[citation needed] The most important role, however, for the first batch of the Liberator GR Is was in service with RAF Coastal Command on anti-submarine patrols in the Battle of the Atlantic. By mid-1943, the shorter-range B-17 was phased out. In default configuration, the B-24 could fly faster, farther, and longer, with a heavier payload. [13] The 44th Bomb Group flew the first of its 344 combat missions against the Axis powers in World War II on 7 November 1942. In late June 1943, the three B-24 Liberator groups of the 8th Air Force were sent to North Africa on temporary duty with the 9th Air Force:[13] the 44th Bomb Group joined the 93rd and the 389th Bomb Groups. More B-24's were built than any other American airplane. Cost: $276,000 Serial Number: 42-32076 PERFORMANCE Maximum speed: 300 mph. Lloyd H. Hughes, Maj. John L. Jerstad and Col. Addison E. Bakerwere killed in action. The B-24 featured a tricycle undercarriage, the first American bomber to do so,[9] with the main gear extending out of the wing on long, single-oleo strut legs. Continued development work by Consolidated produced a handful of transitional B-24Cs with turbocharged instead of supercharged engines. Hendrix, Lindell ("Lin"), "Requiem for a Heavyweight", Wings, February 1978, A Sentry Magazine, page 20. As early as 1938, the US Army Air Corps realized that if it went to war with another world power, the B-17 was be too small for long range bombing missions. Lastly, unlike a typical purpose-designed transport, the B-24 was not designed to tolerate large loading variations because most of its load was held on fixed bomb racks. The tail gunner's powered twin-gun turret was located at the end of the tail, behind the tailplane. The Privateer had non-turbosupercharged engines for weight savings and optimal performance at low to medium patrol altitudes, and was visually distinguishable from the B-24 and PB4Y-1 by its longer fuselage, single tall vertical stabilizer (rather than a twin tail), two dorsal turrets, and teardrop-shaped waist gun blisters (similar in appearance to those on Consolidated's own PBY Catalina). Shores, Christopher, "History of the Royal Canadian Air Force", Toronto, Royce Publications, 1984, Taylor, John W. R. "Consolidated B-24/PB4 Y Liberator. Considered one of the best examples of precision bombing of the war, the raid on Gotha devastated German aircraft production and established the B-24 as one of the Allies most trusted bombers. Cruising speed: 170 mph. The B-24D was the Liberator III in British service. The book. [19] When France fell in 1940, their aircraft were re-directed to the RAF. Consequently, it was relatively easy for a poorly trained ground crew to load a C-87 with its center of gravity too far forward or aft, rendering the aircraft difficult to control due to inadequate or excessive longitudinal stability. Also like the B-17, it carried the Norden bombsight. The B-17 had a notably smaller bomb bay than the Lanc (impressive though the B-17's payload was at the time of its design) - although the 22,000lb figure is for the Grand Slam carrying Lancs rather than the standard maximum load (which was, IIRC, about 14,000lb). The success of the Mosquito as a pathfinder or tactical bomber is without challenge. A B-24 could reach 290 miles per hour and carry a 5,000-pound bomb load for 1,700 miles, giving it a longer range, greater speed and a bigger payload than its B-17 cousin. One major failure of the prototype was that it failed to meet the top speed requirements specified in the contract. Carpetbagger aircraft flew spies called "Joes" and commando groups prior to the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day and afterward, and retrieved over 5,000 officers and enlisted men who had escaped capture after being shot down. The B-17 had a higher cruising altitude, lower landing speed, better durability, and was easier to escape from in the case that the aircraft was going down. 37 to Bremen, Germany. Whereas the B-17 used 9-cylinder Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines, the Consolidated design used twin-row, 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radials of 1,000hp (750kW). Fuel leaks inside the crew compartment from the hastily modified long-range fuel system were an all-too-common occurrence. Leutnant Heinz Knoke (who finished the war with 31 kills) shot down the Liberator. The Lib's gracefully tapered 100-foot Davis airfoil wing (compared to the B-17's 103-foot-span barn door of a wing) made the difference. "Consolidated B-24 Liberator. By the end of World War II, the technological breakthroughs of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and other modern types had surpassed the bombers that served from the start of the war. The route was named Kangaroo Service and marked the first time that Qantas's now-famous Kangaroo logo was used; passengers received a certificate proclaiming them as members of The Order of the Longest Hop. 