Design/Construction of the B24

 

In the summer of 1937 an engineer called David Davis took his wing aerofoil design to Consolidated.  Wind tunnel test carried out on Davis’s aerofoil resulted in a decision to put his wing onto the company’s model 31 flying boat, which at that time was still on Consolidated’s drawing-board.

 

During the latter part of 1938 the US Army Air Corps asked Consolidated to build B-17’s.  Reuben Fleet, president of Consolidated, argued that Consolidated could build a superior bomber.  In early 1939 Consolidated started to design their new aircraft around the Davis wing.  The new bomber utilized the twin tail from the model 31, four engine nacelles from the Catalina (which Consolidated also manufactured) and had a fuselage which incorporated two bomb bays.

 

Up until this time Consolidated had been mainly involved with the design and manufacture of large flying boats.  Their first large land plane was designed with a tricycle undercarriage, a novel feature that was to be adopted by all future large land planes.  The main wheels retracted sideways, a necessary feature due to the Davis wing being secured to the top of the fuselage.  The undercarriage design, besides giving better visability to the pilots whilst manoeuvring the aircraft on the ground, also allowed for the faster landing and take-off speeds demanded by the high wing loadings of the Davis design.

 

The arrival of a team from the Army Air Corp resulted in many changes to the initial layout, principally in gun placements, windshield arrangements and the bomb aimers position.  Before the AAC team left, Consolidated had built a second complete fuselage mock-up which became the design used for the new bomber.  This design, called the XB-24 but known at Consolidated as the model 32, was allocated the export designation LB-30.  The French and then the British placed orders for the LB-30.  The name ‘Liberator’ was suggested by Dorothy Fleet, wife of major Reuben Fleet, after a discussion between her husband, herself and their children’s English governess Edith Brocklebank.

 

The model 32 made its inaugural flight on the 5th May 1939, the Davis wing being a success.  Laddon, Consolidated’s chief designer, chose to use Pratt and Whitney R-1830-31 (Twin Wasp) engines on the model 32 rather than the R-1820 (Cyclone) used on the B-17 because of their smaller frontal area.  The model 32 flew on the afternoon of the 29th December 1939. 

 

While plans for production went ahead the development of model 32 continued.  The pitot tubes were relocated from the wing to the forward fuselage and two feet was added to the tail span. 

 

The R-1830-31 (mechanically supercharged) engines were replaced with R-1830-41 units (mechanically and turbo supercharged) with self-sealing tanks and armoured plating also being added.  All these changes were incorporated into what became known as the XB-24B.

 

The Army Air Corp waited for the XB-24B modifications to be incorporated into the production aircraft and allowed the first six production Liberators (LB-30A’s) to go to the RAF, who had taken over the contract placed by the French Government – the French Government by this time had surrendered.  These six aircraft were employed on the transatlantic return ferry service between England and Canada.  Next into production were twenty Liberator Mk I’s, LB-30B (AM910/929).  Production continued with the Liberator II which incorporated an increase in the length of the fuselage ahead of the flight deck and a deepened rear fuselage to provide adequate room for placing a power turret aft of the tail section.  There was also provision for mounting a power turret on the top of the fuselage.  Delivery of 139 Liberator II’s completed the total of 165 B-24’s that were initially ordered by the RAF.  Some of these Liberators were assigned to 120 Squadron (Coastal Command) and some had their armament removed and flew as transport machines, Winston Churchill’s personal transport, the ‘Commando’ was the second Liberator II manufactured.

 

In December 1941 nine B24C’s were rolled out, these aircraft incorporated the modifications carried out to the XB-24B and in addition were fitted with a Martin top turret and a Consolidated rear turret.  The introduction of the R-1830-41 resulted in the distinctive oval-shaped cowling.  The B24C’s acted as a ‘production breakdown’ for the B-24D’s that were to follow.

 

Construction of the B-24D

 

Fuselage was of a conventional all-metal, semi-monoque, stressed skin construction.  Formers were located vertically at 36 stations (approximately 18 inches apart).  Five of these formers (one ahead of the windscreen, one ahead of the mid-turret, one behind the leading edge of the wing, one ahead of the trailing edge of the wing and one behind the trailing edge of the wing) were heavily reinforced to act as main frames.  Located between the sixth and seventh vertical former was an additional reinforced former.  This former was positioned at an angle and carried the load of the nose wheel gear, which was attached to it in such a fashion that the wheel retracted vertically into the fuselage and then secured rearward.  The twin bomb bays overall length was nearly twice the size of the single B-17 bay.

 

Wing had a high aspect ratio with an overall span of 110 feet.  The wing chord tapered from 14 feet at the root to just over 5 feet at the edge of the detachable tip section.   Covering was all metal except for the ailerons. 

 

Structurally the wing consisted of five major sub-assemblies; a 55 feet 2 inch centre section, two separate outer panels and two detachable tips.  The centre section of the fuselage was built around the wing centre section.  Two main spars were employed and the Davis wing section was such that the spars could be located close to the leading and trailing edges.  This provided ample room within the structure to accommodate the eighteen self-sealing fuel cells as well as the large main gear wheel wells.

 

The centre section included two auxiliary plate girder spars, built up of heavy rolled angles and flat sheet riveted to two of the main wing bulkheads.  These spars carried the main landing gear loads.  Stringers were bolted onto a flange on the rib.  This type of construction did not inhibit wing flex.  The entire wing contained over sixty ribs, including one on the aircraft cenre-line and three in each tip section.  All major attachment bolts were accessible through the main landing gear cut-out.

 

Ailerons were direct-operating with initially a single trim tab that was located near the inboard edge of the starboard aileron, the tab could be set at plus or minus 10 degrees.  On the later production B-24H a second tab was added to the port aileron.

 

The flaps were built up of aluminium alloy and Alclad sheet and moved rearward on rollers over five steel tracks attached to lugs on the rear spar.  Both flaps were operated by a single hydraulic jack located along the rear spar on the port side of the aircraft, the hydraulic ram movement extending and retracting the flaps through a system of cables.  Maximum extension - 40 degrees - increased the lift by over fifty percent but increased the drag by seventy percent

 

Maximum wing effectiveness was achieved by locating the engine so that the upper contour of the nacelle was no more than one and a half inches higher than that part of the top wing surface located behind it.

 

The tail consisted of a stabiliser and two fins which were of riveted Alclad aluminium alloy construction with stressed skin.  Rudders and elevators were of aluminium alloy torque box and rib construction, both being fabric covered with sheet Alclad leading edges.  The elevators had an upward movement of thirty degrees and downward movement of twenty degrees.  Each elevator had a trim tabs which could be set at plus or minus 10 degrees. 

 

The rudders had a twenty degree port or starboard movement and each carried a trim tab which could be set ten degrees to port or starboard.  The port and starboard rudders were interchangeable simply by reversing the attaching horns.  The entire B-24 tail assembly was attached to the fuselage with four (later eight) bolts.

 

Landing gear:  Distance between the nose and main gear axles (centre-line measurement) was 16 feet.  The swivelling (non-steerable) nose wheel was fitted with a 36 inch x 10 ply tyre while the main gear tyres were 56 inches in diameter.  Early models had tyres with a smooth tread but later models were supplied with an overall diamond tread design.  Later into production the rather complicated emergency nose gear release was abandoned and the following instructions substituted; ‘nose gear is lowered in an emergency by kicking it out’.

 

The landing gear tail bumper was originally a fixed hard rubber type.  Later an oleo shock equipped retractable unit (supposed to retract with the landing gear, often did not) was fitted.

Consolidated XB-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was one of the most versatile aircraft of the Second World War. It served not only as a long-range strategic bomber but also in the maritime reconnaissance, antisubmarine, passenger and freight transportation, flying tanker, and photographic reconnaissance roles. It was built by no less than five different manufacturers--Consolidated Aircraft Corporation of San Diego, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation of Fort Worth, Douglas Aircraft Corporation of Tulsa, Oklahoma, North American Aviation of Dallas, Texas, and the Ford Motor Company of Willow Run, Michigan. It was produced in greater numbers than any other American aircraft. A total of 18,188 Liberators and Liberator variants were built between June of 1941 and the closing down of the last assembly line on May 31, 1945.

A comparison between the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Fortress is perhaps inevitable. The Liberator was slightly faster than the Fort, carried a heavier bombload and could carry it farther and higher than the Fort. It was slightly more maneuverable than the Fort, and was much more adaptable to other missions. On the debit side, the Liberator was harder to fly, less stable, and much more difficult to hold in the tight bomber formations that were mandatory in the European theatre of operations. The Liberator was not capable of absorbing nearly the same amount of battle damage that the Fortress could handle. Any sort of solid hit on the wing of a Liberator was generally fatal, the high-aspect ratio Davis wing often collapsing and folding up when hit. In comparison to the B-17, there are relatively few photographs of Liberators returning home with half their wings shot away or with major sections of their tails missing. The Liberator was not very crashworthy, a "wheels up" landing generally causing the fuselage to split into two or three pieces, resulting in a complete writeoff. In contrast, a Fortress which had undergone a "wheels-up" landing could often be quickly repaired and returned to service. When ditching at sea, the Liberator's lightly-built bomb bay doors would often immediately collapse upon impact, the interior of the aircraft quickly filling up with water, causing the aircraft to sink rapidly. In spite of the Liberator's defects, Eighth Air Force records show that B-17 operational losses were 15.2 percent as compared with 13.3 percent for the B-24,which meant that a crew had statistically a better chance of surviving the war in a Liberator than in a Fortress.

