Consolidated B-24 Liberator | Great American Aircraft | Upscaled
442,131
Published 2022-07-08
At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries, the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low-speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling and was less robust than the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. 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. 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 was used extensively in World War II. It served in every branch of the American armed forces as well as several Allied air forces and navies. It saw use in every theater of operations. Along with the B-17, the B-24 was the mainstay of the US strategic bombing campaign in the Western European theater. Due to its range, it proved useful in bombing operations in the Pacific, including the bombing of Japan. Long-range anti-submarine Liberators played an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The C-87 transport derivative served as a longer range, higher capacity counterpart to the Douglas C-47 Skytrain.
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 B-24 was rapidly phased out of U.S. service, although the PB4Y-2 Privateer maritime patrol derivative carried on in service with the U.S. Navy in the Korean War.
The Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B-17 under license. 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.
The new Model 32 combined designer David R. Davis's wing, a high-efficiency airfoil design created by unorthodox means, with the twin tail design from the Consolidated Model 31 flying boat, together on a new fuselage. This new fuselage was intentionally designed around twin bomb bays, each one being the same size and capacity of the B-17 bomb bays.
Specifications:
B-24 photographed from above, showing the Davis wing design.
Data from Quest for Performance, Jane's Fighting aircraft of World War II, General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors
General characteristics
Crew: 11 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator, nose turret, top turret, 2 waist gunners, ball turret, tail gunner)
Length: 67 ft 2 in (20.47 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft (34 m)
Height: 17 ft 7.5 in (5.372 m)
Wing area: 1,048 sq ft (97.4 m2)
Aspect ratio: 11.55
Zero-lift drag coefficient: CD0.0406
Frontal area: 42.54 sq ft (3.952 m2)
Airfoil: root: Davis (22%); tip: Davis (9.3%)
Empty weight: 36,500 lb (16,556 kg)
Gross weight: 55,000 lb (24,948 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 65,000 lb (29,484 kg) plus
Fuel capacity: 2,344 US gal (1,952 imp gal; 8,870 l) normal capacity; 3,614 US gal (3,009 imp gal; 13,680 l) with long-range tanks in the bomb bay; Oil capacity 131.6 US gal (109.6 imp gal; 498 l) in four self-sealing nacelle hopper tanks
Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35 Twin Wasp, R-1830-41 or R-1830-65 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled turbosupercharged radial piston engines, 1,200 hp (890 kW) each
Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton Standard, 11 ft 7 in (3.53 m) diameter constant-speed fully-feathering propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 297 mph (478 km/h, 258 kn) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Cruise speed: 215 mph (346 km/h, 187 kn)
Stall speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn)
Range: 1,540 mi (2,480 km, 1,340 nmi) at 237 mph (206 kn; 381 km/h) and 25,000 ft (7,600 m) with normal fuel and maximum internal bomb load
Ferry range: 3,700 mi (6,000 km, 3,200 nmi)
Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
Rate of climb: 1,025 ft/min (5.21 m/s)
Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,100 m) in 25 minutes
Lift-to-drag: 12.9
Wing loading: 52.5 lb/sq ft (256 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.0873 hp/lb (0.1435 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 10 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 4 turrets and two waist positions
Bombs:
Short range (400 mi [640 km]): 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg)
Long range (800 mi [1,300 km]): 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg)
Very long range (1,200 mi [1,900 km]): 2,700 pounds (1,200 kg)
All Comments (21)
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Watch more aviation videos and learn more about American pilots on our channel at: youtube.com/c/ElectricLifeatellani
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My Father flew 28 missions in a B24 during WW2 as part of the US Army's 15th. Air Force 449th bomb group. He was qualified as a ball turret and waste gunner and navigator. But most of his missions he flew as a bomb damage assessment photographer. He survived 3 missions over Pitesti Romania at low level in 3 different B24's. All 3 were shot up so bad they were scraped. If he was still alive he would have turned 100 this year.
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I had the opportunity to talk to a surviving pilot from the peloski raid in my home town. He was astonished that in the 90s anyone knew anything about that raid. He said every night he was over peloski. That no words could describe that experience. RIP Bill Broillier. Thank you for your service.