'In particular, the range, speed and promised technological "invulnerability . Avro Lancaster Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Range (km) 4,070 3,220 CEILING 24,508 ft (7,470 m) [Diff.-11,089 feet] CEILING 35,597 ft (10,850 m) [Diff.+11,089 feet] Avro Lancaster Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Ceiling (m) 7,470 10,850 ARMAMENT STANDARD: 2 x 0.303 caliber (7.7mm) Browning machine guns in nose turret. The single fin was tested by Ford on a single B-24ST variant and an experimental XB-24K: it was found to improve handling. And that was even if the US had bases nearby! It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time. II radar, which together with the Leigh light, gave them the ability to hunt U-boats by day and by night. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. The basic element of a typical formation was a squadron box of 9 or 12 aircraft; three squadron boxes staggered vertically and horizontally formed a group, and three groups in trail formed a combat wing. It could manage an altitude of no more than 25,000ft (7600m), three or four thousand feet less than a B-17, but it flew 10-15mph (16-24 km/h) faster. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Fifteen of the 15th AF's 21 bombardment groups flew B-24s. The name "Liberator" was originally given to it by the RAF, and subsequently adopted by the USAAF as the official name for the Model 24. Privacy Terms of Use EU and UK Data Protection Notice Cookies, http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch5-3.htm, NASA. Liberators were equipped with ASV Mk. Mission. Compared to the B-17, it had a 6 feet (1.8 m) larger wingspan but a lower wing area. Job, Macarthur. Mission-specific armament can include any of the following: 20 x AGM-86B ALCM cruise missiles (internal). Since the aircraft had been designed to be a bomber that dropped its loads while airborne, the C-87's nose landing gear was not designed for landing with a heavy load, and frequently it collapsed from the stress. B-17 data. Maximum payload is the difference between maximum zero-fuel Weight and operational empty weight . Coming along five years after the B-17, the B-24 possessed an initial advantage. After it was discovered that these problems could be alleviated by flying with the forward storage tank empty, this practice became fairly routine, enhancing aircrew safety at the cost of some fuel-carrying capacity. The extended nose earned it the name Pinocchio. Both BOAC and the RAF used converted Liberator IIs as unarmed long-range cargo carriers. [36] Unlike the C-87, the C-109 was not built on the assembly line, but rather was converted from existing B-24 bomber production; to save weight, the glass nose, armament, turret fairings and bombardment equipment were removed. These aircraft flew between the United Kingdom and Egypt (with an extensive detour around Spain over the Atlantic), and they were used in the evacuation of Java in the East Indies. The Eighth Air Force's 458th Bombardment Group deployed the guided Azon ordnance in Europe between June and September 1944,[32] while the Tenth Air Force's 493rd Bomb Squadron employed it against Japanese railroad bridges on the Burma Railway in early 1945, fulfilling the intended original purpose of the Azon system. Liberators remained in service until 1948, when they were replaced by Avro Lincolns. [citation needed], Late in the war RAF Liberator aircraft modified in England for use in South East Asia had the suffix "Snake" stenciled below the serial number to give them priority delivery through the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. A B-24 could reach 290 miles per hour and carry a 5,000-pound bomb load for 1,700 miles, giving it a longer range, greater speed and a bigger payload than its B-17 cousin. Our Multi-Domain Operations/Joint All-Domain Operations solutions provide a complete picture of the battlespace and empowers warfighters to quickly make decisions that drive action. 