The origin of the B-24 Liberator can be traced back to 1938, when the San Diego-based Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was approached by the Army Air Corps with a proposal that they build the B-17 Fortress under license to provide an additional production line. After a visit to Boeing's Seattle plant, Consolidated's management convinced themselves that they could do better, and in January of 1939, Consolidated president Reuben Fleet and chief engineer Isaac Laddon approached the Army Air Corps with a proposal for a bomber that would have a performance superior to that of the B-17 Fortress. The Air Corps was interested in the Consolidated proposal, and encouraged the company to proceed. By the end of January, a mockup had been thrown together and had been inspected. On February 1, the USAAC went through the formality of issuing Type Specification C-212 which called for a heavy bomber that was to have a maximum speed greater than 300 mph, a range of 2000 miles, and a ceiling of 35,000 feet. On March 30, 1939, a contract for one prototype was issued under the designation XB-24. The serial number was 39-680. The first example was to be ready by the end of 1939. The contract also called for a structural test model and a set of engineering reports.

The aircraft was designated Model 32 by the company. It was designed around a high aspect ratio wing employing the Davis high-lift airfoil. This airfoil was the brainchild of David R. Davis, who had been a partner with Donald Douglas back in the 1920s. Basically, Davis's idea was that minimal drag could be achieved if the airfoil design team started with a basic teardrop-shaped cross section and worked from there. According to aerodynamic tests at the California Institute of Technology wind tunnel, this airfoil section offered significantly less drag at all speeds. This wing airfoil was first tried out on the Consolidated Model 31, a twin-engined commercial flying boat. The wing structure was stiff and offered the maximum internal volume for the accommodation for fuel. The wing did not contain any fuel cells but rather entire sections of the wing were sealed with Duprene sealant and filled with fuel, creating the first "wet wing" on an American military aircraft. For good low-speed characteristics, the wing was fitted with Fowler area-increasing flaps on the trailing edges and with fixed slots on the outer wing leading edges near the tips. The wing was shoulder-mounted for maximum bomb-stowage and easy loading.

A tricycle undercarriage was fitted, with the long main undercarriage members being retracted outwards to lie flat into open wing stowage bays behind small underwing blisters. A twin fin and rudder assembly was chosen for the tail unit.

The large slab-sided fuselage had a central bomb bay which could accommodate up to 8000 pounds of bombs. It was divided into front and rear compartments. The two sections of the bomb bay were further divided by a central catwalk, which was also the fuselage keel beam. A rather unusual bomb bay door was fitted, which consisted of two roller-type segments that retracted upward into the fuselage from the keel beam much like the segments of a roll-top desk or a garage door. This arrangement had the advantage of offering little additional aerodynamic drag when the bomb bay doors were open.

The armament of the XB-24 was to consist of several hand-held 0.30-inch machine guns. One gun was to be mounted in the large transparent nose which accommodated the navigator and bombardier. Further 0.30 inch machine guns could be fired from removable hatches above, below, and on each side of the fuselage. There was a cupola for an additional gun in the extreme tail, which was a relatively new feature for American bombers at the time, having been first introduced on the Douglas B-23.

On April 27, 1939, the Army approved the construction of seven YB-24 service test aircraft, serial numbers being 40-696/702. On August 10, 1939, 38 B-24A evaluation aircraft were ordered, serial numbers being 40-2349/2386.

The XB-24 prototype rolled out of the San Diego plant about 9 months after the contract had been approved. It was powered by four 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen cylinder radial engines fitted with mechanical two-speed superchargers. It took off on its maiden flight on December 29, 1939, chief test pilot Bill Wheatley being at the controls. George Newman, Jack Kline, and Bob Keith were also on board. This was one day short of the time limit specified in the USAAC contract

Early test flights proved the Davis wing to be everything that its designers had hoped for. With a full bomb load, the range of the XB-24 was 200 miles greater than that of the B-17. With extra fuel tanks mounted in the forward bomb bay, the range was 600 miles greater than that of a similarly-equipped B-17, which in such a configuration could carry no load at all. However, the maximum speed of the XB-24 was only 273 mph, which was somewhat less than that of the contemporary turbosupercharged B-17C. Gross weight was 38,300 pounds.

Following the break out of war in Europe, the French government sight unseen placed an order for 60 B-24s with an option for 120 more. The export designation was LB-30-MF, which stood for Land Bomber, 30 (Consolidated's export number), Mission Francais). In 1940, Britain ordered 164 machines. These large foreign orders were placed well before the US military placed similar-sized orders, and played a large role in getting the B-24 project going.

The name "Liberator" was given to the British-ordered machines. The name apparently originated with Consolidated. According to Reuben Fleet, he justified the choice of the name Liberator to the British because "this airplane can carry destruction to the heart of the Hun, and thus help you and us to liberate those nations temporarily finding themselves under Hitler's yoke." The name stuck, and was eventually applied to USAAC machines as well.

Specification of the Consolidated XB-24

Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radials rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1000 hp at 14,500 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 273 mph at 15,000 feet. Cruising speed 186 mph. Landing speed 90 mph. Service ceiling 31,500 feet. An altitude of 10,000 feet could be attained in 6 minutes. Range was 3000 miles with a 2500 pound bombload. Maximum range was 4700 miles. Weights: 27,500 pounds, empty, 38,360 pounds gross, 46,400 pounds maximum. Dimensions: Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 63 feet 9 inches, height 18 feet 8 inches, wing area 1048 square feet.

Consolidated YB-24 Liberator

The seven service-test YB-24s (serial numbers 40-696/702) were essentially identical to the XB-24 prototype, but had the leading edge slots deleted and had deicer boots added to the wing and tail surfaces.

Only one of the YB-24s was destined to be delivered to the USAAC. The remaining six were diverted to Great Britain. The US Army had certainly wanted the first YB-24s, but the French order for LB-30As was imminent and there were engineering improvements already in the pipeline, so the US Army agreed to swap these six planes for a promise of six more advanced models to replace them at a later time.

Following the fall of France, Britain had taken over the French contracts. The planes delivered to Britain were assigned the export designation LB-30A. There is some controversy about what LB actually stood for. Some sources have LB as standing for "Liberator built to British Specifications", but it is more likely that it simply stood for Land Bomber.

The LB-30As were powered by 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) engines and had a top speed of 280 mph and a service ceiling of 27,000 feet. Six 0.50-inch machine guns mounted in nose, waist window and tail positions. The tail gun was installed in a manually-operated position behind a set of sliding doors. They were assigned the RAF serials AM258/AM263.

The first LB-30A made its maiden flight on January 17, 1941. Deliveries of the six LB-30As began in March 1941. The LB-30s were delivered to RAF crews at Montreal, Canada for transfer to England. The RAF found that their lack of turbosuperchargers and self-sealing fuel tanks made them totally unacceptable for combat over Europe, and all six were assigned from March 1941 onward as unarmed transports on the Trans-Atlantic Return Ferry Service. This rather unusual airline was established to fly aircrews to Montreal to take delivery of the large numbers of American aircraft being built for the British war effort. All armament was removed and a number of crew comfort accessories were added. At the time, they were the only aircraft capable of flying the 2994 mile nonstop route between Prestwick and Montreal. A couple were assigned to BOAC and were assigned civilian registrations and flew routes around Europe to Egypt.

As mentioned above, only the last YB-24 (serial number 40-702) actually ended up being delivered to the USAAF. It had armor and self-sealing fuel tanks and was accepted by the Army in May of 1941. The USAAC YB-24 was later redesignated simply B-24 and spent its entire career with the Army Air Corps Ferry Command Training School.

Concurrent with the delivery of the B-24C, the USAAF got its first B-24Ds, which took place of the six "borrowed" YB-24s. These six B-24Ds were assigned the same serials as the YB-24s, namely 40-696/701. So there were actually two sets of planes which shared the same serial numbers, although not at the same time. This has been the source of much confusion ever since. The sole 40-702 was not sent to Britain as a LB-30 and remained stateside. It was eventually redesignated just B-24. So there was just one aircraft to be designated B-24.

Serials of the YB-24: 40-696/702

Specification of the Consolidated YB-24 Liberator

Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radials rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1000 hp at 14,500 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 273 mph at 15,000 feet. Cruising speed 186 mph. Landing speed 90 mph. Service ceiling 31,500 feet. An altitude of 10,000 feet could be attained in 6 minutes. Range was 3000 miles with a 2500 pound bombload. Maximum range was 4700 miles. Weights: 27,500 pounds, empty, 38,360 pounds gross, 46,400 pounds maximum. Dimensions: Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 63 feet 9 inches, height 18 feet 8 inches, wing area 1048 square feet.

Consolidated B-24A Liberator/LB-30B

The initial production version of the Liberator was the B-24A, 38 examples of which had been ordered in August of 1939. Serials were 40-2349/2386.

With the fall of France, the order for the first 20 of these planes (40-2349/2368) was diverted from the USAAC for delivery to the Royal Air Force under the designation LB-30B.

The twenty LB-30Bs were delivered to the RAF in mid-1941 as Liberator I and were serialed AM910/AM929. They were powered by R-1830-33 engines. Like the YB-24s before them, the B-24As were delivered to the RAF at Montreal in Canada for transfer to England. The LB-30Bs differed from the USAAF B-24As in having equipment that was specifically intended to meet British requirements. For example, they were delivered with the standard RAF defensive armament of six flexible 0.30-inch Browning machine guns, two in the tail, one in the nose, one in each waist position, and one in the belly position.

The RAF Liberator I was the first of the type to see combat. The long range and heavy bombload made the Liberator I a natural choice for RAF Coastal Command for use in its battles against the U-boat menace. Upon arrival in England, they were extensively modified to make them suitable for the antisubmarine role. They were equipped with early versions of ASV radars, which included a thicket of Yagi aerials protruding from the nose and the wings, four stickle-back mast antennae sticking upward from the ventral fuselage, and a set of towel-rail type antennae attached to the sides of the rear fuselage. The aircraft looked not unlike a flying porcupine. For attacks on surfaced U-boats, Liberator Is were fitted with a pack for four forward-firing 20-mm Hispano cannon underneath the forward fuselage. These modifications were carried out by Heston Aircraft Ltd. The normal operating crew was seven.

