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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Squadrons United States 4th Fighter Group to 78th Fighter Group  64th Bomb Squadron |
| 64th Bomb Squadron Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
The Dragon and his Tail by Stan Stokes. The only flyable B-24 Liberator aircraft in the world, serial no. 44-44052 is the aircraft owned and operated by the Collings Foundation, and named after The Dragon and His Tail, a lavishly decorated B-24 that flew in the Pacific during WW II. The B-24 did not get the attention or fame of the B-17 either during or after the War. With longer range and bigger bomb loads than the B-17 the B-24s were generally based far from London. As a result, most war correspondents looked for stories at the B-17 fields and avoided the long treks to the B-24 fields. The B-17 also looked more modern and more powerful, although this was not an accurate assessment. The B-24 that has been restored by the Collings Foundation was built in August 1944 by Consolidated Aircraft at the companys huge Ft. Worth assembly plant. Originally delivered to the USAAF the aircraft was shortly transferred to the Royal Air Force. Under British Flag the plane saw combat service in the Pacific in operations ranging from anti-shipping to bombing, to re-supply. At Wars end she was abandoned to an aircraft graveyard in Khanpur, India. In 1948 the aircraft was restored by the Indian Air Force and it saw service until 1968. She sat abandoned in India until 1981 when famed British aircraft collector, Doug Arnold, purchased her and had her disassembled for shipment back to England. She was sold in 1984 in as is condition to the Collings Foundation and was returned to America in 1984. Restoration commenced in 1985 with General Dynamics acting as a major sponsor of the restoration. More than 420,000 rivets were replaced during the restoration that involved rebuilding more than 80% of the aircraft's parts. The completed B-24 was originally named All American in honor of an Army Air Force B-24 of the same name. The original All American shot down fourteen enemy fighters in a raid over Germany on July 25, 1944. That aircraft was lost on a combat mission when it was shot down over Yugoslavia in October of 1944. In 1998 the Collings Foundation renamed its B-24 The Dragon and its Tail to honor an aircraft than served with the 64th Bomb Squadron of the 43rd Bomb Group in the Pacific. The original Dragon survived the War, and was the last B-24 scrapped in Arizona. In Stan Stokes marvelous painting the original Dragon is depicted during a typical anti-shipping mission. |
| 64th Bomb Squadron Aircraft details |
 Flying Fortress Built : 12677 | Flying Fortress In the mid-1930s engineers at Boeing suggested the possibility of designing a modern long-range monoplane bomber to the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1934 the USAAC issued Circular 35-26 that outlined specifications for a new bomber that was to have a minimum payload of 2000 pounds, a cruising speed in excess of 200-MPH, and a range of at least 2000 miles. Boeing produced a prototype at its own expense, the model 299, which first flew in July of 1935. The 299 was a long-range bomber based largely on the Model 247 airliner. The Model 299 had several advanced features including an all-metal wing, an enclosed cockpit, retractable landing gear, a fully enclosed bomb bay with electrically operated doors, and cowled engines. With gun blisters glistening everywhere, a newsman covering the unveiling coined the term Flying Fortress to describe the new aircraft. After a few initial test flights the 299 flew off to Wright Field setting a speed record with an average speed of 232-mph. At Wright Field the 299 bettered its competition in almost all respects. However, an unfortunate crash of the prototype in October of 1935 resulted in the Army awarding its primary production contract to Douglas Aircraft for its DB-1 (B-18.) The Army did order 13 test models of the 299 in January 1936, and designated the new plane the Y1B-17. Early work on the B-17 was plagued by many difficulties, including the crash of the first Y1B-17 on its third flight, and nearly bankrupted the Company. Minor quantities of the B-17B, B-17C, and B-17D variants were built, and about 100 of these aircraft were in service at the time Pearl Harbor was attacked. In fact a number of unarmed B-17s flew into the War at the time of the Japanese attack. The German Blitzkrieg in Europe resulted in accelerated aircraft production in America. The B-17E was the first truly heavily armed variant and made its initial flight in September of 1941. B-17Es cost $298,000 each and more than 500 were delivered. The B-17F and B-17G were the truly mass-produced wartime versions of the Flying Fortress. More than 3,400 B-17Fs and more than 8,600 B-17Gs would be produced. The American daylight strategic bombing campaign against Germany was a major factor in the Allies winning the War in Europe. This campaign was largely flown by B-17 Flying Fortresses (12,677 built) and B-24 Liberators (18,188 built.) The B-17 bases were closer to London than those of the B-24, so B-17s received a disproportionate share of wartime publicity. The first mission in Europe with the B-17 was an Eighth Air Force flight of 12 B-17Es on August 12, 1942. Thousands more missions, with as many as 1000 aircraft on a single mission would follow over the next 2 ½ years, virtually decimating all German war making facilities and plants. The B-17 could take a lot of damage and keep on flying, and it was loved by the crews for bringing them home despite extensive battle damage. Following WW II, B-17s would see some action in Korea, and in the 1948 Israel War. There are only 14 flyable B-17s in operation today and a total of 43 complete airframes |
| 64th Bomb Squadron Pilot and aircrew signature details |
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