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Houston Airport System
March 29, 2007
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A starlet in its own right, the B-24 Liberator can rip through the skies at speeds of up to 290 miles per hour. Packed with 10 high-powered machine guns, the four engine heavy bomber has a track record of dealing with tough situations.
During World War II it dropped over 630,000 tons of bombs over enemy targets, making a name for itself as one of the most ferocious aircraft in the world. Its primary targets were Europe and the Pacific, where the 68 year old aircraft earned its military record.
Originally built in 1939, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator at one point was one of the most abundant air bombers in the United States – more than 18,500 of these aircraft were produced during the war.
“They were not built for comfort,” says Caroline Collings, pilot of the B-24. “They were built for the mission. They would carry a bomb load over enemy territory and release it, thereby disrupting enemy production.”
After the war, however, new technologies and more modern aircraft made the B-24s all but obsolete.
Today, Witchcraft is one of the few surviving Consolidated B-24 Liberators. The Collings Foundation, in 1989, restored the retired aircraft after purchasing it from vintage aircraft collector Doug Arnold and brought it back to life under a new mission.
Honoring the veterans of World War II and educating younger generations about the contributions of these aircraft is what Witchcraft is all about today, Rob Collings, chief pilot of the foundation, says.
“If it weren’t for these bombers the world would be a different place,” he adds. “They really helped win (the) war.”
Over the years, Witchcraft has undergone a few image changes, but it has never lost site of its main duty.
For several years after being restored it was known as the All American in honor of the 461st Bomb Group which flew 15th Air Force aircraft over Italy during the war. Later, in 1998, it was repainted and renamed in honor of the Dragon and his Tail, a 5th Air Force B-24 that flew over the Pacific with the 43rd Bomb Group. |
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Wings of Freedom is a traveling museum in honor of the men and women who served during the Second World War. Witchcraft (top) and Nine O Nine (bottom) are the stars of this unique history experience put together by the Collings Foundation. |
Two years ago, the aircraft was once again renamed. This time it was reborn as Witchcraft, in homage to the 8th Air Force aircraft that flew over Europe during the Second World War.
This week, the aviation icon landed in Houston at Ellington Field as part of a 10 month long tour across the United States. Joining Witchcraft on this latest stretch of her excursion were two longtime fellow war birds – Nine O Nine, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and Tondelayo, a North American B-25 Mitchell.
All three aircraft were part of the Wings of Freedom traveling museum put together by the Collings Foundation in 1989.
“We do about 110 stops annually to share these aircraft with the public,” Rob explains. “Flying these aircraft is just an amazing experience. There is so much history in them.”
Rather than holding the aircraft in a static location, the foundation opted to bring them to the people. Actually, it was the men and women that flew the aircraft originally that convinced them to do so.
“It was really the veterans that convinced us these aircraft should fly (so that) millions of people could have the opportunity, each year, to see them,” Rob notes.
For a tax-deductible $325 to $425, visitors can even take a ride on-board one of these aircraft. Retired Corporal Arthur Wise, who used to work as a B-24 aircraft mechanic at Ellington Field, says the experience of flying inside one these war birds is well worth the investment.
He still remembers well what it was like to work on these aircraft in the 1940s.
“In ’43 and ’44 they were flying our planes 18 hours a day – six hours a stretch,” Wise recalls. “We had outside wood platforms that they could pull the airplane right into and we could work on them off of the platform. You could work on more airplanes that way.”
Next up on the air bombers’ tour Austin, Santa Fe, Abilene, Arizona and California.
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