The Liberator I first equipped No. 120 Squadron of RAF Coastal Command based at Nutt's Corner, Belfast in June of 1941. With a normal operating range of 2400 miles, the Liberator I nearly doubled the effective range of Britain's maritime reconnaissance forces. They were the first machines with the ability to close the Atlantic Gap, where U-boats had previously been able to operate with immunity from air attack.

The Liberator Is served with No. 120 Squadron until December of 1943, when they were replaced by later Liberator marks. Liberator Is are credited with at least 8 U-boat kills.

Three of the Liberator Is (AM915, AM918, and AM920) were operated by the BOAC to carry priority passengers and to ferry crews across the Atlantic. On January 24/25, 1942, AM918 with civil registry G-AGDR flew nonstop from Hurn to Cairo. However, on its return trip on February 15, it was shot down by mistake by Allied fighters. Surviving examples were returned to the RAF in January of 1945. AM920 was converted to civilian configuration for BOAC in 1946 under the registration G-AHYB

After the diversion of serials 40-2349/2368 to the RAF as LB-30Bs, the USAAF eventually made up the deficit by having 20 additional Liberators delivered. By this time, the production model was the B-24D. However, these B-24Ds were allocated the same serials (40-2349/2368) that were used by the diverted B-24As. Once again the same serial numbers were allocated to two different batches of aircraft, which led to an endless amount of confusion.

Of the remainder of the B-24A order, only 40-2369/2377 were destined to actually be built as B-24As. The rest (40-2378/2386) were delivered as B-24Cs.

Liberator I AM927 was damaged in transit and was never delivered to the UK as were the other LB-30Bs. It was returned to Consolidated for repair. During rebuild, an extra four feet was added to the nose of the aircraft. It was then operated as a company plane. It was later used as a transport carrying USAAF insignia but still with its original RAF serial on the tail. For a while after the war, this plane was flown by the Continental Can Company under the civilian registry N1503, until it was acquired by the Confederate Air Force (now known as the Commemorative Air Force) to be operated as a flying museum. It now flies with the civilian registry of N12905, painted as a B-24D carrying the name Diamond Lil

Specification of the Consolidated Liberator I

Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radials rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1000 hp at 14,500 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 292.5 mph at 15,000 feet. Cruising speed 228 mph. Landing speed 92 mph. Service ceiling 30,500 feet. An altitude of 10,000 feet could be attained in 5.6 minutes. Range was 2200 miles with a 4000 pound bombload. Maximum range was 4000 miles. Weights: 30,000 pounds empty, 39,350 pounds gross, 53,600 pounds maximum. Dimensions: Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 63 feet 9 inches, height 18 feet 8 inches, wing area 1048 square feet. Delivered with the standard RAF defensive armament of six flexible 0.30-inch Browning machine guns, two in the tail, one in the nose, one in each waist position, and one in the belly position. An additional four 20-mm cannon were installed in a belly pack.

The USAAF took delivery of its first B-24As in June of 1941. Only nine of these B-24As were actually delivered to the USAAF, all between June 16 and July 10, 1941. Their serials were 40-2369/2377. The remainder of the B-24As on the original order were either diverted to Britain or were converted on the assembly line to later variants such as the B-24C and B-24D.

The B-24A was generally similar to the RAF's Liberator I, except for its armament of four 0.5-inch machine guns plus twin 0.3-inch guns in the tail.

These aircraft were used by the USAAC in much the same role as the RAF used the LB-30A--primarily as long-range transports. The Ferry Command B-24s were painted in the early RAF-style camouflage of dark earth and dark green over black undersides. However, during this immediate pre-war era, these planes carried large American flags painted on the sides of their forward fuselages and on the top of the fuselage, hopefully indicative of neutrality should they enter a combat zone.

Two B-24As (40-2373 and 40-2374) were used to transport the Harriman Mission to Moscow in September of 1941 via the United Kingdom. The last leg of the flight to Moscow involved a nonstop distance of 3150 miles, and from Moscow one of the USAAC B-24As continued on around the globe via the Middle East, India, Singapore, Darwin, Port Moresby, Wake Island, Hawaii, and back to Washington. The other B-24A returned to the USA via Cairo, Africa, the South Atlantic, and Brazil.

Two other USAAF B-24As were earmarked for a secret spy flight over Japanese bases on Jaluit and Truk in the South Pacific. If detected by the Japanese, the cover story for this mission would have been that the planes got "lost" while enroute to the Philippines and had accidentally strayed over the Japanese-held islands by mistake. It took a while to get these planes ready, since they had been used by the Ferrying Command and all of their combat equipment had been removed. Before the flight could be carried out, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took place. One of the B-24As earmarked for this flight (40-2371) was, in fact, destroyed on the ground at Hickam field during the attack and some of the crewmembers were killed.

In April of 1942, Consolidated agreed to act as a contractor to the USAAF to provide an airlift for the return of ferry crews that were involved in transferring aircraft to the Pacific. The service, named Consolidated Airways, or Consairways for short, used a collection of early-model Liberators as transports. Known serials of B-24As used by Consairways include 40-2369,2372, and 2375. In addition, some LB-30s and C-87s were also used by this rather unusual airline.

Serials of B-24A:
40-2369/2377 Consolidated B-24A Liberator.

Specification of the Consolidated B-24A Liberator

Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radials rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1000 hp at 14,500 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 292.5 mph at 15,000 feet. Cruising speed 228 mph. Landing speed 92 mph. Service ceiling 30,500 feet. An altitude of 10,000 feet could be attained in 5.6 minutes. Range was 2200 miles with a 4000 pound bombload. Maximum range was 4000 miles. Weights: 30,000 pounds empty, 39,350 pounds gross, 53,600 pounds maximum. Dimensions: Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 63 feet 9 inches, height 18 feet 8 inches, wing area 1048 square feet. Armed with single 0.50-inch flexible machine gun in each of nose, belly, and left and right waist positions. An additional pair of 0.30-inch machine guns was installed in the tail position.

Liberator II for the RAF/LB-30

 Liberator II was the designation assigned to a version of the Liberator ordered for the RAF in 1941 directly from the Consolidated production line rather than being diverted from USAAC production orders. It was designed specifically for British requirements and had no direct USAAF counterpart. 165 were ordered under RAF serials AL503/AL667, but only 140 were actually built. They served with three Coastal Command and two Bomber Command squadrons.

The RAF Liberator II differed from the previous Liberator I (which was basically a B-24A) primarily in having a three foot-longer nose section, increasing the length from 63 feet 9 inches . This stretched nose had been specified by Reuben Fleet very early in the Liberator's development when he described to the engineering team his gut feeling that the nose was too short. Fleet's instinct was correct--not only did the longer nose make the Liberator more aesthetically appealing, it also added extra room which was to become more important as more and more equipment had to be added.

The Liberator II was the first version of the Liberator to be equipped with power turrets. The first installation was performed by the British in the field at English bases, when they installed two Boulton-Paul power turrets on a Liberator II. Each turret was armed with four Browning-Colt 0.303-inch machine guns. An E. Mk. II turret was installed in the tail and a A. Mk. IV turret was installed midway down the upper fuselage just aft of the wing. The top turret had 600 rounds, whereas the tail turret had a 2200-round capacity which was later increased to 2500 rounds. Only one of the Liberator IIs had its turret installed at San Diego--all the rest had their turrets added in England. In addition to the power turrets, 0.303-inch machine guns were mounted in pairs at each waist position. A single 0.303-inch machine gun was mounted in the nose and in the belly, bringing total armament to fourteen 0.303-inch machine guns.

All fuel tanks were self-sealing. Curtiss Electric propellers with long hubs replaced the Hamilton Standard propellers of other Liberator variants.

The bombload was increased slightly, and gross weight was raised to 64,250 pounds. The maximum speed was reduced to 263 mph because of the additional drag added by the power turrets, but the service ceiling was raised from 21,200 feet to 24,000 feet.

The first Liberator II (AL503) was to be delivered to the RAF on June 2, 1941. However, during its acceptance flight, it crashed into San Diego Bay, killing all aboard including Consolidated's chief test pilot William Wheatley. The investigation into the cause of the crash resulted in a delay of two months before the first Liberator II could be delivered to the RAF. Consequently, the RAF did not get its first Liberator IIs until August of 1941.

In January of 1942, the Liberator II entered service with RAF Bomber Command. The Liberator II equipped Nos. 159 and 160 Squadrons, which became the first bomber units to operate this type of aircraft. They operated initially in the Middle East theatre of operations, but were later transferred to the CBI theatre. Liberator IIs later equipped No 148 and 178 Squadrons of RAF Bomber Command.

They also equipped Coastal Command's No. 120 Squadron, supplementing that units Liberator Is in November of 1941. They remained for about a year until supplanted by later Liberator versions.

Some of the Liberator IIs were delivered as unarmed transports under the designation LB-30. Some were used as transports with No. 511 Squadron, with the North Atlantic Return Ferry Service, and with BOAC. The BOAC operated their Liberators as part of the North Atlantic Return Ferry Service for RAF Ferry Command. They brought RAF crews to Canada, where they picked up lend-lease aircraft for ferrying back to England. Those Liberator IIs used by BOAC as freighters included AL507, AL512, AL514, AL516, AL522, AL524, AL528, AL529, AL541, AL547, AL552, AL557, AL571, AL592, AL603, and AL619, which were given the civilian serials G-AHYC, G-AGEL, G-AGJP, G-AHZP, G-AHYD, G-AGTJ, G-AGEM, G-AHYE, G-AGTI, G-AGKU, G-AHZR, G-AGZI, G-AGZH, G-AHYF, G-AHYG, and G-AGKT. The BOAC flight crews wore their civilian uniforms and were covered by the rules of the Geneva Convention.

