"Lib" |
Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, built by Consolidated Aircraft. It was produced in greater numbers than any other American combat aircraft of World War II and still holds the record as the most produced U.S. military aircraft. It was used by many Allied air forces and every U.S. branch of service during the war, attaining a distinguished war record with its operations in the northern European, Pacific and Mediterranean theatres.
Often compared to the better known B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 was a more modern design with a higher top speed and greater range yet it had a similar bomb load and defensive armament. Nevertheless, popular opinion among aircrews and general staff tended to favour the B-17's rugged qualities above all other considerations. The B-24 was notorious among American air crews for its tendency to catch fire. The placement of the B-24's fuel tanks throughout the upper fuselage and its lightweight construction, designed both to increase range and optimize assembly line production, made the aircraft vulnerable to battle damage. The B-24 was more difficult to fly as well, with heavy control forces and poor formation flying characteristics. The B-24 nevertheless provided excellent service in a variety of roles thanks to its large payload and long range. The Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B-17 under license. This was part of "Project A", a program to expand American industrial capacity for production of the key components of air power. After company executives including President Reuben Fleet visited the Boeing factory in Seattle, Consolidated decided instead to submit a more modern design of its own. In January 1939, the USAAC, under Specification C-212, formally invited Consolidated to submit a design study for a bomber with greater range, higher speed, and greater ceiling than the B-17.
The contract for a prototype was awarded in March 1939, with the requirement that a prototype be ready before the end of the year. The design was simple in concept but advanced for its time. Compared to the B-17, the proposed Model 32 was shorter and had 25% less wing area, but a six foot (1.8 m) greater wingspan and a substantially greater carrying capacity. 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 1,000 hp (746 kW). The 70,547 lb (32,000 kg) maximum takeoff weight was one of the highest of the period. Consolidated also incorporated innovative features: the new design would be the first American bomber to use tricycle landing gear and it had long, thin wings with the efficient "Davis" high aspect ratio design (also used on the projected Model 31 flying boat) promising to provide maximum fuel efficiency. The aircraft also had a distinctive twin tail and rudder assembly.
Consolidated finished the prototype, by then known as the XB-24, and had it ready for its first flight two days before the end of 1939. Seven more YB-24 development aircraft flew in 1940 and Consolidated began preparing production tooling. The B-24's spacious slab-sided fuselage (which earned the aircraft the nickname "Flying Boxcar") was built around a central bomb bay that could accommodate up to 8,000 pounds of bombs. The bomb bay was divided into front and rear compartments and further divided by a central catwalk, which was also the fuselage keel beam. A universal complaint arose over the extremely narrow catwalk. The aircraft was sometimes disparaged as "The Flying Coffin" because the only entry and exit from the bomber was in the rear and it was almost impossible for the flight crew and nose gunner to get from the flight deck to the rear if they were wearing their parachutes. An unusual set of "roller-type" bomb bay doors retracted into the fuselage with a minimum of aerodynamic drag, keeping speed high over the target area.
Like the B-17, the B-24 had an array of .50 calibre machine guns in the tail, belly, top, sides and nose to defend it from attacking enemy fighters. Unlike the B-17, the ball turret could be retracted into the fuselage when not in use. The B-24 made a massive contribution to Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic against German U-boats. The decision to allocate some Liberator Is to Coastal Command in 1941 produced immediate results. The Very Long Range (VLR) Liberators "almost doubled the reach of Britain's maritime reconnaissance force". This added range enabled Coastal Command patrols to cover the Mid-Atlantic gap, where U-boats had operated with near impunity.
For months, No. 120 Squadron RAF of Coastal Command, with its handful of much patched and modified early model Liberators, supplied the only air cover for convoys in the Atlantic Gap. The Liberator was the only aircraft with the range for this. The VLR Liberators sacrificed some armour and often some gun turrets to save weight while adding extra fuel in bomb bay tanks. Liberator Is were equipped with ASV Mark II radar. Radar and the Leigh light gave them the ability to hunt U-boats by day and night.
In addition to very long range patrols, the B-24 was vital for patrols of a radius less than 1,000 miles (1,600 km), in both the Atlantic and in the Pacific where B-24s and PB4Y-1s took a heavy toll of Japanese shipping. A total of 977 USN PB4Y-1s were used in the Pacific Theatre in VB and VPB squadrons.
General characteristics: Crew: 7-10, Length: 67 ft 8 in (20.6 m), Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in (33.5 m), Height: 18 ft 0 in (5.5 m), Wing area: 1,048 ft² (97.4 m²), Empty weight: 36,500 lb (16,590 kg), Loaded weight: 55,000 lb (25,000 kg) Max takeoff weight: 65,000 lb (29,500 kg), Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney R-1830 turbo supercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (900 kW) each, Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0406Drag area: 42.54 ft² (3.95 m²), Aspect ratio: 11.55, Performance: Maximum speed: 290 mph (250 knots, 470 km/h), Cruise speed: 215 mph (187 knots, 346 km/h), Stall speed: 95 mph (83 knots, 153 km/h), Combat radius: 2,100 mi (1,800 NM, 3,400 km), Ferry range: 3,700 mi (3,200 NM, 6,000 km), Service ceiling 28,000 ft (8,500 m), Rate of climb: 1,025 ft/min (5.2 m/s), Wing loading: 52.5 lb/ft² (256 kg/m²), Power/mass: 0.0873 hp/lb (144 W/kg), Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.9, Armament: Guns: 10× .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 4 turrets and two waist positions, Bombs: Short range (˜400 mi): 8,000 lb (3,600 kg), Long range (˜800 mi): 5,000 lb (2,300 kg), Very long range (˜1,200 mi): 2,700 lb (1,200 kg).
USN 79 René Hieronymus Scale 1:72 Building time approx: 31 hrs. |