First thought on seeing this video was, "Man, that pilot is young." Then I realized, that was how young the pilots were who actually flew these planes in WWII.

My Dad was a B24 pilot. 8th Air Force. He was stationed on the eastern coast of England at a place called Bungay. 446th heavy bomber squadron. He flew 35 missions in the summer and fall of 1944. Never lost a man or his plane. He was awarded a DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) that he wore with proudly as an air force reservist after the war. They called their B24 "Desperate Desmond". He had alot of stories to tell. Like calling the fighter escorts "little friends" as they peeled off back to England as they ran low on fuel. Alone now, his bomber would continue on, deeper into enemy territory to places called Dresden, Berlin, Polesti, and the submarine pens at Kiel. One time they were over the target deep over Germany---black puffs of flax all around---and the bomb bay doors wouldn't open. They tried everything, but to no avail. He was carrying 2,000 pounders and he had to make a quick decision. Those babies had to go, so he dropped them right through the bomb bay doors. Bombs and doors ripped away. He laughed recalling the memory. It was a cold and windy the ride back home. They had accomplished their mission. He said his only "no bomb mission" was when he flew down the streets of Nijmegen, Holland at roof top dropping supplies in support of D-Day. Picture a line of B24s screaming down the narrow streets dropping care packages while SS men in their black uniforms fired their machine guns up at those crazy Americans. After the war he worked as an FAA air traffic controller. Lt. Col. WILLIAM D. ANDERSON. 1921-1995. Thanks Dad I'm proud of you.

During WWll my grandfather was a pilot of the B24 and pilot trainer. I remember as a boy living close to Wright Patterson AFB, my Grandfather would run outside like he was a little kid to see the planes flying over. When the airshow came to town we would sit outside and wait for the planes. The very first plane I ever sat in was the B24.Ironically the man that lived across the street from my grandfather was also a pilot of the B24. They never spoke to each other except the mailbox chatter. They lived across from each other for 40 years and neither one had a clue that they were both pilots. When my Grandfather died they put a big write up about him and all the planes he flew and the missions. That very day the man across the street came over and could barely speak holding the newspaper. His wife and my grandmother talked for hours and became friends after. Thanks for sharing this video! I truly wish my Grandfather was still alive, he would have loved this video. I stumbled across this looking at guitar stuff. Made my day and took me back to my childhood

About a thousand hours in a Liberator in the 21st century. That's amazing.

Nice to see young people flying the B-24 now just like in the 1940s wow!

My mom riveted the wings to the fuselage on the B24 at Willow RUN PLANT in Michigan. Seeing these always makes me smile. Got to go through one in Akron,Ohio back in the late 90's. Hard to believe how little room there was,built for bombs. 😁👍✌

I find it so awesome that in every one of this type of video people are remembering their fathers and grandfathers who were crew members on heavy bombers

I realize this video is over 3 years old, but I have just now discovered it and not only watched the video, but even more interesting, read all the replies. Interesting to me because my father was a B-24 crewman, and I spent several years myself flying WWII vintage aircraft. The sad part, these aircraft will continue to be kept in the air, because they are engineering works of art, but we will lose all those folks who have a direct connection, whose fathers and uncles actually flew these aircraft in combat. Those stories and memories will be lost. Sometime back in the mid 1990's, I climbed aboard a C-46 at an air show in Houston. I flew the C-46 for two years in the 1970's. The gentleman who had flow the aircraft in for that air show had flown in WWII. We talked for over an hour, in the greenhouse cockpit, on a 98 degree Houston afternoon, sharing our memories of the aircraft. I would imagine that gentleman has long since passed. Not everyone can be a writer and publish their memoirs, or even want to. But the greatest generation will soon be gone, and I wonder if we will ever see their likes again.

Great video !! My dad was a B-24 combat pilot and was shot down by AAA 88s 26 Aug 44 and became a guest of the Germans at Stalag Luft I. 77 years ago Alyssa could have been a WASP pilot flying B-24s - today she could be a combat pilot ! My dad loved the Liberator the rest of his life.

When I saw the photo, I was astonished that the "owner" would let his kids fly such a treasure...; ) Then, after watching the vid I realized that the next generation is awesome and doing incredibly cool things. Well done Captain, and what a thrill for the co-pilot. Aviation rocks !