All of the BOAC Liberators were returned to the RAF in January of 1945. Seven of them were converted in 1946 as commercial transports. These conversions include

AL507      G-AHYC

AL514      G-AGIP

AL522      G-AHYD

AL529      G-AHYE

AL592      G-AHYF

AL603      G-AHYG

AL627      G-AHYJ

At least four ex-BOAC Liberator IIs ended up serving with Qantas Empire Airways Ltd, the Australian airline, between June 1944 and November 1950. Qantas had initially been formed in 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd (QANTAS) with co-founder Hudson Fysh as manager. In 1934, QANTAS. Ltd and Britain's Imperial Airways Ltd jointly formed Qantas Empire Airways Ltd to operate the Australia-Singapore section of the Australia-Britain air route, with Fysh as general manager. As the successor to Imperial Airways, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) inherited Imperial's 50% shareholding in Qantas Empire Airways, hence the transfer of the Liberators. The first two Liberators arrived in 1944 when the UK Air Ministry released two of them for use on the Indian Ocean route, which was being operated by five Catalinas which were flying the 3513 nautical miles non-stop and in radio silence. The Liberators made a total of 259 crossings of the Indian Ocean. A further two Liberators were subsequently delivered to Qantas in 1945/46.

The four ex-RAF Liberator IIs that served with Qantas Empire Airways were G-AGKT (AL619), G-AGKU (AL547), G-AGTI (AL541) and G-AGTJ(AL524). G-AGKU and G-AGKT were both scrapped in 1947. In June of 1947, G-AGTI and G-AGTJ were re-registered in Australian service as VH-EAI and VH-EAJ respectively. These two planes remained on the civilian registry until 1950, when they were both broken up for scrap.

The most famous Liberator II was AL504, which was the personal transport of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. All armament was removed, and the fuselage was modified to accommodate plush seats, berths, and an electric flight kitchen. It bore the name Commando. In 1944, Commando was fitted with a single-fin and rudder. Commando was lost over the Atlantic on Mar 27, 1945 while on a flight to Canada. All aboard were lost, including Air Marshal Sir (Peter) Roy Maxwell Drummond, the RAF's Air Member for Training.

Retired Liberator IIs also flew in the Berlin Airlift of 1948. G-AHDY (AL522), G-AHZP (AL516) and G-AHZR (AL552) operated by Scottish Aviation flew fuel and freight.

A total of 139 Liberator IIs were delivered to the RAF, serial numbers being AL504/AL642. Later, an ex-USAAF Liberator was handed over to the RAF as a replacement for the lost AL503. It was assigned the serial FP685. It was breifly returned to the USAAF, but the RAF immediately took it back. It remained in service with the RAF until the end of the war, and was returned to the 5th AF, where it was scrapped in 1946.

Immediately after Pearl Harbor, the USAAF requisitioned 75 of the Liberator IIs from the RAF order. For some reason, they were carried on USAAF rosters under the designation LB-30 (the original export designation for the Liberator) rather than as B-24, and they retained their RAF serial numbers.

Fifteen USAAF LB-30 bombers were deployed in Java in early 1942 to reinforce the B-17-equipped 19th Bombardment Group in a vain attempt to stem the Japanese advance. These USAAF LB-30s were hastily re-equipped with a Martin power turret armed with two 0.50-inch machine guns in the dorsal position behind the wing instead of the four-gun Boulton-Paul turret of the RAF version. The tail position was fitted with a pair of hand-held 0.50-inch machine guns mounted behind sliding doors. Single hand-held 0.50-inch machine guns were installed in the nose, ventral tunnel, and each waist position. The tunnel gun was located on the belly of the rear fuselage, and pointed in the aft direction. It was fired downward through the rear entrance hatch. Small scanning windows for the gun were located along the lower sides of the fuselage. The Dark Earth and Dark Green over Black camouflage scheme of the RAF was retained, but the roundels were painted over with USAAF insignia.

The Java-based LB-30s would be the first US-flown Liberators to see action. One was lost in a crash in the USA before delivery, another ditched en route, and a third was delayed as a result of damage incurred in an accident in the USA. Those Liberators which did reach the Java front participated in numerous attacks against Japanese targets in the Celebes, in Sumatra, and participated in raids against shipping during the Japanese invasion of Bali. By late February, the position of Allied forces in Java had become untenable, and the surviving LB-30s had to be evacuated to Australia. Two LB-30s survived in Australia until 1944 after having been converted to C-87 transport configuration.

Another 17 LB-30s were equipped with Canadian-built radar and deployed to Latin America with the 6th Bombardment Group to provide defense for the Panama Canal. Three LB-30s were sent to Alaska to join the 28th Composite Group. These saw action against Japanese shipping during the Aleutian campaign.

Those LB-30s that were not used as bombers were converted as transports and were assigned to the 7th Air Force in the Pacific and used to ferry men and supplies. All of their armament was removed, and the transparent nose and tail positions were faired over. Windows were cut into the sides of the fuselage, and a cargo door was installed in the rear fuselage where the waist positions used to be.

At least four ex-USAAF LB-30s were operated by Consairways, the company-operated airline which had a USAAF contract for the return of ferry crews from the Pacific. Known serials were AL531, AL568, AL594, and AL598.

46 of the requisitioned LB-30s saw active service with the USAAF, either as bombers or as transports. Of the remaining 29, six were lost in accidents during the first six weeks of their service, and 23 were eventually returned to the RAF.

 

Specification of Consolidated Liberator II

Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radials rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1000 hp at 14,500 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 263 mph at 15,000 feet. Service ceiling 24,000 feet. Weights: 46,250 pounds gross. Dimensions: Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 66 feet 4 inches, height 18 feet 0 inches, wing area 1048 square feet. Total of fourteen 0.303-inch Colt-Browning machine guns, four in dorsal turret behind the wing, four in tail turret, two in each waist position, one in nose and one in the belly.

 

Serials of LB-30

·         AL503/AL667 Consolidated Liberator II

·         AL503 Crashed into San Diego Bay during acceptance flight, killing all aboard including Consolidated chief test pilot William Wheatley.

·         AL504 Converted to *Commando*, VIP transport for the Prime Minister. Lost over Atlantic between Azores and Ottawa Mar 27, 1945. The Prime Minister was not onboard.

·         AL505 Nosewheel collapsed on landing at Boscombe Down Aug 17 1942 and DBR

·         AL506 Caught fire on approach due to bomb fouling doors and damaging fuel lines and crashlanded at Brindisi Sep 25, 1943

·         AL507 Repossessed by USAAF. Turned over to Britain Mar 25, 1943. To BOAS Aug 1, 1944 as G-AHYC. Bellylanded Heathfield Oct 2, 1946 and salvaged.

·         AL508 Repossessed by USAAF.  (7th BG, 11th BS) arrived in Java from Darwin via Pacific route Jan 26, 1942. Based at Jogia from Jan 27, 1942.  Crashed at Essendon airfield May 18, 1942 on takeoff.  Condemned May 15, 1943

·         AL509 Nosewheel collapsed on landing at Aqir Aug 19, 1942 and DBR

·         AL510 To civil registry Sep 19, 1946 as G-AHZP.  Crashed Speke, CofA Aug 12, 1946 during flight from London to Reykjavik with Iceland Airways

·         AL511 (150 Squadron) shot down by BF 110, Tripoli, May 3, 1942

·         AL512 Used in return ferry service. To BOAC as G-AGEL Nov 20, 1943.  Hit snowdrift on night takeoff and engine caught fire, Gander Dec 27, 1943

·         AL513 To BOAC as G-AGIP. Force landed on ferry flight 15 m N of Rota, Spain and destroyed by crew Dec 15, 1942

·         AL514 To Britain Mar 10, 1942.  To BOAC as G-AGJP

·         AL515 Commandeered by USAAF. Arrived via Pacific Route via McDill Fl, Hamilton CA, Hickam Hi, Palmyra IS, Canton Is, Nausori (Fiji), Garbutt(Townsville Qld), Darwin (NT) to Malang, Java. Last LB30A out of Java on Mar 2, 1942 in 7 hour flight to Broome, landed, refuelled and flew on to RAAF Pearce before the Broome Raid the next day. Returned to Broome to evacuate survivors of Raid to RAAF Pearce. Left RAAF Pearce to RAAF Laverton Vic Mar 6, 1942 taking 8Hours 20 mins. Surviving 3 Pacific based LB30A's were established into a flight within the 435th BS/19thBG at Garbutt, Townsville. AL515 eventually went on to bigger things, but bellied in at Milne Bay airstrip on the Aug 20, 1942. Was stripped, but a week later was strafed by Japanese and destroyed on Aug 27, 1942.  Condemned Aug 28, 1942

·         AL516 To BOAC as G-AZHP.  Overshot landing and crashed in sea, Gibraltar Oct 31, 1942. 

·         AL517 to Australia as VIP transport ("Dawson Air Lines") Oct 26, 1944.  Later G-AGKU with BOAC.  Lost Dec 1947.

·         AL518 sold to Scottish Aviation for spares Sep 19, 1946

·         AL519 flew into hill after night takeoff 5 m SW of Ballykelly Nov 3, 1942

·         AL520 hit hill descending in cloud on ferry flight 120 mi ESE of Amman, Transjordan Dec 30, 1942

·         AL521 requisitioned by USAAF.  Lost in Japanese raid on Darwin, Australia Feb 19, 1942.