41-2399 . Early model Liberators were fitted with a top-mounted turret, a tail turret and single machine guns located in the waist and in the glazed nose. In April 1939, the USAAC initially ordered seven YB-24 under CAC contract # 12464. After the Fall of France the French orders were in most cases transferred to the United Kingdom. This was a major component of the USSTAF and took a major role in strategic bombing. The Liberators flew a shorter 3,077mi (4,952km) over-water route from Learmonth to an airfield northeast of Colombo, but they could make the flight in 17 hours with a 5,500 pounds (2,500kg) payload, whereas the Catalinas required 27 hours and had to carry so much auxiliary fuel that their payload was limited to only 1,000 pounds (450kg). By the end of the conflict, over 18,500 B-24s had been constructed making it the . The C-109 was a dedicated fuel transport version of the B-24 conceived as a support aircraft for Boeing B-29 Superfortress operations in central China. Subject: Acceptance Performance Tests Section: Flying Branch . For much of 1944, the B-24 was the predominant bomber of U.S. Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) formerly the Eighth Air Force in the Combined Bomber Offensive against Germany, forming nearly half of its heavy bomber strength in the ETO prior to August and most of the Italian-based force. The Double Sunrise route across the Indian Ocean was 3,513mi (5,654km) long, the longest non-stop airline route in the world at the time. It entered US service in early 1942. Changes included the removal of all armament, provision for passenger seating, a revised cabin oxygen and heating system. It proved to be quite vulnerable to icing conditions, and was prone to fall into a spin with even small amounts of ice accumulated onto its Davis wing. Then came a firestorm of antiaircraft cannon shells, rockets and air-burst bombs, turning the skies into a hellish expanse of bullets, smoke, and flak. By June 6, 1944, they found themselves at the heart of the D-Day invasion, softening Nazi positions behind the lines before ground forces stormed the Normandy beaches. 3. Giorgerini, Giorgio (2002). The ball turret was required to be retractable for ground clearance when preparing to land as well as for greater aerodynamic efficiency. The Liberators made a significant contribution to Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic against German U-boats. An unusual four-panel set of all-metal, tambour-panel "roller-type" bomb bay doors, which operated very much like the movable enclosure of a rolltop desk, retracted into the fuselage. The XB-24 was then re-designated XB-24Bthese changes became standard on all B-24s built starting with the B-24C model. B-24s leaked fuel. By 1941, B-24s were being shipped to Great Britain, where they were given the name Liberator and adapted for a variety of purposes, including coastal patrol, protecting critical Atlantic cargo ship convoy crossings. In his autobiography, Fate is the Hunter, the writer Ernest K. Gann reported that, while flying air cargo in India, he barely avoided crashing an improperly loaded C-87 into the Taj Mahal. They were equipped with signal lighting, provision for quantity discharge of pyrotechnics, and were painted with distinctive group-specific high-contrast patterns of stripes, checkers or polka dots to enable easy recognition by their flock of bombers. While RAF Bomber Command did not use B-24s as strategic bombers over mainland North West Europe, No. A payload range diagram can be used to compare competing aircraft, and also shows where an aircraft is limited. [7] With these difficulties in mind it is little wonder the ATC India China Division was the only unit in the Command to be combat decorated during WWII, having been awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation. Long-range anti-submarine Liberators played an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took delivery of its first B-24As in mid-1941. American Liberators flew from Nova Scotia, Greenland, the Azores, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, Trinidad, Ascension Island and from wherever else they could fly far out over the Atlantic. Post was the only reporter assigned to a B-24-equipped group, the 44th Bomb Group. Only one B-24 was officially delivered to the USSR according to the Lend-Lease agreements, stranded in Yakutsk while flying a government mission to the Soviet Union in November 1942. Additionally, the Liberator equipped a number of independent squadrons in a variety of special combat roles. Pilots and crews slept on 1,300 cots at Willow Run waiting for their B-24s to roll off the assembly line. B-24 bombers were also extensively used in the Pacific area after the end of World War II to transport cargo and supplies during the rebuilding of Japan, China, and the Philippines. Twelve thousand saw service with the USAAF, with a peak inventory in September 1944 of 6,043. Post and five other reporters of The New York Times were granted permission. At its peak in 1944, the Willow Run plant produced one B-24 per hour and 650 B-24s per month. RAF Liberators were also operated as bombers from India by SEAC and would have been a part of Tiger Force if the war had continued. It took time and the loss of thousands of aircrew to modify the B-17 into something that could survive, (barely) in German airspace if sufficiently escorted. Radar Counter Measures (RCM) was code-named CARPET, however, this should not be confused with agent and supply drops, code-named "Carpetbaggers". Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft.. [citation needed], As the war progressed, the complexity of servicing the Liberator continued to increase. BY ba97 - Sat May 15, 2004 9:04 pm. [44] Production took place at 5 plants. Lindell Hendrix, later a test pilot for Republic Aviation, flew B-24s for the Eighth Air force. The aircraft demonstrated unstable flight characteristics with all storage tanks filled, and proved very difficult to land fully loaded at airfields above 6,000ft (1,800m) MSL in elevation, such as those around Chengdu. In Eighth Air force combat configuration, the aircraft carried 8000lb (3600kg) of bombs. Over the next three years, B-24 squadrons deployed to all theaters of the war: African, European, China-Burma-India, the Anti-submarine Campaign, the Southwest Pacific Theater and the Pacific Theater. The first prototype bomber flew in mid-1935, and the B-17 entered small-scale production in 1937. [41], Three B-24s were captured and then operated by the German secret operations unit KG 200, which also tested, evaluated and sometimes clandestinely operated captured enemy aircraft during World War II.[42]. The design was simple in concept but, nevertheless, advanced for its time. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Hendrix did not permit smoking on his B-24, even though he was a smoker. These two squadrons engaged in relief flights to Warsaw and Krakw in Poland to support the Polish Uprising against Nazi Occupation. The 44th destroyed both of its assigned targets, but lost 11 of its 37 bombers and their crews. We have invested in developing and demonstrating hypersonic technology for over 30 years. Crews flew with the bomb bay doors slightly open to dissipate potentially explosive fumes. Online by mid-1943, the new plant produced hundreds of B-24 Liberator bombers. Consolidated finished the prototype and had it ready for its first flight two days before the end of 1939. The Mark II was the first Liberator to be equipped with powered turrets, one plane having them installed before leaving San Diego, the remainder having them installed in the field: four Browning Boulton Paul A-type Mk IV with 600 rounds of .303 in the dorsal position; and a Boulton Paul E-type Mk II with 2200 rounds in the tail (later increased to 2500 rounds), supplemented by pairs of guns at the waist position, a single gun in the nose and another in the belly, for a total of fourteen guns. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. During Operation Carpetbagger in 1943, some Liberators were painted black and flown under the cover of night to supply French Resistance fighters with supplies and weapons, needed to support the upcoming D-Day invasion. This increased firepower made the B-17 a formidable opponent for enemy fighters, particularly when flying in tightly stacked defensive formations for mutual protection. During the bomb run, the sight was slaved to the automatic pilot to guide the aircraft to the precise release point. The blazing wreckage landed just outside Bad Zwischenahn airfield. 4 x Pratt & Whitney R-1830-65 radial piston engines developing 1,200 horsepower each driving three-bladed propeller units. And then, suddenly, the whole wing broke off. This daring assault by high-altitude bombers at treetop level was a costly success. [49] Up into December 1944, Ford had also produced an additional 7242 KD or 'Knock Down' Kits that would be trucked to and assembled by Consolidated in Ft. Worth and Douglas Aircraft in Tulsa. Robert B. Willow Run had the largest assembly line in the world (3,500,000sqft; 330,000m2). We develop laser weapon systems, radio frequency and other directed energy technologies for air, ground and sea platforms to provide an affordable countermeasure alternative. As built, the XB-24 top speed was only 273mph instead of the specified 311mph. Designed to help the U.S. and allies leverage emerging technologies to create a resilient multi-domain network. While the B-17's got the glory, the B-24 was faster, with a greater bomb load at higher altitudes. The Singing Cowboy Gene Autry served in the Air Transport Command (in the same squadron as Barry Goldwater), and described flying the C-109 over "The Hump" as "the thrill that lasts a lifetime".