Cpt. Donald Redding (my Great Uncle) of Fort Wayne, Indiana flew B-24s in WW2. . . and while I didn't get to hear his stories about the war directly my Grandmother shared some. I am sure it was a terrifying and troubling existence performing such a technical task upon a sea of flack while watching men he know fall from the sky daily. God bless those Men and God Bless the people that keep this living history alive. Thank you for sharing.

The crew of my Dad's (tailgunner) B-24 learned something no one ever knew before. They lost an engine on takeoff (training mission, plane not loaded with bombs). The pilot had to make a quick decision: do you try to hit the brakes and risk not stopping before the runway runs out, or do you gun the remaining engines and risk not having enough lift to get airborne? They learned it was possible for a B-24 to take off with just three engines.

My uncle was a bomber pilot in WW2. 35 missions. He didn't talk much about it but he always loved watching planes taking off and landing when we visited airports together.

My uncle was a navigator on a B-24 and, so the story went, he would chew lead pencils as a way to measure distance flown (i.e., so many pencils for so many miles flown). They had to navigate to a small island in the Pacific once and just about the time he was done chewing the number of pencils the pilot came over the intercom and said "Land in sight, good job Shane!" Now my uncle liked to tell stories to be sure but I still loved that one!

My Uncle, 1st Lt Albert F Boyhan was a B 24 L pilot. Uncle Red was KIA on Feb 7th 1945 after a successful mission in Austria. Uncle red is buried in the American cemetery in Ardennes Belgium...

my neighbor's dad was a navigator on B 24. Flew a lot of combat missions. One story they took some serious flak. A big piece blew through the side of the plane right in front of my friend's dad. he leaned forward and said to himself: "huh". A second later another large piece blew through the side of the fuselage right where he was sitting! What timing. Had he leaned one way or the other, gonzo. He also told about one mission they took heavy damage and one of the crew was shot pretty bad in the butt. They stuck his ass out the window to almost freeze him and stop the bleeding

He was working the yoke pretty good on landing 👍. Well done video. Thanks

What a great teacher and mentor. Obviously, he had control, but this is such a great video and appreciate.

My Bestman's father Was a gunner on a B24. I remember him saying he was stationed in North Africa, but I do not remember where else. He use to talk about his friends who died on missions, their plans for after the War, the girl they were going to marry, and so forth. He thought he would not survive, so he claimed to have no plans, or girl friends. I think he never got over the Irony.

My uncle Julius was a pilot of this plane and flew 35 missions. A qualified B-17 pilot he was surprised that he was assigned to the liberator after landing in Europe. He turned his lemons into lemonade and came home relatively unscathed (no milk runs). Great video. Thank you.

My Dad became both a pilot and a navigator in the RCAF, so they started training him to become an instructor. Then , the war ended. Dad was so bumbed, as he wanted to fly the Lanc! He still had enough training horror stories to tell that kept me happy on the ground!-John in Texas (USN-Desert Storm/Shield)

My grandfather destroyed some Liberators above Sopron in 1944-45 with his ME-109. ( Mauser motorkanone and two 13 mm Rheinmetall MG.) The American turret gunners were very good in general. Rest in peace every heroes! //Sopron, Hungary//

I knew a few people who were B-24 crew members in WWII. (I write "knew" as they are no longer with us). I found out a few things about that type of plane and when I met one of them (a senior engineer where I worked) I mentioned, when he mentioned about being a crew member on a B-24, that "he was braver than I thought!" Same thing Luke Skywalker said when Hans Solo mentioned he was the pilot of the Millennium Falcon. ;-)

My Dad was a sheet metal mechanic on the B24's in Italy, 456th bomb group heavy. 👍🛠

This is so encouraging to see people younger than me involved in this. Way to go guys!

my dad was a nose gunner in the Liberator...stationed in the Phillipines ready to invade Japan...then came "the bomb." he said the power of having a pair of fifty caliber machine guns in front of him coupled with seeing everything as nose gunners do was pretty amazing. the thought of invading Japan gave all his compatriots a queezy feeling. were it not for "the bomb" i just might not have had a father.

Nice job! My dad was a tail gunner in the B24 "Nobody's Baby" stationed at Attlebridge airfield England.

