<VV> B-24 Assembly

[James P. Rice]

All:  Several things of interest here.  When the war dept went to H.Ford his
own self, they told him how to build the B-24.  He said no.  Being desperate
for aircraft, the Fed's finally agreed to let Ford do it his way, which was
to set up a assembly line process with strict quality controls.  Hence the
one per hour, which was faster than anybody else was or could do it.
According to what I think I remember reading, all his B-24's flew alike:
straight and true, unlike those made by others, including the original
designer/manufacturer, which was Consolidated Aircraft if I remember right.

Again. if I remember correctly, there were more B-24's made than any other
US built aircraft.  While the B-17 got all the glory over Europe, the B-24
crews did most of the work.  And suffered the most losses.

As a side note, my 6th grade teacher was in the 8th AF.  He said the B-24
flew like a brick with a couple engines out, while the B-17 glided much
better on minimum power.  So the crews understandably loved the B-17's.  Mr.
Joseph Fink was a radio operator on a B-17 and sole survivor when his
aircraft was shot done my friendly fire.  Which may be the greatest
oxymoron's ever uttered in any language.  I'm suspect he has departed this
life as we know it by now, as have most of his generation, but he made a
difference in my life.  RIP, Mr Fink.

Lastly, my guess few of us know this.  According to Don Miller in his book
"Masters of the Sky", the 8th Air Force suffered more casualities in WWII
than the combined totals of the US Navy and Marine Corp.

Historically Yours,
			James Rice