·         AL522 to BOAC as G-AHYD Oct 1, 1944

·         AL523 crashed on takeoff from RAF North Front Field, Gibraltar Jul 4, 1943, killing the exiled Polish Prime Minister General Wladyslaw Sikorski.  Only the pilot survived.  This crash is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Throughout World War II Sikorski tried to organize the Polish Army and constantly negotiated with Churchill and Roosvelt to circumvent any appeasement deals between the Allies, Russia, and Germany which would come at Poland's expense. By this time, the Free Poles had found out about the Katyn Massacre, and thus terminated relations with the Soviet Union on April 26, 1943.  As Sikorski was the most prestigious leader of the Polish exiles, his death was a severe setback to the Polish cause, and was certainly highly convenient for Stalin. It was in some ways also convenient for the western Allies, who were finding the Polish issue a stumbling-block in their efforts to preserve good relations with Stalin.  This has given rise to persistent suggestions that Sikorski's death was not accidental.  This has never been proved.

·         AL524 (c/n 22) to BOAC Jan 31, 1946 as G-AGTJ.  To Qantas Mar 1946.  To civil registry as VH-EAJ. SOC Nov 1950.  Broken up at Mascot, NSW.

·         AL525 swung on takeoff, hit pile of stones and undercarriage leg collapsed, Lydda Nov 23, 1943.  To maintenance as 4218M

·         AL526 MIA from flare dropping mission over Burma Apr 6, 1943

·         AL527 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked near March Field, CA Jul 1, 1942 when crashed and burned after takeoff

·         AL528 to Britain Apr 3, 1942.  To BOAC as G-AGEM.  Crashed on landing in icing conditions, Charlottetown, PEI Feb 22, 1946

·         AL529 to Britain Mar 25, 1942.  To BOAC as G-AHYE.

·         AL530 crashed May 31, 1944 and SOC

·         AL531 undercarriage jammed and crashlanded at Karachi Nov 4, 1942.  Not repared and SOC Jun 2, 1943

·         AL532 requisitioned by USAAF.  To C-87 with USAAF.  To RFC at Kingman Oct 5, 1946

·         AL533 requisitioned by USAAF. Arrived at Darwin Jan 30, 1942, to Jogia, Java.  w/o in combat when strafed and destroyed    at Jogjiakarka Mar 1, 1942.

·         AL534 MIA at Benghazi Jul 23, 1942

·         AL535 requisitioned by USAAF.  Damaged by fighters and force landed on beach at small island of Greater Mesalembo Jan 18, 1942. Crew picked up by PBY Jan 25, 1942.  First USAAF Liberator combat loss.

·         AL536 NFT Apr 27, 1944

·         AL537 (159 Sqdn) shot down by AAA near Tobruk Aug 24, 1942

·         AL538 overshot landing in bad visibility while trying to locate Lyneham, Clyffe Pypard Oct 18, 1942 and DBR.

·         AL539 requisitioned by USAAF.  Crashed Jun 8, 1943.  Condemned Jun 9, 1943.

·         AL540 crashed Lydda Nov 18, 1943.  NFD, SOC Jan 1, 1944

·         AL541 (c/n 39) to BOAC Oct 8, 1945 as G-AGTI.  To Qantas Nov 29, 1945.  To civil registry as VH-EAI. SOC Aug 4, 1950.  Broken up at Mascot, NSW.

·         AL542 to Britain.  Nosewheel collapsed in heavy landing at Heliopolis Jul 3, 1942.  Not repaired.

·         AL543 requisitioned by USAAF.  Surveyed May 29, 1943

·         AL544 (129 Sqdn) damaged by fighters near Toungoo and crashlanded at Chittagong Apr 19, 1943

·         AL545 (511 Sqdn) caught fire in hangar at Lyneham May 7, 1944

·         AL546 wing collapsed after engine fire and crashed Race Farm, Lytchett Minster, Dorset Mar 24, 1942

·         AL547 (c/n 45) to BOAC as G-AGKU Jul 24, 1944.  To Qantas Aug 14, 1944. Nosewheel collapsed on landing at Guildford, WA Oct 16, 1944.  Broken up at Mascot, NSW Jun 1947.

·         AL548 MIA (Maleme) Oct 28, 1942

·         AL549 brakes failed while taxying and ran into ditch at Polebrook Apr 23, 1942 and DBR

·         AL550 ditched off Sharjah Sep 8, 1944

·         AL551 SOC Apr 26, 1945

·         AL552 undercarriage collapsed in heavy landing at night, Fayid Jul 2, 1942.  Later to BOAC as G-AHZR, and later F-OASS.

·         AL553 SOC Jul 31, 1942

·         AL554 ran out of fuel on return from Tobruk and forcelanded in sand dunes in Palestine Jul 19, 1942

·         AL555 SOC Apr 26, 1945

·         AL556 hit obstruction on landing and undercarriage collapsed at Thruxton Jan 26, 1942

·         AL557 to 224 Sqdn, then 120 Sqdn, then 1445Flt, then 159 Sqdn.  LAter G-AGZI with BOAC and Scottish Aviation.  Later SX-DAA *Maid of Athens* with Hellenic Airways. Later with Morris-Knudson as N9981F, then N68735, then N92MK.  Crashed at Kalikat Creek, Alaska in 1958.  Planned recovery by Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum.

·         AL558

·         AL559

·         AL560 sold to Scottish Aviation for spares Sep 19, 1946.  Also listed as crashing after engine failure Aug 12, 1943 at Salbani

·         AL561

·         AL562

·         AL563 sold to Scottish Aviation for spares Sep 19, 1946

·         AL564 undercarriage failed during night landing with 178 Sqdn.  Tire burst on landing Apr 15, 1943 and undercarriage collapsed.

·         AL565 MIA Bari Apr 27, 1943.

·         AL566 flew first Liberator bombing mission Jan 10, 1942.  Shot down by AAA Benghazi Jul 15, 1942.

·         AL567 requisitioned by USAAF.  Destroyed on ground by strafing attack on Jogiakarta Feb 22, 1942.

·         AL568 requisitioned by USAAF.  To RFC at Walnut Ridge Jan 13, 1946.

·         AL569 w/o Nov 1941 in landing when ran into drainage ditch.

·         AL570 requisitioned by USAAF.  To RFC at Walnut Ridge Jan 9, 1946

·         AL571 to BOAC as G-AGZH

·         AL572 requisitioned by USAAF.  Hit by bomb in hangar Jogiakarta Mar 1, 1942.

·         AL573 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked Jan 1, 1942 at MacDill Field when gear unlocked during landing rollout.  Repaired.  Became transport in Australia as VHCBM.  To RFC at Walnut Ridge Jan 17, 1946.

·         AL574 to RFC at Walnut Ridge Jan 15, 1946.  Also have this one as crashlanding with No 108 Squadron at Fayid, Egypt Feb 22, 1942.

·         AL575 requisitioned by USAAF.  Landing gear would not extend, crew bailed out Jan 2, 1942, San Diego, CA

·         AL576 requisitioned by USAAF.  Arrived via Africa Jan 12, 1942 at Malang, Java.  Later forced landed at Makassar, Jan 7, 1942. crew picked up by US Navy PBY and returned to Malang, Java.

·         AL577 flew into high ground in bad weather, Jenkinstown, Eire Jun 16, 1942

·         AL578 SOC May 30, 1946

·         AL579 sold Sep 19, 1946

·         AL580 sold Sep 19, 1946

·         AL581 damaged in India Mar 22,1943, and SOC.

·         AL582 undershot landing, swung and undercarriage collapsed 2 m S of Ghemines Jun 1, 1943 and DBR

·         AL583 requisitioned by USAAF.  To RFC at Walnut Ridge Jan 15, 1946. To civil registry as NL4674N, later RX-102 (Transportes Aereos de Panama).

·         AL584 flew into mountain on flight in snowstorm, Atun, France Nov 14, 1944. 11 killed.

·         AL585 sold Sep 19, 1946

·         AL586 requisitioned by USAAF.  To RFC at Kingman Jan 9, 1946

·         AL587 missing between Gibraltar and Lyneham Mar 23, 1943.

·         AL588 lost tail unit in turn and crashed 1/2 m E of Marston Moor Aug 5, 1942

·         AL589 requisitioned by USAAF.  Lost with 5th BG on raid from Midway to Wake Island Jun 7, 1942.  MACR 600.  General Clarence L. Tinker was on board.

·         AL590 to Britain Jul 20, 1942.  Ran short of fuel and belly landed in bad weather near Cazes, Morocco Dec 8, 1943

·         AL591 to BOAC.  Ran out of fuel and crashlanded 10 mi NE of Gander Feb 9, 1943.

·         AL592 wrecked May 8, 1942 at Westover AAF, MA, repaired.  To Britain as G-AYHF May 4, 1942.

·         AL593 to Britain Jan Nov 22, 1942.  Returned to US Jan 24, 1945.  Returned to Britain Jan 18, 1946.

·         AL594 requisitioned by USAAF.  To RFC at Kingman Oct 8, 1946

·         AL595 to Britain Apr 20, 1942.  Flew into ground on night approach 1/2 m SE of Lyneham Nov 6, 1942.

·         AL596 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked at Westover Field Jan 31, 1943, converted to ground training aircraft Feb 5, 1943.

·         AL597 to BOAC Mar 23, 1944, for spares source

·         AL598 requisitioned by USAAF.  to RFC at Kingman Oct 6, 1946

·         AL599 to Britain Apr 19, 1942.  Sold Sep 19, 1946

·         AL600 to Britain Apr 20, 1942.  SOC Nov 8, 1943

·         AL601 requisitioned by USAAF.  Crashed into hill Jun 4, 1942, Hamilton Field, CA.  14 on board killed.

·         AL602 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked at Kodiak, Alaska May 22, 1942 when overshot landing and fell into ravine.

·         AL603 to Britain Apr 21, 1942.  To BOAC Aug 8, 1944 as G-AHYG

·         AL604 requisitioned by USAAF. Exploded in midair north of Rio Hato AB, Canal Zone Jun 15, 1943.  2 killed, 3 parachuted to safety.

·         AL605 requisitioned by USAAF. Wrecked in landing accident Jun 17, 1943, Rio Hato AB, Canal Zone when landing gear collapsed.