Great to see the Liberator still flying. My father flew 30+ combat missions in these as Flight Engineer / Top Turret Gunner in the lead crew of Sq. 712, 448 BG.

The look on your face was priceless! So happy that you had this opportunity.

I got to see that very plane up close and personal at KORH during the Wings of Freedom tour. Got to shake the hand of a WWII pilot of that aircraft right in front of it, too. I'll never forget that day. Hearing that thing on the takeoff roll made my eyes well up, thinking of all of the Greatest Generation that are no longer with us. Congrats on your flight there, Alyssa! Nice work! 👍👍

From what I've read, flying the Liberator in formation was nearly backbreaking and many young pilots ended up with knee problems working the pedals on the big twin rudders constantly

I had an uncle and a guy that I worked with who were both top turret gunners on two different B-24s what stories they did tell were on the funny sides of a bomber life. Knowing what they faced in their live by the second

My father piloted a B24 J consolidated out of Alice Springs, Au and then a base in New Guinea for 43 missions on the Philippians island shipping ports and lanes, about half were strikes, rest were reconn as they did not know the effectiveness of their strikes. Some possible trivia, it took them 60 minutes to reach altitude fully loaded, they aligned into formation behind a polka doted or checkered lead (not part of the mission). His longest mission was 15 hours. A couple of additional perhaps less well know items… the heavily praised Norden bombsight was much less accurate during actual strikes due to too many variables needing entry all at about the same time… I believe bombs were accurate to within about a 1000 ft radius.. apparently our spooks (I say this lovingly) wanted to keep attention directed away from other advantages we had for mission success (such as sheer number of planes sent). Similarly, the whole notion of eating a bunch of carrots for night vision was largely propaganda. Our guys did eat carrots, but these were linked to the whole psychology of believing in the advantage rather than the actual science. Sadly, about 1/3 of the heavies in my father’s group were lost… often with 9-10 aboard.

Gets me emotional watching these beautiful machines continue to educate

He counted 9 blades on start just like we did with the old C-118's! He REALLY had to jerk the control column on landing.

My dad was a B24 tailgunner out of Spinnazola airbase in Italy

From 1974-76 I was air service manager for US Forest Service at air tanker base in Tucson, AZ. First air tanker I worked with were PB4Y2s, the Navy version of B-24. These had single verticle stabilizers instead of two. They had also been repowered with 14 cylinder R-2600 engines rather than the 9 cylinder Wright Cyclone on the B-24 by the tanker contractor. All armaments had been removed, the bombay was filled with tanks holding 2,000 gallons of fire retardant used on wildfires. Was not allowed to fly on them, but got to taxi on one once. Watched many take off & landings, listened to many "war stories" , kept track of standby & flight hours. Sad day when one crashed on a fire one morning. Believe there are only 4 or 5 left in the world. PB stood for Patrol Bomber. Named Privateer, made by Consolidated.

Gives me a greater appreciation for what Louis Z. and "Sand Blaster" went through during WWII in the Pacific, with "Superman". I cannot even comprehend the kind of men that fought for our country in those days, I'm humbled.

My grandpa was a waist gunner in the B-24 "Puddle Jumper", WWII. It crashed in the Pacific near Saipan killing most of the crew. He made it.

One of the members of my church in Santa Ana, CA in the late 90's and early 00's was a B24 pilot in the Pacific. Humble guy, deaf as a post, and a Medal of Honor recipient. His plane was shot down over a Japanese held island and he was able to ditch about a mile off shore - just out of range of the shore batteries. He kept his crew together floating out there until after dark. A PBY came looking for them and he put two tracer rounds from his .38 revolver side arm between the front and rear wings to let them know where they were. Just before dawn a submarine surfaced and rescued them. He never trusted the standard issue Colt .45 and illegally had tracer rounds in his revolver but it saved his crew.

My son and I saw Witchcraft and other WW2 aircraft two Summers ago on Martha’s Vineyard, sadly just before we lost the B 17 to an accident Wonderfully friendly crews celebrating living history

I have boarded and toured both of these magnificent aircraft at my local airport during the Collings Foundation cross-country tours. What a special treat! 👍👏🇺🇸

Always heard it took a lot of muscle to fly, especially in formation. Watching him wrestle her through the final flair confirmed it

Wunder !!!!!!!!!!!!! It's very nice to see young pilots flying old planes, in place of old pilots !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing! My dad was a navigator on the B-24 stationed in Norwich, England--Ted's traveling circus the 93rd bomb group, 330 bomb squadron.

