Door hatch from a B-24 Liberator airplane. Approx. 33 x 42 x 4 in. Signed by multiple airmen from various bomber groups and divisions.

A compelling commemorative relic, this B-24 Liberator door hatch bears a collection of signatures from men who served in a range of capacities during the Second World War. Pilots, engineers, and gunners are all represented, their varied service joined here on a surviving component of one of the most important American bombers of the conflict. Though their individual wartime experiences differed, all appear to share a connection to the famed B-24, giving the piece the character of both an aviation artifact and a tribute to the men who flew and maintained these aircraft in combat.

Developed in 1939, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator was a long-range heavy bomber celebrated for its speed, range, and substantial bomb-load capacity. It served in every major theater of the war and was employed extensively by the U.S. Army Air Forces in strategic bombing operations over Europe and the Pacific, while also proving highly effective in anti-submarine patrols over the Atlantic. Its versatility and enormous production run made it one of the defining aircraft of the war; with more than 18,000 built, it remains the most-produced American military aircraft of the Second World War. As both a substantial relic of the Liberator and a signed remembrance of the airmen associated with it, this is an especially appealing and display-worthy piece of WWII aviation history.

Signatures from top to bottom, left to right: 

1. E.M. Smith, B-24 Engineer Gunner, 450th Bomb GP, 722nd Bomb Squadron 

2. [ind.] B-24 Pilot, 448th GP, 712th Bomb Squadron

3. Earl Wassom, B-24 Pilot, 466th BG, 785th Bomb Squadron

4. Robert K. Morgan, Pilot of 'Memphis Belle' 

5. Charlie Perry, Nose Gunner of 'Luck + Stuff', 446th Bomb GP, 706th Bomb Squadron

6. Elvern Rae Seitzinger, Pilot of the 'Sknappy', 492nd Bomb GP, 856th Bomb Squadron. 

7. John Kelly, 492nd Bomb GP, 856th Bomb Squadron

8. Ben T. Knox

9. Frederick Bahlau, 101st Airborne Division

9. Cliff Stanley, Flight Engineer B-24 'Sweet Sue', 456th GB 754th Squadron 

10. Charlie Hogan, B-24 Pilot, 459th BG. 15th Air Force

11. William Cody Owns

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

[World War II, WWII,  FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt,Dwight D. Eisenhower, Adolf Hitler, Allied, Axis, George S. Patton, Air Force]