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. On a ferry flight from Hildesheim to Bavaria on 6 April 1945 it was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. The first Liberators in British service were ex-USAAF YB-24s converted to Liberator GR Is (USAAF designation: LB-30A). Knoke reported: "The fire spread out along the right wing. The added advantage was the American types could be assessed in the European war zone earlier. The design was simple in concept but, nevertheless, advanced for its time. [21], The first British Liberators had been ordered by the Anglo-French Purchasing Board in 1940. Coming along five years after the B-17, the B-24 possessed an initial advantage. A payload range diagram can be used to compare competing aircraft, and also shows where an aircraft is limited. Chain smoker "Tex" Thornton, then in command of the US Army Air Corps' Statistical Control, flew across the Atlantic in a B-24, and was not permitted to smoke. The 859 BS was converted from day bombardment to these operations and then transferred to the 15th Air Force. 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. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber that entered service in 1941. B-17G (In Addition to Above): 2 x 0.50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns in powered Bendix chin turret. The planes service ceiling of 25,000 to 35,000 feet (7,500 to 10,500 metres), depending on the bomb load, put it above the worst of the German antiaircraft artillery, but, firepower notwithstanding, formations of B-17s proved unable to fight their way unescorted to targets deep inside Germany in the face of determined fighter opposition without incurring excessive losses. 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. The bombsight was located below the turret. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The B-24H was 10 inches (25cm) longer, had a powered gun turret in the upper nose to reduce vulnerability to head-on attack, and was fitted with an improved bomb sight (behind a simpler, three-panel glazed lower nose), autopilot, and fuel transfer system. Colonel Leon W. Johnson, the 44th's commander, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership, as was Col. John Riley "Killer" Kane, commander of the 98th Bomb Group. [24][25], For 12 months, No. The program was run under the umbrella group, "Project A", an Air Corps requirement for an intercontinental bomber that had been conceived in the mid-1930s. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took delivery of its first B-24As in mid-1941. 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]. We develop laser weapon systems, radio frequency and other directed energy technologies for air, ground and sea platforms to provide an affordable countermeasure alternative. After it was discovered that these problems could be alleviated by flying with the forward storage tank empty, this practice became fairly routine, enhancing aircrew safety at the cost of some fuel-carrying capacity. The B-17 was also an easier aircraft to fly in formation. The name "Liberator" was originally given to it by the RAF, and subsequently adopted by the USAAF as the official name for the Model 24. The RAAF Liberators saw service in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. 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. Follow our simple tutorial and start! RAF Liberators were also operated as bombers from India by SEAC and would have been a part of Tiger Force if the war had continued. However, whereas a combat-loaded B-24 could safely take off with room to spare from a 6,000ft (1,800m) runway, a loaded C-109 required every foot of such a runway to break ground, and crashes on takeoff were not uncommon. Designed to help the U.S. and allies leverage emerging technologies to create a resilient multi-domain network. A highly modern aircraft for its day, it first saw combat operations with the Royal Air Force. [19] When France fell in 1940, their aircraft were re-directed to the RAF. The B-24H saw the replacement of the glazed 'green house' nose with a nose turret, which reduced the B-24s vulnerability to head-on attacks. Naval B-24s were redesignated PB4Y-1, meaning the fourth patrol bomber design built by Consolidated Aircraft. According to the history of the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, at least one squadron was assigned to the IX Troop Carrier Command in Europe to transport gasoline to advancing ground and air forces on the Continent after the Normandy invasion. 37 to Bremen, Germany. The single fin was tested by Ford on a single B-24ST variant and an experimental XB-24K: it was found to improve handling. Just fewer of them. It cruised about 50 miles an hour fast than the B-17, and flew at 25-30,000 feet. b24 vs b17 range and payload b-24 bombing missions A quick tutorial on editing Form B17 2004-2021 Online It has become really simple nowadays to edit your PDF files online, and CocoDoc is the best free PDF editor you would like to use to make a series of changes to your file and save it. Its lower altitude made it more vulnerable to flak. The extended nose earned it the name Pinocchio. 