·         AL606 requisitioned by USAAF. Ditched between Palmyra and Canton Islands Jan 31, 1942.  Only 2 survived.  Condemned Oct 31, 1944.

·         AL607 requisitioned by USAAF. Wrecked 5 mi S of Hanna, WY when abandoned by crew during ice storm Jun 27, 1942.

·         AL608 requisitioned by USAAF. Used to evacuate General Wavell to Ceylon Feb 26, 1942.  Condemned Oct 31, 1944

·         AL609 requisitioned by USAAF. Destroyed in strafing attack Mar 1, 1942.

·         AL610 to Britain Apr 28, 1942. Used as spares, then rebuilt as transport for CVAC.

·         AL611 requisitioned by USAAF. Salvaged Jul 31, 1945

·         AL612 requisitioned by USAAF. Damaged Jan 12, 1942, broken left wing on landing.  Salvaged for parts at Malang. destroyed in strafing attack Feb 27, 1942.

·         AL613 requisitioned by USAAF. To RFC at Kingman Jan 9, 1946

·         AL614 to Britain May 8, 1942.

·         AL615 requisitioned by USAAF. Condemned Oct 7, 1944.

·         AL616 to Britain Apr 22, 1942. Wrecked the same day at Montreal, Canada but repaired.

·         AL617 requisitioned by USAAF. Salvaged Jul 31, 1945

·         AL618 requisitioned by USAAF. Wrecked Panama Apr 9, 1943, SOC May 6, 1943.

·         AL619 (c/n 117) to Britain Apr 22, 1942. To BOAC May 15, 1944 as G-AGKT.  To Qantas Jun 3, 1944. Inaugurated Liberator service from Perth to Colombo Jun 17, 1944.  Broken up at Mascot, NSW Jun 1947.

·         AL620 to Britain Apr 22, 1942.  Missing (Tripoli) Jan 16, 1943

·         AL621 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked at Tucson, AZ during force landing and hit a house Dec 23, 1942.  Surveyed Jan 1, 1943.

·         AL622 requisitioned by USAAF.  Condemned at Kodiak Oct 30, 1943.

·         AL623 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked in landing in Carribean Dec 13, 1942.

·         AL624 to Britain Apr 22, 1942.  Flew into hill in cloud, Millfore, Kirkcudbright Sep 14, 1942

·         AL625 to Britain Apr 21, 1942.  To BOAC Dec 31, 1944

·         AL626 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked Mar 29, 1942 at Patterson AAF, OH when nosewheel collapsed, but repaired. SOC as worn out by Dec 31, 1945.

·         AL627 to Britain May 8, 1942.  to BOAC as G-AHYJ.

·         AL628 requisitioned by USAAF as C-87.  To RFC at Walnut Ridge Feb 1, 1946

·         AL629 requisitioned by USAAF.  Condemned Oct 7, 1944, Salanis, Ecuador.

·         AL630 to Britain Apr 22, 1942.

·         AL631 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked on beach at Buenaventura, Columbia Apr 14, 1942.  SOC Jun 10, 1942.

·         AL632 requisitioned by USAAF.  To RFC at Kingman, AZ Jan 12, 1946.

·         AL633 requisitioned by USAAF.  Condemned in Hawaii sometime in 1945.

·         AL634 requisitioned by USAAF.  Wrecked in landing accident Dec 31, 1942.

·         AL635 to Britain

·         AL636 to Britain Apr 27, 1942.  SOC Jan 7, 1944

·         AL637 requisitioned by USAAF.  Converted to C-87.  To RFC at Cincinatti, OH Jan 31, 1946

·         AL638 to Britain Apr 20, 1942.  Missing (Naples) Mar 5, 1943

·         AL639 requisitioned by USAAF, converted to C-87.  To RFC at Cincinatti, OH Jan 10, 1946

·         AL640 requisitioned by USAAF, converted to C-87.  Salvaged as C-87 Nov 3, 1945

·         AL641 requisitioned by USAAF.  To RFC as C-87 Walnut Ridge, Ark Jan 7, 1946

·         AL642/AL646 not built

·         AL647 SOC Feb 15, 1946.  Not sure if this one ever got built.

·         AL648/AL667 not built

Consolidated XB-24B Liberator

Disappointed at the XB-24 prototype's relatively slow maximum speed of 273 mph instead of the 311 mph originally estimated, on July 26, 1940, the Army recommended that some changes be made to the aircraft to improve its performance, especially at high altitude.

First and perhaps most important of these changes was the introduction of engine turbosuperchargers to give the aircraft a better high-altitude performance. Accordingly, the XB-24 was re-engined with 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-41 (S4C4-G) radials which were equipped with General Electric B-2 turbosuperchargers which replaced the mechanical two-speed superchargers of the earlier engines. The turbosuperchargers were mounted on the lower surface of each engine nacelle. The oil coolers were relocated to the flanks of the front cowlings and the air intakes for the turbosuperchargers were placed on the sides of the engines, which gave the nacelles a characteristic elliptical cross-section, which remained with the Liberator all throughout its production career.

The Army also directed that Consolidated eliminate the "wet" wing and install self-sealing fuel tanks in the wing. The engine controls were modified so that they permitted at least 60 percent engine power even if the controls were shot away. Electrical engine primers were added, and the engine nacelles were redesigned. The tail span was increased by two feet.

With all these changes, the XB-24 was redesignated XB-24B and reserialed 39-680. The first flight of the XB-24B took place on February 1, 1941. The performance was markedly improved. With turbosuperchargers fitted, the original takeoff power of 1200 hp could be maintained to well above 20,000 feet, resulting in an increase in maximum speed to 310 mph. Turbosuperchargers remained a feature of all later production Liberators.

Problems with the R-1830-41 engines led the Army to replace them with the more reliable 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-43 engines.

The B-24C was the production breakdown aircraft used to finalize the production line for mass production of a fully-combat capable Liberator. Serials were 40-2378/2386, which had originally been allocated to a B-24A production lot.

The B-24C incorporated changes which had been first tried out on the XB-24B plus changes that had been recommended as a result of combat experience in Europe with the Liberator I and II of the RAF. These changes included the turbosupercharged Pratt & Whitney R-1830-41 engines and self-sealing tanks that had first been tested on the XB-24B. The turbosupercharged engines were capable of maintaining a rating of 1200 hp to altitudes above 20,000 feet, increasing the top speed to more than 300 mph. With the turbosupercharged engines, the engine cowlings took on a distinctly oval cross section when viewed from the front, a feature which remained with all future Liberators. In addition, the B-24C incorporated the three-foot-longer nose that had been introduced on the RAF Liberator II. The B-24C also introduced a twin-gun Martin Model 250CE-3 power-operated turret on the upper fuselage immediately behind the cockpit (the turret on the LB-30 for the RAF was on the upper fuselage aft of the wing). An interrupter switch was provided to prevent the gunner from accidentally firing into the vertical tail surfaces of the aircraft. A twin-gun Consolidated-designed A-6 power turret was mounted in the tail position, with a total of 825 rounds provided. A single 0.50-inch machine gun was mounted in the nose. Another 0.50-inch machine gun was installed on a flexible mount firing from the "tunnel" position underneath the rear fuselage facing aft. A 0.50-inch machine gun was mounted at each waist position. The total armament of the B-24C was eight 0.50-inch machine guns. The B-24C reverted to Hamilton Standard propellers, as did all subsequent Liberators.

The nine B-24Cs were delivered to the USAAF at the end of 1941. No B-24Cs were to see combat, all nine planes being used for crew training and various tests. They were later redesignated RB-24C, where the R stood for "restricted from combat use".

The B-24C was immediately followed off the line by the B-24D, the first fully combat-capable version.

The Liberator Production Pool

In order to meet the projected demand for the B-24, in early 1941 the government established the Liberator Production Pool Program. Under this program, Consolidated would set up a new plant in Fort Worth, Texas to supplement the Liberator production in its main San Diego plant and Douglas would open up a similar plant for Liberator production in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The initial plan was for the Douglas/Tulsa plant to put together complete Liberators from sub-assemblies and components provided to it by Consolidated until it acquired enough experience to build complete aircraft on its own.

Shortly thereafter, the Ford Motor Company joined the Liberator Production Pool Program as a third member. Ford planned to build Liberators at an entirely new plant at Willow Run near Detroit. Initially, Ford was assigned the task of providing components for final assembly by Consolidated/Fort Worth and Douglas/Tulsa, but in October of 1941 Ford received permission to assemble complete Liberators on its own.

In January of 1942, following Pearl Harbor, North American Aviation was given a contract for the manufacture of B-24s at its Dallas, Texas plant. This brought the total number of plants involved in Liberator production to five.

By early 1942, the Army had formalized its initial Liberator production plan. Primary manufacturers of the B-24 were to be Consolidated/San Diego, Ford/Willow Run, and North American/Dallas. These aircraft were to be designated B-24D, B-24E, and B-24G respectively. Consolidated/Fort Worth and Douglas/Tulsa were to carry out the final construction of planes by putting together sub-assemblies provided by the other three plants. Eventually, Consolidated/Fort Worth would also become a primary manufacturing center. In addition, the Ford plant at Willow Run was designated as the prime contractor for B-24 spare parts.

The Willow Run plant was truly gigantic. It was built on a 65-acre site and was almost a quarter of a mile wide and a half-mile long. It had a 90-degree bend in the middle of its length. This bend had supposedly been put there at the insistence of Henry Ford himself. According to local legend, the length of the plant had been miscalculated by the architects during the initial design work, and the bend had to be introduced in order to prevent the plant from extending into the next county where the taxes were higher. This bend came to be known as the "tax turn", and Liberators had to take a rather awkward 90-degree turn as they progressed down the assembly line.

