The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American four-engine military heavy bomber used throughout the Second World War. Its long range made it valuable both for strategic attacks and for missions over the Pacific's extensive sea routes. More than 18,000 Liberators were produced, placing it among the largest American aircraft production programmes of the war.[1]
Design and production
The Liberator developed from the XB-24 programme of 1939. It combined a substantial bomb-carrying capacity with cruising performance suitable for distant targets, and production expanded into numerous versions for American and British service. Its distinctive high wing and twin vertical tails made it readily distinguishable from the Boeing B-17 with which it is often associated.[2]
The B-24D illustrates the early operational bomber configuration. It used four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines, each rated at 1,200 horsepower, and had a wingspan of 110 feet. Defensive machine guns protected the large aircraft, while its internal bomb bays accommodated the offensive load.[1]
Long-distance operations
Liberators flew from North Africa against the Romanian oil industry at Ploesti on 1 August 1943. Their range also suited the widely separated targets and bases of the Pacific. Consequently, the type's service was not limited to one theatre or to the American bombing offensive from Britain: crews employed it across the war's major combat regions.[1]
Preserved aircraft
The National Museum of the United States Air Force preserves a B-24D that flew with the 512th Bomb Squadron from North Africa in 1943–1944. It reached the museum in May 1959. Another D-model, Lady Be Good, disappeared during a mission from North Africa in April 1943 and was discovered in the Libyan desert in 1959, illustrating the navigation hazards accompanying long-distance bomber operations.[1]