By 1944 the number of hours flown by US pilots before combat was below 400. At a 1000 hours this pilot must be one of most experienced B24 pilots ever.

Ihave been in Witchcraft at air shows here in Illinois. My uncle, Edward Holum, flew twenty plus missions out of England and his name is on side of this plane. Thank you for sharing.

So cool to see such young folks flying such a vintage bird! Awesome

I always liked the B24, but I love the B17 and A20. My father was a waist gunner and gunnery instructor at Tyndall Field Florida during WW2. I saw a couple of A20s in Thailand.

Thank you Melissa. My father flew a B-24 liberator in World War II. My mom was in the Women’s Air Corps and they met and married in Colorado Springs. He was shot down in 1943 and spent the remainder of the war in prison. I myself was in the Marine Corps for 37 years and so appreciate those brave souls from World War II that saved our world. While I personally understand the pain of recollecting war experiences, I so wish both my mom and dad were alive to enjoy your video and tribute🙏🏽. Semper Fi and God bless👍🏽🇺🇸

My uncle was a co-pilot in a C-47 in China flying cargo over the hump. When the war started he came back and joined the Army Air Corp. He was assigned to pilot a B-24. He said that it was the hardest plane he had ever flown. On his first long mission he said that when they returned he was so tired that he forgot that the plane had a nose wheel, that is until he tail gunner started screaming at him over the intercom! He was so startled he threw the controls forward and broke the nose wheel off! The second time he did it his commanding officer threatened him with court martial. My uncle completed his required missions and transferred to the IX Troop Carrier Command, 9th airforce. He dropped the 101st in Normandy and Holland, as well as other operations during and after the war including the Berlin airlift. He flew several other aircraft including the B52. He was a SAC Wing commander until he couldn't pass the eye exam. He was temporarily promoted to General and served as a military liaison to Panama until his retirement. He loved to fly! He also met my aunt during the war, she was a Wasp, and ferried planes from the US to England.

My father was in the 380th in the Philippines in 1945. This brought me to tears.

That was fabulous video, my father was AAF command pilot and flew the 24.

I got to fly in the Witchcraft. It's a fantastic experience.

I have been inside that aircraft a few times with my grand kids. My life would be over if I actually got to fly it. Thanks for the ride.

My dad was a radio operator on a B24 the name of the plane was Corsica Kid. They were shot down over Hungary, they landed on a race track and no one was injured.They were MIA for a while but eventually made it back to friendly territory. The Russians confiscated the plane, got it running again, and used it themselves for a couple of years after the war.

My uncle was killed in 1943 in a B-24E Liberator that crashed in Utah on a training flight. RIP Uncle Bob

I got to fly in this plane a few years ago. It's loud, it's rough, there isn't a soft surface in it! Also amazing, going to see it again tomorrow!

That's kinda cool to have a younger guy pretty close to the age of the pilots who flew these birds into combat fly it instead of the old guys you always see.

One of my favourite WW2 aircraft. Great to see young people flying them again.

Looks like a lot of us had Dads that flew (my Dad pilot) or were on the crews of B-24 war planes. My Dad flew at night in the Pacific theater and finished as Captain. The last assignment was as Operations. Good to see a lot of us offspring can live to tell what we know. I grew up about a couple of hours from Dayton, Ohio and got to visit the aircraft museum more than once. My Mom's brother was a P-40 mechanic at the Panama Canal. Her other brother was an instructor. I'm a bricklayer! Greg

I have had the pleasure of taking a ride in that plane, loved every second in the air. Great bird, thanks for sharing.

Awesome. My Dad was a flight engineer and gunner in the 15th USAAF. 465th Bomb Grp. 780th Sqd. In 1995 I had an opportunity to fly this AC and it was a memorable experience. I had 10 of time signed off in my log book.

An outstanding video in so many ways. Excellent dialogue and cinematography. I kept thinking while watching the pilots fly the aeroplane, that they have so much to do and keep an eye on, how on earth did they manage it during a bombing raid, with flak and fighters? God only knows. Thanks for this video and thanks to the bravest who liberated our country . God bless America

Very Cool ! We need more people like you to keep her flying !