The first B-24Ds for the USAAF were manufactured by Consolidated/San Diego in January of 1942. As part of its participation in the Liberator Production Pool, the Consolidated/San Diego plant began to supply sub-assemblies for B-24Ds to Consolidated/Fort Worth in May of 1942, and to Douglas/Tulsa in August 1942 for final assembly.

The first Ford-built Liberator rolled off the Willow Run line in September of 1942. The Ford-built Liberator was designated B-24E. The Ford plant had lots of initial startup problems, due primarily to the fact that Ford employees were used to automobile mass production and found it difficult to adapt these techniques to aircraft production. Ford's plant at Willow Run was beset with labor difficulties, high absentee rates, and rapid employee turnover. The factory was nearly an hour's drive from Detroit, and the imposition of wartime gasoline and tire rationing had made the daily commute difficult. In only one month, Ford had hired 2900 workers but had lost 3100. Henry Ford was cantankerous and rigid in his ways. He was violently anti-union and there were serious labor difficulties, including a massive strike. In addition, Henry Ford refused on principle to hire women. However, he finally relented and did employ "Rosie the Riveters" on his assembly lines, probably more because so many of his potential male workers had been drafted into the military than due to any sudden development of a social conscience on his part. At the request of the government, Ford began to decentralize operations and many parts were assembled at other Ford plants as well as by the company's sub-contractors, with the Willow Run plant concentrating on final assembly. The bugs were eventually worked out of the manufacturing processes, and by 1944, Ford was rolling a Liberator off the Willow Run production line every 63 minutes. A total of 6972 Liberators were built at Ford, and 1893 knock-down parts were provided for other manufacturers.

The last member of the pool to produce Liberators was North American/Dallas. The version of the Liberator built by North American was designated B-24G. The first B-24G Liberators rolled off the line at Dallas in late 1942.

Since five different manufacturing plants were now building the Liberator, it was necessary for the USAAF to keep track of which plane was built by which plant for maintenance and spare parts purposes. This was done by adding a manufacturer identification code to the designation scheme after the block number to identify the builder of a particular airplane. These letters identified the particular plant which was responsible for the construction of the aircraft. The letters designating the five members of the pool were as follows

CO Consolidated/San Diego CF Consolidated/Fort Worth DT Douglas/Tulsa FO Ford/Willow Run NT North American/Dallas

However, since each plant in the pool would often use sub-assemblies and components provided by the other members, even this system was not completely adequate to tell maintenance people which factory was really responsible for any given plane. The general rule seems to be that the manufacturer code assigned to a particular aircraft corresponded to the factory that was responsible for its final assembly, with the series letter (D, E or G) identifying the primary manufacturer.

The version of the Liberator that underwent primary manufacture at Consolidated/San Diego was designated B-24D. When the B-24D was completely assembled at San Diego, it was designated B-24D-CO. However, Consolidated/San Diego also shipped parts and components of B-24Ds to Consolidated/Fort Worth and to Douglas/Tulsa for final assembly. B-24Ds assembled by these plants were designated B-24D-CF and B-24D-DT respectively.

The B-24E was the version of the B-24D that underwent primary manufacture by Ford at Willow Run. There were significant differences between the B-24E and the other two versions. Not only did Ford build complete planes, but it also supplied components of B-24Es for final assembly at Douglas/Tulsa and at Consolidated/Fort Worth. B-24Es built and fully assembled at Ford were designated B-24E-FO, but those assembled by Douglas/Tulsa and Consolidated/Fort Worth out of parts supplied by Ford were designated B-24E-DT and B-24E-CF respectively.

The version of the Liberator built by North American/Dallas was designated B-24G. It differed little from the Consolidated/San Diego-built version. Since North American/Dallas was only a primary manufacturer and did not supply components to the other members of the pool, all B-24Gs bore the NT manufacturer's letters.

As might have been expected, the production pool system did cause lots of problems with standardization of components and equipment. Variants coming from the various members of the pool would often have significant detail differences from each other, leading to a spare parts and interchangeability nightmare. There were often significant differences between the various production blocks of the same model Liberator and sometimes differences even WITHIN a production block. Parts for Liberators built at different factories were often not interchangeable with each other, and all four factories involved in primary manufacturing produced Liberators of similar variants but of vastly different detail specification. Even the two Consolidated plants suffered from this problem.

With the introduction of the B-24J, all five members of the pool (both primary manufacturers and sub-assemblers) converted to the production of this version.

Since Liberator production rates were extremely high, it became difficult to introduce changes dictated by field experience onto the production line in a timely fashion. Consequently, newly-constructed Liberators were often already obsolescent as soon as they rolled off the line. For this reasons, a series of modification centers were established for the incorporation of these changes into new Liberators following their manufacture. There were seven known modification centers: Consolidated/Fort Worth, Oklahoma City Air Materiel Center, Tucson Modification Center, Birmingham Depot, Northwest Airlines Depot, Martin-Omaha, and Hawaiian Air Depot.

Consolidated B-24D Liberator

The B-24D was the first truly combat-capable version of the Liberator to be delivered to the USAAF. Under the provisions of the Liberator Production Pool program, B-24D was the designation assigned to those production Liberators built by Consolidated/San Diego as primary contractor. As part of its participation in the Liberator Production Pool, the Consolidated/San Diego plant supplied components and sub-assemblies of B-24Ds to Consolidated/Fort Worth and to Douglas/Tulsa for final assembly.

The B-24D was essentially similar to the B-24C which immediately preceded it. Since B-24D was the designation assigned to the production pool version of the Liberator that was built by the Consolidated/San Diego parent company, B-24Ds were the first to roll off the production line. The first B-24Ds produced by Consolidated/San Diego were delivered to the Army in late January or early February of 1942. A total of 2425 B-24Ds were built by Consolidated/San Diego.

As part of its participation in the Liberator Production Pool, the Consolidated/San Diego plant began to supply components of B-24Ds to Consolidated/Fort Worth and to Douglas/Tulsa for final assembly. The first B-24Ds rolled off the line at the Consolidated plant in Fort Worth in May of 1942. Fort Worth eventually built 303 B-24Ds. In July of 1942, the first Douglas-assembled B-24Ds were delivered. However, only ten B-24Ds were assembled by Douglas/Tulsa before production switched over to later versions.

A total of 2738 B-24Ds were built by the three contractors in the pool before production switched over to later versions.

During the production run of the B-24D, it was found necessary to introduce the production block designation system, in which a number was added behind the series letter in the aircraft designation in order to keep track of the myriads of different innovations that were introduced on the production line. This production block designation system began with San Diego-built serial number 41-23640, which was assigned the designation B-24D-1-CO. Since the Liberator was now being built by more than one manufacturer, the manufacturer identification had to be included as well, with CO standing for Consolidated/San Diego, CF for Consolidated/Fort Worth and DT for Douglas/Tulsa. To make things even more confusing, there was usually no correlation between the various production block numbers used by the three different plants which built the B-24D.

The Martin upper fuselage power turret (400 rpg) and the Consolidated A-6A tail turret (600 rpg) introduced on the B-24C were retained on the B-24D. However, the ventral tunnel gun initially installed on the B-24C was not fitted, and no waist guns were provided. The maximum bomb load was 8000 pounds, and the maximum fuel tankage was 2364 US gallons. The first 94 B-24Ds built by Consolidated (up to B-24D-15-CO) had a single flexible 0.50-inch machine gun installed on a ball-and-socket mount in the lower part of the nose.

A retractable tailskid was first added with B-24D-1-CO 41-23640 and subsequently added to airplanes 41-11582 and later. On airplanes without the tailskid installed, a tail bumper was provided.

Beginning with the 77th production B-24D (41-11587), a Bendix-designed remotely-controlled power turret was installed in the ventral position. It housed a pair of 0.50-inch machine guns. The power turret was retractable and was aimed by a gunner who sighted the target through an optical periscope. A similar sort of design had been fitted to the early B-17E. On both aircraft, gunners found the system to be completely unworkable in combat. It was almost impossible to see anything through the rather complicated optical system during realistic operational conditions, the gunners often suffering from disorientation, vertigo, and nausea when sighting a target through the periscope. When viewed to the front, the target showed up in the sight in its normal upright position, but the image tilted left or right on the sides, and was inverted in the sight when viewed to the rear. After 287 B-24Ds had been built with this turret, the USAAF finally admitted that the sighting system was unworkable, and the ventral tunnel gun was re-introduced on the B-24D-15-CO 41-23970 production block of airplanes.

Based on combat experience, it soon became clear that additional armament would be needed on the B-24D. Beginning with B-24D-25-CO serial number 41-24220 and B-24D-10-CF 42-63837, single waist guns in full swivel mounts were installed, with a total of 350 rounds per gun. When not in use, the waist guns could be stowed and a hatch cover could be placed over the window cutouts. A deflector shield was installed in the forward side of the waist window to keep some of the wind from blowing in when the cover was opened. This brought the total armament of the B-24D to eight guns (one in the nose, two in the top turret, two in the tail turret, one in the ventral tunnel, and one in each of the left and right waist positions).

In order to protect against frontal attacks, the single nose gun was supplemented by additional cheek-mounted guns firing from ball-and-socket slots cut into each side of the nose. An additional window had to be cut into the nose to provide a view for the operators of these guns. The cheek guns could be aimed by the bombardier when he was standing. With all three guns fitted, the space inside the nose was extremely crowded. This brought the total armament to ten guns (3 in the nose, two in dorsal turret, two in waist positions, two in the tail, and one in the tunnel position). Later, an additional socket was cut into the apex of the nose, and the flexible nose gun was often carried at this position rather than in the lower nose position. However, I don't think that B-24Ds ever flew with four nose guns fitted.

