How to bail out from a bomber (B-24)? (2024)

I wonder if there are special rules if the command to bail-out is given by the pilot?
I found a picture on the Internet that shows the positions where the crew could or should bail out of a Liberator (B-24) bomber. The possible places are:
front wheel door, bomb bay (front & back) and the camera hatch at the end of the airplane.
I think the crew did some training on how someone has to do this because the techniques at the bomb bay and maybe the camera hatch would not be the same.

How dangerous would this procedure be? And how big are the chances to get hurt when leaving the plane?

I am asking this because I am following a story where the bomb bay door was jammed and only the camera hole could be used. The airplane itself wouldn't fly straight because of the damage she got. Therefore I assume that the "bailing out" procedure wasn't an easy one.

The Airplane Commander

• Notify crew to stand by to abandon ship. The bell signal consists of three short rings on alarm bell. At first alarm all crew members put on parachutes.
• Notify crew to abandon ship. Bell signal consists of one long ring on alarm bell.
• Check abandoning of airplane by crew members in nose.
• Clear bomb bay of tanks and bombs, using emergency release handle.
• Turn on autopilot.
• Reduce reduce airspeed, if possible. Hold ship level.

Copilot's Duties

• Assist airplane commander as directed.

Navigator' Duties

• Determine position, if time permits.
• Direct radio operator to send distress message, giving all pertinent information.
• Stand by emergency exit in nose of airplane.

Bombardier's Duties

• Assist navigator.
• Stand by emergency exit in nose of airplane.

Engineer's Duties

• Assist pilot as directed.
• Notify pilot when crew in nose has abandoned the airplane.
• Stand by to leave via bomb bay immediately after crew in nose has abandoned airplane.

Radio Operator's Duties

• Find exact position from navigator.
• Send distress call.
• Stand by to leave via bomb bay.

Bail Turret Gunner's Duties

• Stand by to leave via main entrance door, or most practical rear exit as occasion demands.

Tail Gunner's Duties

• Stand by to leave via tail gunner's emergency exit.

uhebeisen said:

How dangerous would this procedure be? And how big are the chances to get hurt when leaving the plane?

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You do not leave your plane when there is no trouble, so it depends what the damage is and if there is fire or eminent explosion danger. In a stable plane it is not that dangerous but one can imagine battle damage that will change that PDQ

thank you Snautzer01for this details (great).
In my case the airplane was badly damaged. The right rudder was riddled and at least two engines didn't work and one engine pulled a plume of smoke behind it. The pilots had their hands full to keep the plane in the air. It was certainly a critical situation (fear and hurry).

And as I mentioned earlier the bomb bay couldn't be used to bail out therefore all crew members had to leave through the 'main entrance' at the end of the plane. And because everyone could only jump out there, there must have been a "traffic jam".

How do they jump? Feet first, or head first? If in a hurry or in panic one could injure his head or even lose consciousness.

hello again and thank you for your comments and inputs so far,

my question here was because there are controversial discussions about the death of a crew member of the Jackpine Joe bomber that crashed in Switzerland in 1944. The crew bailed out but one man died.
One statement is that the copilot intentionally jumped off without a parachute because he did not want to be captured by German (the bomber was already over Switzerland).
The other opinion is that he was injured when jumping and has lost consciousness.

The special thing is that a few months later a farmer of the nearby farmhouse found a packed (unused) parachute in the forrest within the drop area (see sketch). Several questioned members of the crew stated that the copilot had not pressed the trigger (all the statements read "he didn't pull the ripcord"). Therefore I assume that the dead copilot was carrying his chute when he was found. Nevertheless, the question remains what the unused parachute is all about.