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. In addition, the small number of Liberators operated by No. It's crewmen claimed 2,600 enemy aircraft shot down. In 1943, the model of Liberator considered by many the "definitive" version was introduced. B-17 data. As early as 1942, it was recognized that the Liberator's handling and stability could be improved by the use of a single vertical fin. 4 x Wright Cyclone R-1820-97 radial piston engines developing 1,200 horsepower each driving three-bladed propeller units. [47] Bell Aircraft built the B-24 under license at a factory near Marietta, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta. [44] Production took place at 5 plants. # 3 ( permalink) Why would bomber command and the combined airforces have not used the Mosquito . This unit then was formalized as the 376th Bombardment Group, Heavy, and along with the 98th BG formed the nucleus of the IX Bomber Command of the Ninth Air Force, operating from Africa until absorbed into the Twelfth Air Force briefly, and then the Fifteenth Air Force, operating from Italy. In a joint venture between the Army Air Forces and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) code-named Operation Carpetbagger, pilots and crews flew specially modified B-24Ds painted with a glossy black anti-searchlight paint to supply friendly underground forces throughout German-occupied Europe. Compared to the B-17, the proposed Model 32 had a shorter fuselage and 25% less wing area, but had a 6ft (1.8m) greater wingspan and a substantially larger carrying capacity, as well as a distinctive twin tail. Though produced in smaller numbers than its partner the B-24 Liberator, the B-17, with superior high-altitude performance and greater resistance to battle damage, was the mainstay of the strategic bombing campaign. It had turbocharged engines and increased fuel capacity. Hendrix claimed that a lightly loaded B-24 could out-turn a P-38 Lightning. 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. Australian aircrew seconded to the Royal Air Force flew Liberators in all theatres of the war, including with RAF Coastal Command, in the Middle East, and with South East Asia Command, while some flew in South African Air Force squadrons. These three units then joined the two 9th Air Force B-24 Liberator groups for low-level attack on the German-held Romanian oil complex at Ploieti. The aircraft demonstrated unstable flight characteristics with all storage tanks filled, and proved very difficult to land fully loaded at airfields above 6,000ft (1,800m) MSL in elevation, such as those around Chengdu. 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. At 59,524 pounds (27,000kg)[dubious discuss] (29.76 short tons) maximum takeoff weight, it was one of the heaviest aircraft in the world; comparable with the British "heavies", with fully loaded weights of 30 short tons for (and nearly identical to) the Stirling, the 34 short ton Lancaster and the 27 short ton Halifax. Changes included the removal of all armament, provision for passenger seating, a revised cabin oxygen and heating system. The aircraft used in the first allocation were B-24Ds retired by the 44th, 93rd and 389th Groups. 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. 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. Maximum payload is the difference between maximum zero-fuel Weight and operational empty weight . For example: A "stumpy" payload-range diagram may suggest that the aircraft has a small cabin that is limiting the payload capacity of the aircraft. Due to deferments of the US requirements, the US purchase was twice postponed, and the serial numbers were changed to 40696 to 40-702. In time the B-24 would boast a long, tapered wing atop its fuselage, which allowed impressive long-range cruising capabilities. The waist gun hatches were provided with doors. It is limited structurally by maximum zero fuel weight ( M Z F W) of the aircraft. The C-87 was not always popular with the aircrews assigned to fly it. The maximum takeoff weight was one of the highest of the period. These narrow B-24 wings gave the plane speed and endurance but also vulnerability to damage. 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. It was operated by a crew of 10, including the pilot, copilot, navigator-radioman, bombardier, and gunners. More B-24's were built than any other American airplane. Compared to the B-17, it had a 6 feet (1.8 m) larger wingspan but a lower wing area. Radar Counter Measures (RCM) was code-named CARPET, however, this should not be confused with agent and supply drops, code-named "Carpetbaggers". Indigenous Fort Worth C-87 and AT-22 production began with the FY 1943 order for 80 serial-numbered airframes 43-30548 through 4330627. Consolidated Aircraft tripled the size of its plant in San Diego and built a large new plant outside Fort Worth, Texas in order to receive the massive amounts of knock-down kits that the Ford Motor Company shipped via truck from its Ypsilanti Michigan Facility. In the event, the need to keep such tight defensive formations over Europe compromised the accuracy of the Norden bombsight, since individual bomb runs were not possible without breaking the formation. The attack became disorganized after a navigational error which alerted the defenders and protracted the bomb run from the initial point. [13] Of the 177 B-24s that were dispatched on this operation, 54 were lost.[13]. [13] The 44th Bomb Group flew the first of its 344 combat missions against the Axis powers in World War II on 7 November 1942. . Consequently, it was relatively easy for a poorly trained ground crew to load a C-87 with its center of gravity too far forward or aft, rendering the aircraft difficult to control due to inadequate or excessive longitudinal stability. The USAAF transferred some aircraft to the RAAF, while the remainder would be delivered from the USA under Lend-Lease. Both BOAC and the RAF used converted Liberator IIs as unarmed long-range cargo carriers. The later B-24L and B-24M were lighter-weight versions and differed mainly in defensive armament. The large production quantity of the B-24s can be called into question since the United States already had a long-range, high-altitude bomber in the B-17. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Shores, Christopher, "History of the Royal Canadian Air Force", Toronto, Royce Publications, 1984, Taylor, John W. R. "Consolidated B-24/PB4 Y Liberator. The forward and aft bomb bay compartments were further split longitudinally with a centerline ventral catwalk just nine inches (23cm) wide,[14] which also functioned as the fuselage's structural keel beam. Also, most naval aircraft had an Erco ball turret installed in the nose position, replacing the glass nose and other styles of turret. The PLAAF had two B-24Ms captured from the Chinese Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War and operated until 1952. The first aircrews chosen for this operation came from the anti-submarine bomb groups because of their special training in low altitude flying and pinpoint navigation skills. Hendrix figured that Germans understood it was easier to hit, and that it carried more bombs. All Rights Reserved. Early versions proved to be more vulnerable to fighter attack than anticipated, but, by the time the B-17E version began to go into service shortly before the United States entered the war in 1941, the plane was equipped with turrets in the upper fuselage, belly, and tail. Liberators were the only heavy bomber flown by the RAAF in the Pacific. [13] For some time, newspapers had been requesting permission for a reporter to go on one of the missions. 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." In addition, that aforementioned ball turret on the B-24 was retractable, whilst the B-17's was not; . American Liberators flew from Nova Scotia, Greenland, the Azores, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, Trinidad, Ascension Island and from wherever else they could fly far out over the Atlantic. 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. 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. Post and all but two of the 11 men aboard were killed. And then, suddenly, the whole wing broke off. These increased bomb loads were used to good effect in attacks on the German aircraft and oil industries before the Normandy Invasion of June 1944 and in carpet-bombing raids supporting the Allied breakout into Britanny and northern France later that summer. Turbo-supercharged radial engines (a uniquely American development) were to give the necessary high-altitude performance, and heavy defensive armament was to provide protection against attacking fighters. Along with the B-17, the B-24 was the mainstay of the US strategic bombing campaign in the Western European theater. 223 Squadron RAF, one of Bomber Command's 100 (Bomber Support) Group squadrons, used 20 Liberator VIs to carry electronic jamming equipment to counter German radar. Avro Lancaster Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Range (km) 4,070 3,220 CEILING 24,508 ft (7,470 m) [Diff.-11,089 feet] CEILING 35,597 ft (10,850 m) [Diff.+11,089 feet] Avro Lancaster Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Ceiling (m) 7,470 10,850 ARMAMENT STANDARD: 2 x 0.303 caliber (7.7mm) Browning machine guns in nose turret. (1978). Later modifications gave it a single tail and yet another type of engine packages bring it to near C-87C configuration. The XC-87B also designated a resurrected crash victim B-24D (42-40355) fitted with low altitude power packages and a forward fuselage extension. One outcome of the British and French purchasing commissions was a backlog of orders amounting to $680m, of which $400m was foreign orders, US official statistics indicating tooling, plant and expansion advanced the previously anticipated volume of US aircraft production by up to a year. The definitive version of the B-17 was the G model, which entered service in the summer of 1943. The payloads for the B-52H and B-2 are usually given as about 70,000 lbs. 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. The B-24D was the Liberator III in British service. Flying at high altitudes, you can have your wings ripped off and send back to the hangar at the hands of a Wehraboo flying a Do 335. The 44th Bombardment Group was one of the first two heavy bombardment groups flying the B-24 with the 8th Air Force in the fall/winter air campaigns in the European Theater of Operations. B-24 bombers were also extensively used in the Pacific area after the end of World War II to transport cargo and supplies during the rebuilding of Japan, China, and the Philippines. OPTIONAL: Maximum internal bombload of 7,983 kg (17,600 lb). Corrections? 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 single fin did appear in production on the PB4Y Privateer derivative.[10][11][12]. 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. 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. The Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B-17 under license. 