The majority of three thousand officers and enlisted men in Eight Air Force heavy bomber crews tallied between 28 May and 5 June 1944 said their aircraft – be they B-17s or B-24s – were the best for the job. When separated into B-17 and B-24 crews, 92 percent of the surveyed B-17 crews said they had the best type of machine, compared with 76 percent of the polled B-24 crews who said they had the best type of aircraft. As the survey summary noted: “The proportion who are ‘sold’ on their own plane is… greater among B-17 crew members.”
The survey presented other conclusions about Eight Air Force crews and their two types of heavy bombers: “In both B-17 and B-24 crew, men who are convinced their type of ship is best are more likely than other men to express satisfaction with their jobs. In B-24 crews, the bombardiers, navigators and co-pilots appear somewhat less likely than other crew members to feel they have the best of airplane. In B-17 crews, men in the different crew positions do not differ appreciably in the appraisal they give their ship