B-24 Liberator
First published June 15, 2020
I developed an interest in building plane, ship, and train models as a boy. Pictured here is a balsa wood model of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber that I built. The bomber was designed and the prototype first built by Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego in 1939. It entered service in 1942. Approximately 18,500 were built for use in World War II, the most built of any plane during the war, many manufactured by Ford Motor Company as many companies converted to wartime manufacturing. Originally built for the U.S. Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the U.S. Air Force, it was used by the Navy and the British air force. Along with the B-17, it was the mainstay of long-range bomber forces operating in Europe and the Pacific. It was used effectively for antisubmarine warfare in the Atlantic and, because of its range, it was especially useful in the Pacific theater of operations and was used to bomb Japan. Its top speed was 300 mph with a full bomb load, which was usually 5000 pounds and could be expanded to 8000 pounds. Its range with a crew of 8 to 10 was 1700 miles, much greater than the B-17. Its maximum altitude was less than the B-17, however, making it more vulnerable to antiaircraft fire. There have always been arguments about the relative value of the B-17 versus the B-24. It was heavily armed with gun placements in the nose, tail, fuselage sides, roof and underbelly (see image). The underbelly gun placements could be retracted for landing. The B-17 was slower and had less range; the B-24 was less maneuverable and flew at lower altitudes. Because of these disadvantages and its flat sided fuselage, pilots referred to it as the “flying coffin”. Interestingly, Hollywood preferred the B-17. No war film made ever showed the B-24, always the B-17, despite the fact that Robert Altman, Jimmy Stewart, George McGovern and Joseph Kennedy, Jr flew it when they were in the service. Such films as “Memphis Bell” and “12 O'Clock High (Oscar winner) featured only B-17s. Several reason have been proposed as to why the B-17 won the public relations battle, including the perception of a safer plane, preferred by war correspondents. However, Winston Churchill’s personal plane during the war was a B-24.
Written April 2020