What was the best Heavy bomber in WWII

[Daryl Hunt]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

 

[fncceo]

How is the B-29 not on that list?

P.S. It's effective.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

I chose the B-24. It was numerous enough and had the range and bomb load far superior to the B-17. It was used in all theaters including long range missions in the Pacific. Had the B-29 not have been finished, this would be the bomber fire bombing Japan.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

How is the B-29 not on that list?

P.S. It's effective.

Is that a vote for the B-29? I missed it completely when doing the original list. There were tons of bombers to go through to come up with this list. I added the B-29 to the list. If you want, you can cast your vote for it. The list runs 7 days.

 

[fncceo]

How is the B-29 not on that list?

P.S. It's effective.

Is that a vote for the B-29?

Yes ... a write-in.

 

[westwall]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

The B-29 was so good even the British used it when they were working on the Canberra series of bombers. They called it the "Washington".

 

[Daryl Hunt]

How is the B-29 not on that list?

P.S. It's effective.

Is that a vote for the B-29?

Yes ... a write-in.

The B-29 has been added. Just use the left mouse button. It's easy to do.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

The B-29 was so good even the British used it when they were working on the Canberra series of bombers. They called it the "Washington".

The Brits took possession of War Surplus B-29s. Most of them were given back to the USA in 1952. But a handful were kept around in their RB roles. Until the Comet, Britain didn't have anything to replace the RB-29 until 1957.

 

[westwall]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

The B-29 was so good even the British used it when they were working on the Canberra series of bombers. They called it the "Washington".

The Brits took possession of War Surplus B-29s. Most of them were given back to the USA in 1952. But a handful were kept around in their RB roles. Until the Comet, Britain didn't have anything to replace the RB-29 until 1957.

Yep. As they were transitioning to an all jet powered fleet of aircraft they realized they still need a strategic weapon so took on a couple of squadrons of B-29s. As the Canberra made it to the units the 29's were sent back to the US.

 

[fncceo]

The Hydra Flying Wing?

 

[WheelieAddict]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

Voted for the B-24, certainly not the best of the war yet a very effective workhorse that was mass produced right away and did tons of damage.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

The B-29 was so good even the British used it when they were working on the Canberra series of bombers. They called it the "Washington".

The Brits took possession of War Surplus B-29s. Most of them were given back to the USA in 1952. But a handful were kept around in their RB roles. Until the Comet, Britain didn't have anything to replace the RB-29 until 1957.

Yep. As they were transitioning to an all jet powered fleet of aircraft they realized they still need a strategic weapon so took on a couple of squadrons of B-29s. As the Canberra made it to the units the 29's were sent back to the US.

But kept the RBs until they were flying coffins due to extreme fatigue. The RBs were scrapped. For 2 months, they had no RBs until the Comets arrived.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

Voted for the B-24, certainly not the best of the war yet a very effective workhorse that was mass produced right away and did tons of damage.

Obviously, I agree. But it will never win the Sexiest prize. Like the German and British Heavies, it was butt ugly.

 

[westwall]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

The B-29 was so good even the British used it when they were working on the Canberra series of bombers. They called it the "Washington".

The Brits took possession of War Surplus B-29s. Most of them were given back to the USA in 1952. But a handful were kept around in their RB roles. Until the Comet, Britain didn't have anything to replace the RB-29 until 1957.

Yep. As they were transitioning to an all jet powered fleet of aircraft they realized they still need a strategic weapon so took on a couple of squadrons of B-29s. As the Canberra made it to the units the 29's were sent back to the US.

But kept the RBs until they were flying coffins due to extreme fatigue. The RBs were scrapped. For 2 months, they had no RBs until the Comets arrived.

Are you sure about the Comet? The RAF used a few of the Comet 2's after the disasters to the two Comet 1's. I know that the RCAF modified a couple of their transport aircraft with some ELINT gear, but it wasn't a standard fit as far as I know.

 

[westwall]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

Voted for the B-24, certainly not the best of the war yet a very effective workhorse that was mass produced right away and did tons of damage.

Obviously, I agree. But it will never win the Sexiest prize. Like the German and British Heavies, it was butt ugly.

Actually I quite like the looks of the Liberator! They were superior to the Fort in every respect save operational ceiling. The Lanc too is a pretty airplane!

 

[Bleipriester]

Of course, the He 177 was another special German design to maximize the efficiency. Two engines were combined to one resulting in better agility and performance than a 4-engined plane would have. The 177 delivered its payload from high altitudes and then went over to a steady descent where it reached velocities the allied fighters could not keep up with. However, it fails to be the best WWII bomber due to its cooling problem. The engines went hot and even could catch fire. The issue was never solved, it has been ignored.

 

[Syriusly]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

There is no comparison- its the B-29.

Now if the poll was which was the most important heavy bomber of WW2- that would be a different answer- but the B-29 was the finest prop heavy bomber of the war.

 

[westwall]

Of course, the He 177 was another special German design to maximize the efficiency. Two engines were combined to one resulting in better agility and performance than a 4-engined plane would have. The 177 delivered its payload from high altitudes and then went over to a steady descent where it reached velocities the allied fighters could not keep up with. However, it fails to be the best WWII bomber due to its cooling problem. The engines went hot and even could catch fire. The issue was never solved, it has been ignored.

Structurally the German aircraft didn't hold a candle to the Allied bombers. It is a interesting conundrum, they had some very interesting ideas, and were willing to push the envelope in many ways, but they never really advanced the basic airframe.

Below is but one example of their radical thinking.

 

[westwall]

Now, this should get all kinds of opinions. There are so many to choose from . Sorry, folks it has to have been in service and used in quantity. Keep in mind the time frames these bombers were used. Many of these were used in the Meat Grinder days while a couple came late in the war.

As one person noted, I mistakenly left off the B-29. Cast your votes for it as it's added now.

There is no comparison- its the B-29.

Now if the poll was which was the most important heavy bomber of WW2- that would be a different answer- but the B-29 was the finest prop heavy bomber of the war.

The '29 would win most important as well IMO.

 

[Bleipriester]

Of course, the He 177 was another special German design to maximize the efficiency. Two engines were combined to one resulting in better agility and performance than a 4-engined plane would have. The 177 delivered its payload from high altitudes and then went over to a steady descent where it reached velocities the allied fighters could not keep up with. However, it fails to be the best WWII bomber due to its cooling problem. The engines went hot and even could catch fire. The issue was never solved, it has been ignored.

Structurally the German aircraft didn't hold a candle to the Allied bombers. It is a interesting conundrum, they had some very interesting ideas, and were willing to push the envelope in many ways, but they never really advanced the basic airframe.

Below is but one example of their radical thinking.

This is an excellent recon plane. Its asymmetric design does not lead to bad behavior.