Comments on: Fourth Street & William

By: Bear

Bear — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 20:46:27 +0000

Still, it’s interesting that the pictures of the Yankee Lady show her to have a natural metal exterior. The bomber that I saw was painted Olive Drab Green. Did they recently repaint her?

By: Bear

Bear — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 20:10:55 +0000

Thanks for the corrections and information. Yeah, when you hear those engines once, you know them for sure, every time you hear them again. I couldn’t recall if it had the split tail or the single tail, so I figured it was the B24.

I really must get down to the Yankee Air museum and check it out.

I will hit up the facebook fan page next time I log in. It’s still a pretty awesome sight and you have to wonder how folks viewed it back in the day when they flew in formation over the countryside.

I once saw a B52 take off in California years ago, and it amazed me how huge it was.

Anyways, thanks for all the information, I’ve enjoyed reading this thread a lot

By: Tom Brandt

Tom Brandt — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:15:36 +0000

Another way to tell the two planes apart is that the B-25 has two engines and a split tail (two vertical stabilizers) [photo], while the B-17 has four engines and a single tail [photo].

By: YankeeGal

YankeeGal — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:14:28 +0000

She’s a beauty—!
Unfortunately, there’s only one flyable B24 here in US from what I understand, but the Yankee would love to have one!
Did you know that the Yankee Lady (B17) has her own facebook page?
[link]
Please take some shots and upload them…or let everyone know when she’s in your area!
Thanks!

By: George Hammond

George Hammond — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:53:28 +0000

Bear, if the plane you saw had four engines, it was the Yankee Lady, a B-17. The Yankee Air Museum has two flying bombers, a B-17 and a B-25. The B-25 only has two engines. They don't have a B-24, at least not flying, even though that's the plane was made at the Willow Run plant. They also have a C-47 Skytrain transport in flying condition, and are working on a single-engine Stinson Reliant V-77 utility aircraft. [link]

By: Marvin Face

Marvin Face — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:08:39 +0000

Watched the Yankee Warrior take off today from Willow Run around 4pm. Those engines are awesome!

By: Tom Brandt

Tom Brandt — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:02:32 +0000

They are flying it today as well. If flew past my house maybe 20 minutes. Once you hear them, you know the sound of those engines anywhere.

By: Bear

Bear — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:44:14 +0000

The B24 was a heavy bomber, whereas the B25D Mitchell was a medium bomber.

By: Bear

Bear — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:40:18 +0000

By Golly, you are right. I thought at first it was a B24 Liberator also. But I looked up the Willow Run vintage bomber and it said it was a B25D Mitchell! I just double-checked and realized that the Mitchell had two engines, while the B24 Liberator had four engines. This craft definitely had four engines. A huge, lumbering old bomber that I'd read many stories about and the men who flew them as well! GOOD CALL! I knew that Willow Run constructed the B24's during WWII, but I thought that they had a Mitchell. [photo]

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:05:20 +0000

The wife and I saw it too. I only saw it for a split second and guessed it to be a B24 on its way to Willow Run. Almost right. What are the differences between the two? Wasn’t one for land and one for sea, with a difference in the rear tail or something like that?

Pretty neat!