But it could take enemy flak, and its grateful crews returned safely to the ground after absorbing punishment that would send a B-24 into a nosedive. machine guns with normal bomb load of 6,000 lbs. Books repeated highlight the fact that the Mosquito bomb load over long distance was equal to a B17 (approx 4,000lbs). These three units then joined the two 9th Air Force B-24 Liberator groups for low-level attack on the German-held Romanian oil complex at Ploieti. Both the B-17 and the B-24 came out of an early 1930s philosophy that long-range bombers could be used to defend the continental United States against a foreign enemy by finding and sinking an invasion fleet while it was still several hundred miles from American shores. In time the B-24 would boast a long, tapered wing atop its fuselage, which allowed impressive long-range cruising capabilities. The B-24's controls were heavy, especially if the control rigging was not properly tensioned. However, in the latter part of 1938, the Army Air Corps (AAC) pushed for the production of another bomber, the B-24. 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. On February 24, 1943, three squadrons of B-24 Liberatorsgoliath, four-engine, 56,000-pound bombersstreaked toward Germany to strike Hitlers vaunted Luftwaffe at its heart, targeting a key production facility in the town of Gotha, Germany. 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. Design and Development - Early B-24's This unit then was formalized as the 376th Bombardment Group, Heavy, and along with the 98th BG formed the nucleus of the IX Bomber Command of the Ninth Air Force, operating from Africa until absorbed into the Twelfth Air Force briefly, and then the Fifteenth Air Force, operating from Italy. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber that entered service in 1941. 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. Uomini sul fondo: storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi. Consolidated Aircraft tripled the size of its plant in San Diego and built a large new plant outside Fort Worth, Texas in order to receive the massive amounts of knock-down kits that the Ford Motor Company shipped via truck from its Ypsilanti Michigan Facility. [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. Flying mainly from bases in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia, aircraft conducted bombing raids against Japanese positions, ships and strategic targets in New Guinea, Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies. It was necessary when flying the B-24, to get "on step". The Consolidated Aircraft Company PB4Y-2 Privateer was a U.S. Navy patrol bomber that was derived directly from the B-24 Liberator. The extended nose earned it the name Pinocchio. A fully navalized design was seen as advantageous, and Consolidated Aircraft developed a purpose-built long-range patrol bomber in 1943, designated PB4Y-2. The maximum take-off weight was slightly raised to 64,250 pounds, the maximum altitude lifted from 21,200 to 24,000 feet but the maximum speed was reduced to 263mph, largely as a result of increased drag.[9]. Range: 1,850 miles Service Ceiling: 35,000 ft. B 24 - L IBERATOR [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. The Lib had a larger bomb bay and a somewhat longer range. It edged out the B-17 on most performance criteria (speed, range, bombload). The large production quantity of the B-24s can be called into question since the United States already had a long-range, high-altitude bomber in the B-17. Liberators were introduced into service in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1944, after the American commander of the Far East Air Forces (FEAF), General George C. Kenney, suggested that seven heavy bomber squadrons be raised to supplement the efforts of American Liberator squadrons. We develop laser weapon systems, radio frequency and other directed energy technologies for air, ground and sea platforms to provide an affordable countermeasure alternative. 120 Squadron RAF of Coastal Command with its handful of worn and modified early model Liberators supplied the only air cover for convoys in the Atlantic Gap, the Liberator being the only airplane with sufficient range. Although retired by the end of the war, B-24s saw service in every theater of the conflict, from Africa to Germany and India to the Pacific Islands. B-24s leaked fuel. [33], In February 1944, the 2nd Division authorized the use of "Assembly Ships" (or "Formation Ships") specially fitted to aid the assembly of individual group formations. It holds records as the world's most-produced bomber, heavy bomber, multi-engine aircraft, and American military aircraft in history. With the American entry into World War II, production of the B-24 increased. According to the history of the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, at least one squadron was assigned to the IX Troop Carrier Command in Europe to transport gasoline to advancing ground and air forces on the Continent after the Normandy invasion. According to the Willow Run Reference Book published 1 February 1945, Ford broke ground on Willow Run on 18 April 1941, with the first plane coming off the line on 10 September 1942. Kane and Johnson survived the mission but three other recipients of the Medal of Honor for their actions in the missionLt. 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. OPTIONAL: Maximum internal bombload of 7,983 kg (17,600 lb). Such were the production numbers it has been said that more aluminum, aircrew, and effort went into the B-24 than any other aircraft in history.