           THE CONSOLIDATED B-24 "LIBERATOR" BOMBER

Perhaps best known for the raid on the Ploesti oilfields,
the B-24 was built in greater numbers than almost any other
American plane. Over 18,000 were built, in comparison to the
12,000 B-17s.  This number also exceeds the numbers of
Mustangs, Mitchells, Marauders, and Thunderbolts.
(the only aircraft exceeding the B-24 in overall production
for the US is the recent UH-1 "Huey" helicopter.)

Although sometimes having the reputation of being built
"second best" to the B-17, this was not true.  It was
designed with a revolutionary wing, which gave it more lift.
It was not known for extreme battle-worthiness, however.
Some pilots loved it, some hated it.   One of the main faults
with the design of the Liberator was the hydraulically
operated aelirons, flaps, and other controls.  In contrast to
the B-17s electrically-operated controls, the B-24 hydraulics
had a tendency to leak badly and were highly vulnerable to
enemy fire, not to mention a fire hazard.  "The aircraft
could become an acetylene torch," said one crewman.
The other problem was that the wings sometimes came off when
hit with battle damage.  The B-24 had a few structural
weak points in the wing, and if hit, the wings could collapse.

The two main models were the D and the J.  The D had the
standard Bendix front twin mount installed rather late in
it's production run, as well as a Briggs/Sperry ball turret.
Most Ds only had a single nose gun, plus the two cheeks.
The normal outlay for the D was two cheek guns and a single
front gun, a twin dorsal turret, a twin tail turret, 
a single "stinger" just aft of the bombbay, and two waist
guns.
The J also had ten guns, but had them as follows:  twin nose,
twin dorsal, twin ball turret, twin tail, two waist guns.
The J model had more armor and was a little slower.
The maximum bombload was 8,000 pounds.


PERFORMANCE DATA:

                 B-24D           B-24J

TOP SPEED:       303 mph           300 mph
RANGE:         2,850 miles       2,100 miles
CEILING:      32,000 ft         28,000 ft
CREW:           8-11*             8-11*


*The crew started with 7 in early models and went as high as
eleven toward the end.  A typical crew would be pilot,
copilot, navigator, bombadier, flight engineer/radioman, and
four or five gunners.
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