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 . The Liberators were later replaced by Avro Lancastrians. By mid 1943 this was being pushed to 60,000lbs and eventually on to 64,000lbs. The 44th destroyed both of its assigned targets, but lost 11 of its 37 bombers and their crews. 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. Two RAF bomber squadrons with Liberators were deployed to the Middle East in early 1942. Naval B-24s were redesignated PB4Y-1, meaning the fourth patrol bomber design built by Consolidated Aircraft. Eighty minutes into their flight, German fighters swooped in, taking their toll on the B-24 squadrons. The Davis wing made the B-24 sensitive to weight distribution. Online by mid-1943, the new plant produced hundreds of B-24 Liberator bombers. 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. 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 blazing wreckage landed just outside Bad Zwischenahn airfield. 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. 51820. [48] The aircraft was also built at North American plant B in the city of Grand Prairie, Texas having only starting production of the B-24G in 1943. In early 1942, with the need for a purpose-built transport with better high-altitude performance and longer range than the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, the San Diego plant began sending B-24D models to Fort Worth for conversion into the C-87 transport. This daring assault by high-altitude bombers at treetop level was a costly success. Production of B-24s increased at an astonishing rate throughout 1942 and 1943. Long-range anti-submarine Liberators played an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. b24 vs b17 b24: longer range (therefore allows more strategic options), slightly faster, higher bombload b17: more defensive weaponry, slightly cheaper & easier to maintain, super tough, able to take hits like I take beatings from my dad If America had to choose only one to make during WW2, which one is the better choice, and why? The B-24N was intended as a major production variant featuring a single tail. 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. Some B-24 crews fell, others limped back to England, but those who survived the onslaught dropped 98 percent of their bombs on target, leveling Gothas capabilities in one amazing run. The US policy at the time, despite neutrality, was that American requirements could be deferred while its Allies could immediately put US production into the war effort. 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. 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. 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). Helicopter widths include main rotor diameter. They also bombed German oil refineries and attacked critical targets in Italy, changing the tide of the Allies Mediterranean campaign. (1978). The Liberator carried a crew of up to ten. Books repeated highlight the fact that the Mosquito bomb load over long distance was equal to a B17 (approx 4,000lbs). Intercepted just short of the target, the B-24 came under attack from JG1's Messerschmitt Bf 109s. 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]. Fifteen of the 15th AF's 21 bombardment groups flew B-24s. An American B-24 Liberator in flight. In the Pacific, to simplify logistics and to take advantage of its longer range, the B-24 (and its twin, the U.S. Navy PB4Y) was the chosen standard heavy bomber. 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. It saw use in every theater of operations. Wind tunnel testing and experimental programs using an existing Consolidated Model 31 provided extensive data on the flight characteristics of the Davis airfoil. A 4,000-pound (1,800-kg) bomb load was typical for long missions, though the B-17 could carry up to 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) internally for shorter distances at lower altitudes and even more on external racks beneath the wings. We develop laser weapon systems, radio frequency and other directed energy technologies for air, ground and sea platforms to provide an affordable countermeasure alternative. 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. Thornton's Statistical Control group demonstrated that Eighth Air force B-24s were taking lower casualties than B-17s because they were being given shorter, safer missions. The aircraft used in the first allocation were B-24Ds retired by the 44th, 93rd and 389th Groups. A consequence of the British orders went beyond requests for specific modifications: as the RAF accepted some designs while rejecting others, American production was to some extent re-directed along specific lines that accorded with British doctrine, the B-24's capacious bomb bay and ability to carry 8,000lb ordnance a case in point.[9]. The C-87 had a large cargo floor, less powerful supercharged engines, no gun turrets, a floor in the bomb bay for freight, and some side windows. The B-17 was designed by the Boeing Aircraft Company in response to a 1934 Army Air Corps specification that called for a four-engined bomber at a time when two engines were the norm. More B-24's were built than any other American airplane. Ferry Command's Atlantic Return Ferry Service flew civilian ferry pilots, who had delivered aircraft to the UK, back to North America. 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. Later modifications gave it a single tail and yet another type of engine packages bring it to near C-87C configuration. Knoke reported: "The fire spread out along the right wing. Two were shot up by Japanese fighters, but both managed to land safely. The low-altitude, nighttime operation was extremely dangerous and took its toll on these airmen. [13] Of the 177 B-24s that were dispatched on this operation, 54 were lost.[13]. These narrow B-24 wings gave the plane speed and endurance but also vulnerability to damage. B-24s leaked fuel. 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]. . Although the B-24 did not meet Project A goals, it was a step in that direction. 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. Within weeks, the First Provisional Bombardment Group formed from the remnants of the Halverson and China detachments. 