Btw.: all crew members had to leave the plane through the rear camera hatch (bomb door jammed). The copilot was the last one going to the end of the plane while the pilot - after setting the autopilot - used the top turret escape hatch behind his seat (he didn't had to go that far).

uhebeisen said:

I wonder if there are special rules if the command to bail-out is given by the pilot?
I found a picture on the Internet that shows the positions where the crew could or should bail out of a Liberator (B-24) bomber. The possible places are:
front wheel door, bomb bay (front & back) and the camera hatch at the end of the airplane.
I think the crew did some training on how someone has to do this because the techniques at the bomb bay and maybe the camera hatch would not be the same.

How dangerous would this procedure be? And how big are the chances to get hurt when leaving the plane?

I am asking this because I am following a story where the bomb bay door was jammed and only the camera hole could be used. The airplane itself wouldn't fly straight because of the damage she got. Therefore I assume that the "bailing out" procedure wasn't an easy one.

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Aircraft with tricycle undercarriages tended to have another danger, part of the crew sat ahead of the propellors and there was the danger of being mangelled. It's one reason the He 219 was equipped with ejection seats.

Koopernic said:

Aircraft with tricycle undercarriages tended to have another danger, part of the crew sat ahead of the propellors and there was the danger of being mangelled. It's one reason the He 219 was equipped with ejection seats.

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The Do335 went a bit further with the jettisonable rear prop and vertical stabilizer in addition to the ejection seat.

Koopernic said:

Aircraft with tricycle undercarriages tended to have another danger, part of the crew sat ahead of the propellors and there was the danger of being mangelled. It's one reason the He 219 was equipped with ejection seats.

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Lots of tail draggers had crew stationed ahead of the props.

Milosh said:

Lots of tail draggers had crew stationed ahead of the props.

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Some, like the Hampden had crew in front of other crew, the navigator could only get out when the pilot had and folded his seat down.

GrauGeist said:

When the Smithsonian's Do335 was being restored back in the 70's, they discovered the explosive bolts still intact - must have been an interesting task to remove and replace those 30 year old flash-bangs!

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I'm pretty sure the restoration staff who found those were less than excited

GrauGeist said:

When the Smithsonian's Do335 was being restored back in the 70's, they discovered the explosive bolts still intact - must have been an interesting task to remove and replace those 30 year old flash-bangs!

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It's impressive to see in person, very big and the pilot sits well above the ground IIRC.

Cheers,
Biff

GrauGeist said:

The Do335 went a bit further with the jettisonable rear prop and vertical stabilizer in addition to the ejection seat.

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Eric Brown's wee anecdote about exiting the Do 335 is always of interest...

"Particularly fascinating was the story that when two prototypes came to grief the bodies of their pilots were found devoid of arms. The story, recounted to me by a German pilot, alleged that the loss of the upper limbs had resulted when the unfortunate victims had gripped two inclined levers at co*ckpit sill level and pulled them aft to activate the hood jettison system. This action released the hood effectively, but since the levers were attached to the hood, a firm grip meant, so the story went, that the hands and arms were wrenched off with the rapidly departing canopy. This story made something of an impression on me, and I clambered into the co*ckpit filled with curiosity. Sure enough, the notorious hood jettison levers were there."

GrauGeist said:

When the Smithsonian's Do335 was being restored back in the 70's, they discovered the explosive bolts still intact - must have been an interesting task to remove and replace those 30 year old flash-bangs!

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I think you are thinking of the Fw190F that they restored. The Do335 had two handles that released the canopy.

Milosh said:

I think you are thinking of the Fw190F that they restored. The Do335 had two handles that released the canopy.

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The Do335 pilot could jettison both the vertical stabilizer and rear prop via explosive bolts.
When the Do335 was undergoing restoration at the Dornier facility, they discovered that the bolts were still intact and fully functional.
They were quickly replaced with inert hardware.

Koopernic said:

Aircraft with tricycle undercarriages tended to have another danger, part of the crew sat ahead of the propellors and there was the danger of being mangelled. It's one reason the He 219 was equipped with ejection seats.

Click to expand...

In a multi-engine aircraft, at least the co*ckpit crew is likely ahead of the plane of the propellers. The location of the landing gear has relatively little to do with the location of the crew.