[45]. The belly turret was a periscopically sighted Bendix model. Liberators were equipped with ASV Mk. Due to its range, it proved useful in bombing operations in the Pacific, including the bombing of Japan. At 59,524 pounds (27,000kg)[dubious discuss] (29.76 short tons) maximum takeoff weight, it was one of the heaviest aircraft in the world; comparable with the British "heavies", with fully loaded weights of 30 short tons for (and nearly identical to) the Stirling, the 34 short ton Lancaster and the 27 short ton Halifax. Later D models were fitted with the retractable Sperry ball turret. The gradual arrival of many more VLR and in October, PB4Y navalized Liberators for anti-submarine missions over the Mid-Atlantic gap ("black pit") and the Bay of Biscay was an important contribution to the Allies' greater success. In the event, the need to keep such tight defensive formations over Europe compromised the accuracy of the Norden bombsight, since individual bomb runs were not possible without breaking the formation. The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. Munson, Kenneth, "Bombers 1939-45, Patrol and Transport Aircraft", Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York, Blandford Press Ltd., 1969, LCCN 77-92035, page 156. Arrangements for signal lighting varied from group to group, but generally consisted of white flashing lamps on both sides of the fuselage arranged to form the identification letter of the group. Dorr, Robert F. and Jon Lake. As soon as more dependable Douglas C-54 Skymaster and Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando transports became available in large numbers, C-87s were rapidly phased out of combat zone service, with some later used as VIP transports or B-24 flight crew trainers. During the bomb run, the sight was slaved to the automatic pilot to guide the aircraft to the precise release point. And that was even if the US had bases nearby! 20 x AGM-129 cruise missiles (internal). 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. The aircraft were all modified for logistic use in Montreal. 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). Consolidated, Douglas and Ford all manufactured the B-24H, while North American made the slightly different B-24G. The PLAAF had two B-24Ms captured from the Chinese Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War and operated until 1952. Privacy Terms of Use EU and UK Data Protection Notice Cookies, http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch5-3.htm, NASA. Before the Leigh Light, not a single enemy submarine had been sunk in over five months, but in combination with radar, it was so overwhelmingly effective that many German submarine crews chose to surface during the day so that they could at least see the aircraft attacking them and have a chance to fire their anti-aircraft weaponry in defense.[26][27]. 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. [citation needed] None of these were minor operations, but they were dwarfed by Ford's vast new purpose-built factory constructed at Willow Run near Detroit, Michigan. When this mission was completed, it was recorded that 822,791 US gallons (3,114,264L) of 80 octane gasoline had been delivered to three different airfields in France and Belgium.[35]. Post was the only reporter assigned to a B-24-equipped group, the 44th Bomb Group. The book. It used differential braking and differential thrust for ground steering, which made taxiing difficult.[16]. Naval B-24s were redesignated PB4Y-1, meaning the fourth patrol bomber design built by Consolidated Aircraft. Crashed B-24s were the source of the landing gear units for the strictly experimental Junkers Ju 287 V1 first prototype jet bomber airframe in 1945. "Warplane Classic: Consolidated B-24 Liberator: Part 1". While aircrews tended to prefer the B-17, General Staff favored the B-24 and procured it in huge numbers for a wide variety of roles. Many of the surviving Liberators originated in this Command. 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. The RAF found, as did the US, that global war increased the need for air transports and early-type bombers and seaplanes were converted or completed as cargo carriers and transports. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category. This new fuselage was intentionally designed around twin bomb bays, each one being the same size and capacity of the B-17 bomb bays. 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. The seventh aircraft was used by Consolidated and the USAAC to test armor installations as well as self-sealing fuel tanks. On a ferry flight from Hildesheim to Bavaria on 6 April 1945 it was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. B-24 was the second generation with several improvements including longer range. In Eighth Air force combat configuration, the aircraft carried 8000lb (3600kg) of bombs. By the end of the conflict, over 18,500 B-24s had been constructed making it the . The B-24 was the platform for the pioneering use of the Americans' Azon laterally-guidable precision-guided munition ordnance design, a pioneering Allied radio-guided munition system during World War II. The 36th Bombardment Squadron was the Eighth Air Force's only electronic warfare squadron using specially equipped B-24s to jam German VHF communications during large Eighth Air Force daylight raids. Omissions? In the China Burma India Theater (CBI), the C-87 was used to airlift cargo and fuel over the Hump (the Himalayas) from India to China. 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. The new design would be the first American heavy bomber in production to use tricycle landing gear the North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber's predecessor, the NA-40 introduced this feature in January 1939 with the Consolidated Model 32 having long, thin wings with the efficient "Davis" high aspect ratio design (also used on the projected Model 31 twin-engined commercial flying boat)[17] promising to provide maximum fuel efficiency. 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. 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. The RAAF Liberators saw service in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. 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. II radar, which together with the Leigh light, gave them the ability to hunt U-boats by day and by night. At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. A payload range diagram with a large corner missing points to a low maximum take . Milano: Mondadori. It's crewmen claimed 2,600 enemy aircraft shot down. The B-24D was the Liberator III in British service. Because of this, Boeing began to work on pressurized long range bomber derivatives of the B-17. The design was simple in concept but, nevertheless, advanced for its time. # 3 ( permalink) Liberators were also used as anti-submarine patrol aircraft by RAF Coastal Command. 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. For its actions on the Ploieti mission, the 44th was awarded its second Distinguished Unit Citation. 'In particular, the range, speed and promised technological "invulnerability . The cargo versions, C-87 and C-109 tanker, further increased its overseas presence, especially in Asia in support of the XX Bomber Command air offensive against Japan. (1978). Additionally, the Liberator equipped a number of independent squadrons in a variety of special combat roles. 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