[38]. As early as 1942, it was recognized that the Liberator's handling and stability could be improved by the use of a single vertical fin. The aircraft were all modified for logistic use in Montreal. A payload range diagram with a large corner missing points to a low maximum take . Munson, Kenneth, "Bombers 1939-45, Patrol and Transport Aircraft", Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York, Blandford Press Ltd., 1969, LCCN 77-92035, page 156. [3][4] At approximately 18,500 units including 8,685 manufactured by Ford Motor Company it holds records as the world's most produced bomber, heavy bomber, multi-engine aircraft, and American military aircraft in history. The B-24 bombers of the 308th Bombardment Group (Heavy) joined the battlefield in March 1944 as the heavy bombers of the Fourteenth Air Force to fight against the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War (WW2 in China). Long-range naval patrol versions often carried a light defensive armament. The B-24's controls were heavy, especially if the control rigging was not properly tensioned. [13], The first B-24 loss over German territory occurred on 26 February 1943. Hendrix claimed that a lightly loaded B-24 could out-turn a P-38 Lightning. Due to deferments of the US requirements, the US purchase was twice postponed, and the serial numbers were changed to 40696 to 40-702. It had turbocharged engines and increased fuel capacity. 223 Squadron RAF, one of Bomber Command's 100 (Bomber Support) Group squadrons, used 20 Liberator VIs to carry electronic jamming equipment to counter German radar. Early versions proved to be more vulnerable to fighter attack than anticipated, but, by the time the B-17E version began to go into service shortly before the United States entered the war in 1941, the plane was equipped with turrets in the upper fuselage, belly, and tail. [49] In mid-1944, the production of the B-24 was consolidated from several different companies (including some in Texas) to two large factories: the Consolidated Aircraft Company in San Diego and the Ford Motor Company's factory in Willow Run, near Detroit, Michigan, which had been specially designed to produce B-24s. The PLAAF had two B-24Ms captured from the Chinese Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War and operated until 1952. it appears that the long-range heavy bomber count for the United States is: 85 active B-52H's, approximately 60 active B-1B's, and approximately 20 active B-2's, for a total of . It edged out the B-17 on most performance criteria (speed, range, bombload). On a ferry flight from Hildesheim to Bavaria on 6 April 1945 it was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. The specification was written such that the Model 32 would automatically be the winning design. Only 218 C-109s were actually converted. The B-24N was intended as a major production variant featuring a single tail. First flown on 29 December 1939, the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation's B-24 Liberator came along more than four years after the famous and popular Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and showed somewhat improved range and payload capabilities over the Fortress.Still, the performance was in most respects quite comparable, and one might question why the B-24 was . Dedicated fuel transport version of the Atlantic against German U-boats than any other American airplane in stacked... Both BOAC and the B-17, it had a 6 feet ( 1.8 m larger! Col. Addison E. Bakerwere killed in action in strategic bombing flight from Hildesheim to Bavaria on 6 1945! ; 330,000m2 ) design was simple in concept but, nevertheless, advanced for first! A major component of the battlespace and empowers warfighters to quickly make decisions that action! Knoke ( who finished the prototype and had it ready for its first B-24As in.. To Allied victory in the world, at any time additionally, the 44th bomb.. Iii in British service granted permission failed to meet the top of the following 20. Occurred on 26 February 1943 remained in service until 1948, when they were replaced by Avro Lincolns not smoking! A pathfinder or tactical bomber is without challenge replaced by Avro Lincolns for Boeing B-29 Superfortress Operations in China... 1944 of 6,043 the XB-24 was then re-designated XB-24Bthese changes became standard on all built! We have invested in developing and demonstrating hypersonic technology for over 30 years of the battlespace and empowers warfighters quickly! In service until 1948, when they were replaced by Avro Lincolns its.. Line in the world ( 3,500,000sqft ; 330,000m2 ) B-24 Liberator bombers such the! And had it ready for its time B-24s per month XB-24 was then re-designated XB-24Bthese changes became standard on B-24s. Acceptance PERFORMANCE Tests Section: Flying Branch of the B-24 could fly faster, farther, also! 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