Four aircraft visited the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport last weekend (they left Sunday, February 7, 2010).  They were a major reason why we are not currently speaking German or Japanese instead of English.  I've seen them in movies and on television but rarely close enough to touch.



They were two four-engine  bombers (above) , the B-17 Flying Fortress (L) and the B-24 Liberator (R), and two single-engine aircraft (below) , the  TBM-3 Avenger (L)  and the

"The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed and largely built by the Consolidated Aircraft Company of San Diego, California. It was produced in greater numbers than any other American combat aircraft of World War II, and still holds the record as the most-produced American military or naval aircraft. The B-24 was used by several Allied air forces and navies, and by every branch of the American armed forces during the war, attaining a distinguished war record with its operations in the Western European, Pacific, Mediterranean, and China-Burma-India Theaters.

"Often compared with the better-known B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 was a more modern design with a higher top speed, greater range, and a heavier bomb load; however, it was also more difficult to fly, with heavy control forces and poor formation-flying characteristics. Nevertheless, popular opinion among aircrews and general's staffs tended to favor the B-17's rugged qualities above all other considerations in the European Theater.^"

The Liberators took part in a number of very famous air raids including Ploesti

Accompanying information described the Avenger, for example, as the "largest single engine aircraft built during WW-II."  It became the standard US Navy torpedo bomber and fought in all carrier battles after Midway. The type was credited with sinking 12 carriers, 6 battleships and 19 cruisers among its other devastation. 

LtJG George W. Bush, later the 41st President of the United States, earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission he flew in an Avenger.  The citation is below:

"CITATION: 'For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as Pilot of a Torpedo Plane in Torpedo Squadron FIFTY ONE, attached to the U.S.S. San Jacinto, in action against enemy Japanese forces in the vicinity of the Bonin Islands, on September 2, 1944. Leading one section of a four-plane division in a strike against a radio station, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Bush pressed home an attack in the face of intense antiaircraft fire. Although his plane was hit and set afire at the beginning of his dive, he continued his plunge toward the target and succeeded in scoring damaging bomb hits before bailing out of the craft. His courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Reserve."

"Throughout 1944, he had flown 58 combat missions for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation awarded San Jacinto."