etc from the big war!
We have a player in this game who has flown both aircraft and it would interesting to see his comment on the two aircraft.
to all who flew the 24 and the 17's as they had to have nerves of steel at times.
Just think, a soda fountain clerk at a local drug store one day and 6 months later, crawling into a b-24 for a mission over a foreign country with no radar systems to help you, hostile aircraft waiting in the skies to shoot you down and kill you, and you just heard the day before, of the 25 missions you have to fly before returning stateside, the average life expectancy of you as a bomber pilot in the early years of the war was 12 missions and you had already flown 11! Maybe these guys were the "greatest" generation of citizens of the U.S.
to all of them!!