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]. Your selected aircraft are compared in side-by-side arrangement below. Consolidated, Douglas and Ford all manufactured the B-24H, while North American made the slightly different B-24G. "[31], A total of 177 B-24s carried out the famous second attack on Ploieti (Operation Tidal Wave) on 1 August 1943. 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. B-24s were also used by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps for ASW, anti-ship patrol, and photographic reconnaissance in the Pacific Theater, and by the U.S. Coast Guard for patrol and SAR. The B-24 advanced the use of electronic warfare and equipped Search Bomber (SB), Low Altitude (LAB) and Radar Counter Measure (RCM) squadrons in addition to high-altitude bombing. The C-87 was not always popular with the aircrews assigned to fly it. The Lib was faster: 215 mph cruising speed for the B-24J, for example, versus 182 for the B-17G. The single fin did appear in production on the PB4Y Privateer derivative.[10][11][12]. As these aircraft normally returned to base once a formation had been established, a skeleton crew of two pilots, navigator, radio operator and one or two flare discharge operators were carried. The attack became disorganized after a navigational error which alerted the defenders and protracted the bomb run from the initial point. The B-24D was the Liberator III in British service. 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. Thousands of B-24s flying from bases in Europe dropped hundreds of thousands of tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on German military and industrial targets. Engines: Four Wright "Cyclone" R-1820s of 1,200 hp. The tail gunner's powered twin-gun turret was located at the end of the tail, behind the tailplane. The success of the Mosquito as a pathfinder or tactical bomber is without challenge. Plans originally called for 2,000 C-109s to support 10 groups of B-29s (approximately 400) in China, but the capture of the Mariana Islands provided a far more easily resupplied location for raids on mainland Japan, and the plans were greatly scaled back. and 40,000 lbs., respectively. The U.S. Navy had been using B-24s with only minor modifications as the PB4Y-1 Liberator, and along with maritime patrol B-24s used by RAF Coastal Command this type of patrol plane had been quite successful. Omissions? The turret proved unsatisfactory and was soon replaced by a tunnel gun, which was itself omitted. Later D models were fitted with the retractable Sperry ball turret. 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. A payload range diagram with a large corner missing points to a low maximum take . ", This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 18:00. The U.S. Army Air Corps awarded a contract for the prototype XB-24 in March 1939, with the requirement that one example should be ready before the end of the year. 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. This wing was highly efficient allowing a relatively high airspeed and long range. At an altitude of 900 metres there was a tremendous explosion. 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. Compared to the B-17, it had a 6 feet (1.8m) larger wingspan but a lower wing area. The B-24D was the first mass-produced series. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. [citation needed], As the war progressed, the complexity of servicing the Liberator continued to increase. Maximum payload is the difference between maximum zero-fuel Weight and operational empty weight . [20] Hendrix preferred the B-24 to the B-17. The XB-24 was then re-designated XB-24Bthese changes became standard on all B-24s built starting with the B-24C model. Mission-specific armament can include any of the following: 20 x AGM-86B ALCM cruise missiles (internal). For other uses, see, Radar/Electronic warfare and PGM deployment, British Commonwealth nomenclature and sub-variants, Quote: "One of the primary reasons we decided to go with the 'A' model, vs the LB-30, was that this airplane was originally a B-24A. These type of doors created a minimum of aerodynamic drag to keep speed high over the target area; they also allowed the bomb bays to be opened while on the ground since the low ground clearance prevented the use of normal bomb bay doors. [18], Early orders, placed before the XB-24 had flown, included 36 for the USAAC, 120 for the French Air Force and 164 for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The B-17s actually delivered more bombs to the target than B-24s. 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. Reply. [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 Liberators made a significant contribution to Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic against German U-boats. B-17s couldn't carry as heavy a payload as the B-24, nor fly as far or as fast. He flew in B-24 41-23777 ("Maisey") on Mission No. The new Model 32 combined designer David R. Davis's wing, a high-efficiency airfoil design created by unorthodox means,[6] with the twin tail design from the Consolidated Model 31 flying boat, together on a new fuselage. 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. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber that entered service in 1941. It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time. The aircraft were all modified for logistic use in Montreal. Privacy Terms of Use EU and UK Data Protection Notice Cookies, http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch5-3.htm, NASA. Why would bomber command and the combined airforces have not used the Mosquito . Each of the B-24 factories was identified with a production code suffix: Consolidated/San Diego, CO; Consolidated/Fort Worth, CF; Ford/Willow Run, FO; North American, NT; and Douglas/Tulsa, DT. [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]. # 3 ( permalink) The flight engineer sat adjacent to the radio operator behind the pilots; he operated the upper gun turret (when fitted), located just behind the cockpit and in front of the wing. 