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My Grandfather was a crew chief on the B-24 Libertor. He enlisted 10 days after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 and served until 1946. He was stationed in North Africa. I am proud to be his Grandson and am awaiting more info I requested to learn more about his service from the veterans affairs dept.
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The B-24 did find a home after WWII. In the Indian air force. The US scrapped hundreds of B-24s on site in India, but did not do a good job of it. The Indian army came in, sorted through the scrapped planes and put over 100 in service for a number of years.
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35 missions over target 455 BG out of Italy my father a bombardier absolutely loved the B24. Swore by it over the 17. Brought him back all 35 times, engine out or not with or without flak holes from 88's or FW's. He took his final flight in 2011. His DFC and Air Medal which he won over Auschwitz synthetic oil refinery Christmas 1944 is my prized possession. It was his influence that prompted me to make a career in Naval Aviation.
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My old friend Hal Heist flew these raids as a navigator with the 367H, Hal passed away at 96. He loved his family and the Air Force. My father. John Pat flew the LB30 with RAF Coastal Command. Both men are heros!
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At 2:54, the Boliver is shown! That was my Dad's plane in 1945 over Iwo Jima! First time I have ever seen it!
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My father was responsible for maintaining the electronics on the new H2X radar equipped B24J’s in the 15th Air Force. The radar equipped bombers could “see” through the heavy smoke screen to accurately target the Ploesti refineries. His knowledge and ability to maintain and repair the new on board radar sets rated critical status for my dad’s MOS.
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My father was in the Royal Air Force, Coastal Command during WW2. He was a radio operator/mechanic in these aircraft on anti submarine patrols between Denmark and Sweden.
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While many prominent actors enlisted during WWII only to receive immediate commissions and remain behind to promote the sale of war bonds, actor Jimmy Stewart enlisted as private, working his way up to the rank of Colonel. During which time he piloted a B-24 Liberator on more than the required number of missions necessary to be rotated out. As a result, he was one of the most highly decorated American pilots of WWII.
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My Dad flew Liberators in WWII - RCAF 214 squadron - he flew over the Himalayans to supply the Chinese - he would never talk about the war except to say " some guys never came back ". I miss my parents who have both passed on - the nicest people I ever met.
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My Dad was a bombardier/navigator on a B24 in the South Pacific stationed on New Guinea. 5th air force 90th bomb group. The Jolly Rogers. Still have the patch with skull and cross bombs. He contracted malaria while fighting. He also got the Distinguish Flying Cross and two other medals. He said the ack ack sounded like you were in a 50 gallon drum and someone was hitting it with a hammer. His best friend in the air was a P38 fighter because it kept them alive during and after their missions. Especially flying back with damage. He also said if he would have been stationed in Europe fighting the Germans he would have been dead because the Germans had superior planes and pilots. He wouldn't buy a Japanese car because of his experience during WW 2. He was quite a Man.
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They were just kids, Young men with incredible courage that is unimaginable today.
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we need more videos about the B-24's...they have tons of videos about B-17's but not much on B-24 missions or the B-24'S themselves!!!
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My dad flew the B24 and always told me that he loved it but never felt safe but was always ready for what they tried to do to them. Thank God that his aircraft was never shot down
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I read about the 1000 plane Polesti raid in grade school in 1964. Amazing story. Have seen several B24s at airshow. Beautiful big pane even with it's problems.
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A SERIOUS OMISSION: The Liberator's role in anti-submarine warfare in the Atlantic. A significant number of U-Boat losses were attributed to the B-24 made possible by its long range. "The Liberator contributed heavily in the Atlantic battles. According to one author, RAF Coastal Command Liberators sank, or assisted in sinking, 70 U-boats, starting with U-597 sunk off Iceland 12 October, 1942 by No. 120 Squadron."
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The Liberator could fly faster, farther and with a heavier bomb load than the B-17. My mother was a "Rosie the Riveter" at a factory in Detroit and she fabricated speed rings and wing sections for the Willow Run Ford Bomber Plant. Thanks to process and production innovations developed by Edsel Ford, Willow Run put out "a bomber an hour" around the clock.
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This is a fantastic video! I encourage everyone to learn about any, and all history! Educate yourselves, so we don't repeat ourselves!