Good on you for being able to fly her! I’ve been on it twice, both experiences were fantastic. My dad was a top turret gunner with the 15th AAF flying out of Italy in 1944-45.

My dad’s favorite to fly .. He flew during WWII .. He flew everything .. Nice post ..

Very well done to all. Thanks for taking us along.

What a great video and wonderful experience for you...at the beginning I could sense a little apprehension...at the end your smile was just magical with happiness...great video! 🙂

Safety First. I like the guy in the center ready to correct any misstep she might make. He's observant and ready to leap in.

Glad he didn't pull the yoke out of the console. Gosh what a lot of jockeying around with elevators and rudders on landing! More than my RV9A! Awesome video

Really cool my grandfather flew in the top turret he was the flight engineer I love seeing these old birds and could only image what my grandfather seen

Amazing stuff, thank you for showing us this moment in time.

good video, good co-pilot! my warmest congratulations! During WW2 my farther was a pilot of USA-made A-20 Boston twin-engine bomber in the USSR air forces. More than 50 missions...

PILOT: "ok, let's hurry up and land this plane, I have to get back for 5th hour gym class"

Wow that was awesome. Thanks for sharing this flight.

My Father was on a B 24 during the war, he liked the plane, proud of his service.

I had the privilege to fly on 'Witchcraft' almost 20 years ago. Even as a passenger, it was among the most exhilarating experiences of my life. They allowed us to move around the aircraft through the different stations once we were in the air. The coolest thing for me was to be able to hold my camera (firmly) outside the waist gun windows for real panorama filming, since there was no glass, just as in its wartime configuration.

I still can't believe one of those rolled off the production line every 56 minutes at Willow Run

Holy crap, the pilot looks like he is 25 years old. I am so jealous!

A friend of mine Father flew a B24 , He said they were bitches taking off with a full load , and you had to work on the lands in between they were a dream faster than a B19 and longer range .

Awesome! My father was a flight engineer on a Liberator, 453rd BG 732nd BS 2nd Air Division 8th AAF. Jimmy Stewart was a pilot in the 453rd.

Great to see the Crew again that visited Us a few years ago now.

My Dad was a B-24 pilot in the 11th, Group H, 98th Bomb Squadron. After the war his plane was one of the few they didn’t destroy. When the war was over he received a receipt (that I still have) from the Quartermaster in San Francisco for, “1 war weary B-24”. She was called, “Ruff Knights”. What I wouldn’t give for a chance to just sit in the cockpit and imagine what he lived!

It's awesome to see young people flying these old birds. :-)

great to see people preservinbg the knowledge of how to fly the warbirds, hopefully someday she will be training the next set of pilots to fly it

My dad was a copilot of A B24 the plane was the Naughty Nan he was 21 years old one of the oldest of the officer's and flew 35 missions over France, Germany, Belgium.

I have been inside that very aircraft. Such an amazing piece of history!

Wow👍Such A young aviator. He is like a pro... 👍Thank s for the video

I took a ride in this aircraft and loved it. A whole new respect for the men having to fly this in war.

My great grandfather was a ball turret gunner on the B24 and B17

This plane is great for tourism !

Extremely interesting video. It's worth looking up the Wikipedia article on the cargo version of the aircraft - the C87. In the wiki article there are some quotes of what WWII pilot Ernest K Gann thought about the aircraft. Gann thought the engines and high cruise speed were great but that was where his praise ended!

I flew in that plane. When I was waiting to board, I looked over the names on the plane (donators) and scarily saw my Father's name. It wasn't him, RIP, but was eery seeing a contributor with the same name.

Mental and physical workout. Very cool.

the B-24 sure is a unique aircraft. Very nice.

What a machine !!!! What a privilege to be able to fly that beauty !

i have seen where WWII pilots would say the B-24 was a much harder aircraft to fly than the B-17. Also they said the B-24 could not take nearly as much combat damage as the B-17.

My dad was a navigator in a B-24. Hot and heavy missions over Romania, Germany, Yugoslavia. He feared flak more than the Focke Wolf or ME-109. Once was attacked by a ME-262. Lost a lot of friends. Came back a changed man. At 19.

Good job. Brought her back in one piece to fly again tomorrow. Way to work those controls on the landing!