FB-111A
Bomber Flight Test
B-24 Liberator
Featured Guest
Colonel Bill Moran
U.S. Air Force (Retired)
Here on the Fighter Pilot Podcast it’s once again Bomber Month!
First up this year is the General Dynamics FB-111A supersonic swing-wing strategic bomber. Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Bill Moran joins us to explain how this aircraft differs from the F-111 and how it was used in Strategic Air Command operations. During the Cold War, SAC bombers and missiles were on alert 24 / 7 / 365 deterring the threat of nuclear war. The FB-111A was a key part of the SAC alert force during the final two decades of the Cold War.
Episode artwork adapted by Janek Krause. Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Clint Bell.
Featured Guest
Colonel Addison Thompson
U.S. Air Force (Retired)
Bomber Month marches on!
This week, retired U. S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Addison Thompson joins us to discuss his career as a test pilot and his role in the development flight testing of the B-1B Lancer. The complex and highly capable B-1B presented numerous challenges during its development, and LtCol. Thompson describes how those challenges were met to give the operational B-1B force a safe and effective weapon system.
Episode artwork adapted by Janek Krause. Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Clint Bell.
Featured Guest
Jim Harley
Bomber Month concludes with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.
World War 2 was brewing but the United States had yet to officially join the war. Using the power of the Lend Lease Act, the call went out to aircraft manufacturers to create a new heavy bomber that could be sent to Europe and go faster, climb higher, and carry more payload than the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress. What was created was the unheralded, yet highest produced aircraft in U.S. history.
On this episode, Mr. Jim Harley joins us to discuss the oft overlooked B-24, describing its strengths & weaknesses, and why over 18,000 of these bombers were chosen to fill the skies of both the European and Pacific theaters throughout the course of the war. With over 2,500 hours in B-17s, B-24s, and B-25s, Mr. Harley also compares and contrasts the three bombers and tells us which one he would want to fly into battle.
Episode artwork adapted by Janek Krause. Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Clint Bell.