The B-24 gave Allied air forces a reliable option in both the European and Pacific theaters of war. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was arguably the most celebrated heavy bomber of World War II.

The Ford team found it would need 5 miles of wire, cut into almost 3,000 pieces ranging in length from 8 inches to 32 feet, for a B-24. The plane's components were 85% aluminum alloy and 13% steel.

One of these four-engined, long range, USAF WW2 heavy bombers was 80% more effective than the other. How? Which one? And why? Join me on a statistical deep dive into America's WW2 heavy bomber trio: ...

"The B-24 (bomber) was built like a 1930s Mack Truck, except that it had an aluminum skin that could be cut with a knife," Stephen F. Ambrose wrote in "The Wild Blue." "Steering the four-engine ...