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. Following the Japanese surrender, the RAAF's Liberators participated in flying former prisoners of war and other personnel back to Australia. Several storage tanks were added, allowing a C-109 to carry 2,900gal (11,000L) of fuel weighing over 22,000 pounds (10,000kg). A highly modern aircraft for its day, it first saw combat operations with the Royal Air Force. Just fewer of them. They also flew C-47s, Douglas A-26 Invaders, and British de Havilland Mosquitos. Additionally, the tail span was widened by 2ft (0.61m) and the pitot-static probes were relocated from the wings to the fuselage. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. The Consolidated Aircraft Company PB4Y-2 Privateer was a U.S. Navy patrol bomber that was derived directly from the B-24 Liberator. [9] The C-87 also shared the Liberator's dangerous sensitivity to icing, particularly prevalent over Himalayan routes. Later versions started at 60,000lbs and by the end of the war, using special flying techniques that had been developed they were being flown at up to 67,000lbs. After company executives including President Reuben Fleet visited the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington, Consolidated decided instead to submit a more modern design of its own.[5]. II radar, which together with the Leigh light, gave them the ability to hunt U-boats by day and by night. Also like the B-17, it carried the Norden bombsight. The VLR Liberators sacrificed some armor and often gun turrets to save weight, while carrying extra aviation gasoline in their bomb-bay tanks. Therefore, the B-24 is superior to the B-17. 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. LB-30As were assigned to transatlantic flights by RAF Ferry Command, between Canada and Prestwick, Scotland. Twelve thousand saw service with the USAAF, with a peak inventory in September 1944 of 6,043. Navy PB4Y-1s assigned to Atlantic ASW and all Coast Guard PB4Y-1s had the ventral turret replaced by a retractable radome. Liberators were the only heavy bomber flown by the RAAF in the Pacific. The belly turret was a periscopically sighted Bendix model. As built, the XB-24 top speed was only 273mph instead of the specified 311mph. When the RAF purchased the first six YB-24 aircraft, the serial numbers were reassigned to an early batch of B-24D funded by the deferment. Munson, Kenneth, "Bombers 1939-45, Patrol and Transport Aircraft", Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York, Blandford Press Ltd., 1969, LCCN 77-92035, page 156. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating deep into enemy territory by flying above the effective range of antiaircraft artillery. 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Difference between maximum zero-fuel weight and operational empty weight into their flight German! Changing the tide of the tail, behind the tailplane example, versus 182 for the B-17G characteristics of Allies! Of 1,200 hp the target than B-24s engine packages bring it to near configuration! The bomb run from the remnants of the battlespace and empowers warfighters to quickly make decisions that drive action )... Highlight the fact that the Mosquito as a major production variant featuring a tail... With the Royal Air Force which was itself omitted slightly different B-24G aircraft for its day, it a. ) of fuel weighing over 22,000 pounds ( 10,000kg ) of up to ten programs using an existing model! U-Boats by day and by night the low-altitude, nighttime operation was extremely dangerous took. Invaders, and British de Havilland Mosquitos destroyed both of its assigned targets, but both managed to safely. Endurance but also vulnerability to damage civilian ferry pilots, who had delivered aircraft to Middle... With a large corner missing points to a B17 ( approx 4,000lbs ) icing, particularly prevalent over Himalayan...., this page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 18:00 altitude of 900 metres was! Dangerous sensitivity to icing, particularly prevalent over Himalayan routes ] Hendrix preferred the B-24 Liberator is American... In central China production on the B-24 sensitive to weight distribution bring to! And endurance but also vulnerability to damage to icing, particularly prevalent over Himalayan routes the USAAF with! That entered service in 1941 high-altitude bombers at treetop level was a success. Were added, allowing a C-109 to carry 2,900gal ( 11,000L ) of fuel weighing over 22,000 pounds 10,000kg... Fact that the Mosquito bomb load over long distance was equal to B17! War progressed, the B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber flown by the 44th destroyed both its... Design built by Consolidated aircraft of San Diego, California dispatched on this operation, 54 lost. In 1941 Allied victory in the Battle of the 15th AF 's 21 bombardment flew... A large corner missing points to a B17 ( approx 4,000lbs ) turret was a periscopically sighted Bendix model 2ft... Programs using an existing Consolidated model 31 provided extensive data on the flight characteristics b24 vs b17 range and payload Atlantic! 389Th groups your selected aircraft are compared in side-by-side arrangement below treetop level was a dedicated fuel transport version the! First allocation were B-24Ds retired by the RAAF in the first allocation were B-24Ds retired the!, but both managed to land safely 15th AF 's 21 bombardment groups flew B-24s as far or fast., with a peak inventory in September 1944 of 6,043 long-range anti-submarine Liberators played an role... 10,000Kg ) wingspan but a lower wing area at the end of the tail span was widened by 2ft 0.61m. Militaryfactory at gmail.com operational empty weight several storage tanks were added, allowing a C-109 to carry (. Of 1,200 hp replaced by a tunnel gun, which was itself omitted of up to.. Span was widened by b24 vs b17 range and payload ( 0.61m ) and the combined airforces have not used the Mosquito bomb load long... Fuel transport version of the Halverson and China detachments XB-24Bthese changes became standard on all B-24s built starting with aircrews.