Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Technical Information
Wartime History
The common perception of the Liberator initially was that it
was less durable than the B-17
Flying Fortress.
In fact, the Liberator was superior
to the B-17 in terms of speed, range and bomb
load. In the Pacific, they gradualy phased out Fortesses.
Each B-24 cost the US goverment aproximatly $297,627 to build.
PB4Y-1 Liberator in US Navy and Marine Corps Service
B-24s operating with the US Navy and Marine Corps were
known as PB4Y-1s.
LB-30
Transport designation of the Liberator. 15 USAAF LB-30 bombers were deployed in Java in early 1942 to reinforce the B-17-equipped 19th Bombardment Group .... Those Liberators which did reach the Java front participated in numerous attacks against Japanese targets in the Celebese, in Sumatra, and against shipping during the Japanese invasion of Bali. By late February, the position of Allied forces in Java had become untenable, and the surviving LB-30s were evacuated to Australia. Two LB-30s survived in Australia until 1944 after having been converted to C-87 transport configuration.
C-87 Transports
B-24's modified as transports
were designated C-87s by the US Army, and flew with a typical
crew of ten.
SB-24 Radar Equipped 'Snoopers'
Radar equipped Liberator, with an extra crew member to serve as radar operator. In the Pacific, they are used for low-level attacks and shipping strikes at night, and for pathfinder operations. the 13th AF activated
the 868th 'Snooper Squadron' flying SB-24 on January 1, 1944. The 5th Air Force activated the 43rd BG, 64th BS as a 'Super Snoopers'.
F-7 Photographic Reconnaissance
Version
The F7 was a modified B-24 for photo reconnaissance.The
initial batch of F7A's had all been B 24Js, which left the Consolidated
factory at Fort Worth,
Texas, and proceeded to the Northwest Airlines modification
center at Holman Field, Saint Paul, Minnesota for conversion
to F-7A specifications.
The 5th Air Force's first multi-engine reconnaissance
unit, the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron was equipped with converted
F-7A
Liberators, and deployed to New Guinea in March 1944, painted
in blue
color schemes.
After May
1944 all F7's were natural aluminum finish only.
Of the 19,286 B-24s that were manufactured
during the Second World War, only around 20 examples remain
in existence today, mostly in museums, but with a scant few
still flying.