Beginning with B-24D-140-CO serial number 42-41164, the tunnel gun mount in the rear ventral fuselage was replaced by a manned Sperry ball turret similar to that mounted on the late B-17E. It carried a pair of 0.50-inch machine guns, with all the ammunition being carried inside the turret. Like the ball turret in the B-17, the gunner sat entirely inside the turret to operate the guns. Unlike the ball turret in the B-17, was fully-retractable into the fuselage, which made landings much easier and less hair-raising. The turret could rotate a full 360 degrees and the guns could depress between 0 and 90 degrees. The armament was now eleven guns (three in the nose, two in upper dorsal turret, two in tail turret, two in belly turret, and two in the waist positions).

Late production B-24Ds beginning with B-24D-135-CO 42-41115 on the San Diego line and with the B-24D-20-CF block on the Fort Worth line introduced the R-1830-65 engine. This engine differed from the R-1830-43 previously used in having a Stromberg PB12 carburetor in place of the Chandler Evans CE-1099-CPB-3 carburetor. This engine still developed an output of 1200 hp at an altitude as high as 26,500 feet, greatly enhancing altitude performance. The R-1830-65 was also used on the few B-24D-1-DT to -5-DTs built by Douglas.

German and Japanese fighters quickly found that the Liberator (like the B-17) was vulnerable to frontal attack. The addition of the two 0.50-inch machine guns in the cheeks of late-model B-24Ds did not help very much in warding off these attacks. The cheek guns were awkward to operate and there were significant blind spots. Various field modifications were tried out in an attempt to correct this problem. Modifications such as the fitting of two 0.50-inch machine guns firing through the forward nose glass or the adding of more forward-firing guns underneath the bombardier's floor were tried, but did not help that much.

One modification that did work fairly well was the field installation by the 90th Bombardment Group of a Consolidated A-6 tail turret from a wrecked Liberator in the NOSE of another B-24D. The idea was supposedly the brainchild of Art Rogers, who first thought of it in April of 1942. A mockup was tried out at Ford/Willow Run in August of 1942. It took a while, however, before a working turret was actually installed in the nose of a Liberator. The first nose turrent was installed in 41-23759 while the plane was being repaired in Australia. So successful was this modification was that the Army authorized the installation of nose turrets in all Pacific-bound Liberators. The first such modifications were performed by the Hawaii Air Depot, with the Oklahoma City Army Air Corps Modification Center later joining the program. The Oklahoma City modified Liberators had a redesigned bombardier station which gave the aircraft nose a pronounced drooped chin and a distinct "tacked-on" appearance. These modified B-24Ds were given the designation B-24D1.

The first B-24Ds to go abroad were the Liberators of the Halverson Detachment, which consisted of 23 planes commanded by Col. Harry A. Halverson. The purpose of this group of picked aircrew was to begin bombing operations against Japan from bases in China in June of 1942. They were to fly to their Chinese bases by way of Africa, the Middle East, Iraq, and India. However, this force was held, initially only temporarily, in the Middle East to help defend against Rommel's advancing Afrika Korps. While there, the decision was made for the force to carry out a single raid against the Ploesti oilfields in Rumania. Thirteen planes of the Halverson Detachment carried out the first Ploesti raid on June 11-12, 1942, which was also the first strategic attack of any significance of the war to be carried out by land-based aircraft of the USAAF. The Liberators took off from the RAF base at Fayid in Egypt and flew across the Mediterranean, Greece, and Bulgaria to reach Ploesti. Complete surprise was achieved, and the planes dropped their 4000-pound bombloads through cloud at 10,000 feet. Seven of the planes reached their intended base in Iraq, two landed in Syria, and four landed in Turkey, where they were interned. Unfortunately, the damage to Ploesti was minimal and only succeeded in alerting the German High Command to the vulnerability of one of its primary fuel sources. This was to cost American bomber forces dearly during the epic low-level mission of August 1, 1943, when out of 178 bombers dispached to Ploesti only 33 were still fit to fly after the mission was over.

The Halversen Detachment never did reach China. After the first Ploesti raid, it remained in the Middle East to fight against Rommel, eventually being absorbed by the 1st Bomb Group in October of 1942.

B-24D-160-CO 42-72843 *Strawberry Bitch* is on display at the US Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. This is the only B-24D that still survives. However, there are reports that B-24D 40-2367 which was wrecked in Alaska during the war will be recovered by the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum for display in a museum in Denver, Colorado.

Serials of Consolidated B-24D Liberator

40-2349/2368 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-1087/1142 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11587 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11588/11589 Consolidated B-24D-CF Liberator 41-11590/11603 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11604/11605 Consolidated B-24D-CF Liberator 41-11606 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11607 Consolidated B-24D-CF Liberator 41-11609/11626 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11627/11628 Consolidated B-24D-CF Liberator 41-11629/11638 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11643/11654 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11658/11673 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11677/11703 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11705 Consolidated B-24D-CF Liberator 41-11710/11727 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11734/11741 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11748/11753 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11754/11756 Douglas-Tulsa B-24D-DT Liberator 41-11757/11787 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11790/11799 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11801/11836 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11839/11863 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11864 Douglas-Tulsa B-24D-DT Liberator 41-11865/11906 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-11909/11938 Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator 41-23640/23668 Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator 41-23671/23693 Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator 41-23697/23724 Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator 41-23725/23727 Douglas-Tulsa B-24D-1-DT Liberator 41-23728/23750 Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator 41-23751/23755 Consolidated B-24D-5-CO Liberator 41-23756/23758 Douglas-Tulsa B-24D-5-DT Liberator 41-23759/23790 Consolidated B-24D-5-CO Liberator 41-23794/23824 Consolidated B-24D-5-CO Liberator 41-23825/23849 Consolidated B-24D-7-CO Liberator 41-23853/23858 Consolidated B-24D-7-CO Liberator 41-23864/23902    Consolidated B-24D-10-CO Liberator 41-23906/23919   Consolidated B-24D-10-CO Liberator 41-23920/23958   Consolidated B-24D-13-CO Liberator 41-23960/23969   Consolidated B-24D-13-CO Liberator 41-23970/24003    Consolidated B-24D-15-CO Liberator 41-24007/24026   Consolidated B-24D-15-CO Liberator 41-24030/24099   Consolidated B-24D-15-CO Liberator 41-24100/24138   Consolidated B-24D-20-CO Liberator 41-24142/24157   Consolidated B-24D-20-CO Liberator 41-24164/24171 Consolidated B-24D-10-CO Liberator 41-24175/24219   Consolidated B-24D-20-CO Liberator 41-24220/24311   Consolidated B-24D-25-CO Liberator 41-24339 Consolidated B-24D-25-CO Liberator 42-40058/40137 Consolidated B-24D-30-CO Liberator 42-40138/40217 Consolidated B-24D-35-CO Liberator 42-40218/40257 Consolidated B-24D-40-CO Liberator 42-40258/40322 Consolidated B-24D-45-CO Liberator 42-40323/40344 Consolidated B-24D-50-CO Liberator 42-40345/40392 Consolidated B-24D-53-CO Liberator 42-40393/40432 Consolidated B-24D-55-CO Liberator 42-40433/40482 Consolidated B-24D-60-CO Liberator 42-40483/40527 Consolidated B-24D-65-CO Liberator 42-40528/40567 Consolidated B-24D-70-CO Liberator 42-40568/40612 Consolidated B-24D-75-CO Liberator 42-40613/40652 Consolidated B-24D-80-CO Liberator 42-40653/40697 Consolidated B-24D-85-CO Liberator 42-40698/40742 Consolidated B-24D-90-CO Liberator 42-40743/40787 Consolidated B-24D-95-CO Liberator 42-40788/40822 Consolidated B-24D-100-CO Liberator 42-40823/40867 Consolidated B-24D-105-CO Liberator 42-40868/40917 Consolidated B-24D-110-CO Liberator 42-40918/40962 Consolidated B-24D-115-CO Liberator 42-40963/41002 Consolidated B-24D-120-CO Liberator 42-41003/41047 Consolidated B-24D-125-CO Liberator 42-41048/41092 Consolidated B-24D-130-CO Liberator 42-41093/41137 Consolidated B-24D-135-CO Liberator 42-41138/41172 Consolidated B-24D-140-CO Liberator 42-41173/41217 Consolidated B-24D-145-CO Liberator 42-41218/41257 Consolidated B-24D-150-CO Liberator 42-63752/63796 Consolidated B-24D-1-CF Liberator 42-63797/63836 Consolidated B-24D-5-CF Liberator 42-63837/63896 Consolidated B-24D-10-CF Liberator 42-63897/63971 Consolidated B-24D-15-CF Liberator 42-63972/64046 Consolidated B-24D-20-CF Liberator 42-72765/72814 Consolidated B-24D-155-CO Liberator 42-72815/72864 Consolidated B-24D-160-CO Liberator 42-72865/72914 Consolidated B-24D-165-CO Liberator 42-72915/72963 Consolidated B-24D-170-CO Liberator

Specification of Consolidated B-24D Liberator

Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-43 fourteen-cylinder turbosupercharged air-cooled radial engines, each rated at 1200 hp at 23,400 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 303 mph at 25,000 feet. Cruising speed 200 mph. Landing speed 95 mph. Service ceiling 32,00 feet. An altitude of 20,000 feet could be reached in 22 minutes. Range was 2300 miles with 5000 pounds of bombs. Range 1800 miles at maximum cruising power. Maximum range 3500 miles. Initial production blocks had a fuel capacity of 2364 US gallons, but later production blocks increased this to 3614 US gallons. Dimensions: Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 66 feet 4 inches, height 17 feet 11 inches, wing area 1048 square feet. Weights: 32,605 pounds empty, 55,000 pounds gross, Maximum takeoff weight 64,000 pounds. Armament: Bomb bay could accommodate up to eight 1100-pound bombs. Underwing racks for two 4000-pound bombs were available, but were seldom used. Later models could carry eight 1600-pound bombs. Defensive armanent varied signficantly according to model, as described above