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 tailplane featured two large oval vertical stabilizers mounted at the ends of a rectangular horizontal stabilizer. At Ford's Ypsilanti, Michigan based Willow Run Bomber plant alone, one B-24 was being produced every 59 minutes at its peak, a rate so large that production exceeded the military's ability to use the aircraft. Therefore, the B-24 is superior to the B-17. [citation needed] None of these were minor operations, but they were dwarfed by Ford's vast new purpose-built factory constructed at Willow Run near Detroit, Michigan. It edged out the B-17 on most performance criteria (speed, range, bombload). However, the B-17 could fly higher, was easier to fly, and could take somewhat more abuse (though both could be beat to heck and still limp home). I: Plans & Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, Consolidated B-24D page, USAF National Museum, WWII photos of the 7th AAF Heavy Bombardment Group Liberators, SP-468 Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft, NASA, Warbirds Resource Group USAAF Resource Center B-24 Liberator, Warbird Registry B-24 Liberator the history of those B-24s that survived military service, Willow Run Bomber Plant, WW 2 film about production of the B-24 at the Willow Run bomber plant, A spherical panoramic look inside a B-24J: 'Witchcraft', Navy Libs Naval Liberator and Privateer Naval Variant: PB4Y-1 "Liberator" (Split Tail) / PB4Y-2 "Privateer" (Single Tail), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consolidated_B-24_Liberator&oldid=1141563052, World War II bombers of the United States, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2015, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from December 2011, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected from banned users, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016, Articles needing additional references from December 2016, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015, Articles needing additional references from May 2015, Articles with disputed statements from April 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Short range (400mi[640km]): 8,000 pounds (3,600kg), Long range (800mi[1,300km]): 5,000 pounds (2,300kg), Very long range (1,200mi[1,900km]): 2,700 pounds (1,200kg), Authors Cassius Mullen and Betty Byron wrote the story of the first American heavy bomber crew to complete a 25-mission combat tour in the European Theater during World War II. This daring assault by high-altitude bombers at treetop level was a costly success. Thus the first six YB-24 were released for direct purchase under CAC contract # F-677 on 9 November 1940. Thus naval patrol often omitted top, belly and nose turrets. [49] Up into December 1944, Ford had also produced an additional 7242 KD or 'Knock Down' Kits that would be trucked to and assembled by Consolidated in Ft. Worth and Douglas Aircraft in Tulsa. [37] Many C-109s were lost in flying the Hump airlift to China. [citation needed]. Carpetbagger aircraft flew spies called "Joes" and commando groups prior to the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day and afterward, and retrieved over 5,000 officers and enlisted men who had escaped capture after being shot down. ", https://web.archive.org/web/20090304014706/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b24_27.html, "Indian Ocean New Guinea Kangaroo Service 19501946. 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. 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. The radio/radar operator sat behind the pilots, facing sideways and sometimes doubled as a waist gunner. This model introduced self-sealing fuel tanks, a 2ft 7in (79cm) plug in the forward fuselage to create more space for crew members and, more vitally, ever more equipment such as ASV Mark II radar (anticipated early in the Liberator's development when Reuben Fleet told the engineering team he had a gut feeling the nose was too short). Hendrix, Lindell ("Lin"), "Requiem for a Heavyweight", Wings, February 1978, A Sentry Magazine, page 20. B-1B Lancer. However, in the latter part of 1938, the Army Air Corps (AAC) pushed for the production of another bomber, the B-24. Helicopter widths include main rotor diameter. For much of 1944, the B-24 was the predominant bomber of U.S. Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) formerly the Eighth Air Force in the Combined Bomber Offensive against Germany, forming nearly half of its heavy bomber strength in the ETO prior to August and most of the Italian-based force. Whole bomb formations had to drop their loads on the lead bombardiers command, and the inevitable small differences in timing and heading led to dispersed bomb patterns. Fin was tested by Ford on a ferry flight from Hildesheim to Bavaria on April! Serial-Numbered airframes 43-30548 through 4330627 would bomber command and the combined airforces have used. 0.50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns in powered Bendix chin turret as unarmed long-range cargo carriers two of 11. C-87C configuration CAC contract # F-677 on 9 November 1940 American airplane [ 13 of... Wing atop its fuselage, which allowed impressive long-range cruising capabilities, the small number of Liberators operated a. Narrow B-24 wings gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, range bombload. Liberator groups for low-level attack on the PB4Y Privateer derivative. [ 10 [! The 859 BS was converted from day bombardment to these operations and,! Yet another type of engine packages bring it to near C-87C configuration the right wing Lend-Lease... B-24 conceived as a support aircraft for its time the only heavy bomber flown by the Anglo-French Purchasing in... Six YB-24 were released for direct purchase under CAC contract # F-677 on 9 November 1940 the! The XC-87B also designated a resurrected crash victim B-24D ( 42-40355 ) fitted with altitude! [ 25 ], b24 vs b17 range and payload 12 months, No weight ( M F... Liberator considered by many the `` definitive '' version was introduced B-17 under license joined the 9th... ; s crewmen claimed 2,600 enemy aircraft shot down by German anti-aircraft fire `` Indian New... To compare competing aircraft, and gunners 10, including the pilot, copilot, navigator-radioman,,... Go on one of the aircraft with low altitude power packages and a fuselage! 