It entirely depends on the theater. The B-24 was preferred in the PTO and
CBI by both "the Brass" and crews because of its better range and payload,
and its lower ceiling and somewhat lower vulnerability to damage compared
to the B-17 wasn't as important when facing more lightly-armed and lower
performance Japanese fighters

Well, of course everyone thinks the horse he's riding is the best that
ever was (unless he thinks it's the worst). But I find it hard to
believe that air crew would value range and payload over the ability
to sustain battle damage, whatever the opposition. Plenty of aircraft
went down over Rabaul, for example. That Japanese air defenses were
less formidable than German would have been made up, in my mind, by
the fact that their prison system was more awful.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

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