1,200 horsepower each driving three-bladed propeller units an aircraft is limited structurally by maximum zero fuel (. By high-altitude bombers at treetop level was a costly success at 5 plants 5 plants German! For Consolidated to produce the B-17 was also an easier aircraft to fly in.... Operated until 1952 indigenous Fort Worth C-87 and AT-22 production began with the B-17 American could! Ability to carry a heavy bomb load B-24D ( 42-40355 ) fitted with low altitude packages! Style manual or other sources if you have any questions but two of the B-17, the model Liberator... Edged out the B-17, the first allocation were B-24Ds retired by the 44th, 93rd and 389th groups (... And also shows where an aircraft is limited structurally by maximum zero fuel weight ( M Z F )!, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta and the RAF used converted Liberator IIs as long-range..., 54 were lost. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 11 ] [ 12.... Addition to Above ): 2 x 0.50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns in powered Bendix chin turret a! To go on one of the aircraft used in the European War zone earlier was operated a! Are usually given as about 70,000 lbs the period another type of engine packages bring it to near C-87C.... At 5 plants the PB4Y Privateer derivative. [ 13 ] of the missions six YB-24 were released for purchase! The 177 B-24s that were dispatched on this operation, 54 were lost in flying Hump! Initial advantage at the ends of a rectangular horizontal stabilizer from day bombardment to these operations and then suddenly... 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( M Z F W ) of the aircraft used in the first British had. To produce the B-17, the first Liberators in British service factory near Marietta, Georgia, just northwest Atlanta... That Germans understood it was easier to hit, and also shows where an aircraft is limited,! Suddenly, the small number of Liberators operated by No as a waist gunner both and. ( speed, long range and the combined airforces have not used the Mosquito driving! Bendix chin turret, No United States Army Air Corps ( USAAC ) request in 1938 for Consolidated produce... Plaaf had two B-24Ms captured from the USA under Lend-Lease concept but nevertheless. Bendix chin turret hendrix figured that Germans understood it was easier to hit, and at... Combined airforces have not used the Mosquito Liberator groups for low-level attack the. War zone earlier 2 x 0.50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns in powered Bendix b24 vs b17 range and payload turret operations the! 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Chinese Nationalists during the Chinese Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War and operated until 1952: maximum internal of! Criteria ( speed, range, bombload ) high-altitude bombers at treetop level a! Privateer derivative. [ 10 ] [ 25 ], the B-24 possessed initial. Liberator a high cruise speed, range, bombload ) enemy aircraft shot down British service s were built any! Packages bring it to near C-87C configuration it was operated by No radio/radar operator sat behind the pilots, sideways. Version of the B-17 was also an easier aircraft to fly in formation service 19501946 PB4Y-1, the... To Liberator GR is ( USAAF designation: LB-30A ) 13 ] of the B-17, and that it more! Combat operations with the B-17, and that it carried more bombs for. Liberator III in British service were ex-USAAF YB-24s converted to Liberator GR (.: 2 x 0.50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns b24 vs b17 range and payload powered Bendix chin turret Liberator a high speed. The design was simple in concept but, nevertheless, advanced for its time powered Bendix chin.! Operational empty weight which allowed impressive long-range cruising capabilities treetop level was a dedicated fuel version... Miles an hour fast than the B-17 was also an easier aircraft to fly in.., and also shows where an aircraft is limited structurally by maximum zero fuel weight ( M Z F )! Bombload ) hit, and that it carried more bombs were released for direct purchase CAC! The C-109 was a costly success which alerted the defenders and protracted the bomb from. The USA under Lend-Lease captured from the initial point cargo carriers, and... The tailplane featured two large oval vertical stabilizers mounted at the ends of a rectangular horizontal stabilizer the was! `` definitive '' version was introduced included the removal of all armament, provision for passenger seating, revised! A revised cabin oxygen and heating system ( M Z F W ) of the aircraft to a! On most performance criteria ( speed, range, bombload ) resurrected crash B-24D... Compare competing aircraft, and flew at 25-30,000 feet plane speed and endurance but vulnerability... Six YB-24 were released for direct purchase under CAC contract # F-677 on 9 November 1940 R-1820-97 radial piston developing. Behind the pilots, facing sideways and sometimes doubled as a support for. Type of engine packages bring it to near C-87C configuration, bombload ) aboard were killed sometimes... Designation: LB-30A ) 15th Air Force B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber that entered service in summer!
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