Adapted from the XB-24 aircraft in 1939, the B-24D was able to cruise at high speeds and carry heavy bomb loads. These aircraft became the most-produced, Allied heavy bomber of World War II, with nearly 19,286 B-24s built in numerous variations for the United States (US) Army and Navy, as well as Great Britain.
Serial Number: 41-23908
Manufacturer: Consolidated Aircraft Supply Company
Crew: Eight to ten
Engines: Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-43 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial; 1,200 horsepower each
Wingspan: 110 feet
Length: 66 feet 4 inches
Height: 17 feet
Weight: 32,605 pounds (empty); 56,000 pounds (maximum)
Speed: 200 mph (cruising); 303 mph (maximum)
Range: 2,850 miles with a 5,000-pound bomb load; 4,600 miles max ferry range
Service Ceiling: 32,000 feet
Armament: Ten .50-caliber machine guns; 8,000 pounds of bombs
Cost: $310,765
In 1942, the B-24D, now on display, was manufactured and dispatched to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, to assist American air, sea and ground forces in repelling the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands. Afterwards, this aircraft moved to Adak Island and assisted the US Navy in intercepting Japanese cargo ships. Members of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah, along with Captain Ernest Pruett, who piloted this aircraft during the Adak Island mission, went to the island to recover the aircraft. After restoration, the aircraft arrived at Hill Aerospace Museum for display in 2006.
Airmen who flew the Liberator took to naming the airframe the “Flying Coffin” due to its singular entry point near the rear of the aircraft. With only a single point of exit, and far from the majority of the crew, it was nearly impossible for them to leave in an emergency.
While some crewmen may have felt otherwise, the B-24 was considered an excellent aircraft. The Liberator remains the most produced American military aircraft in history. It saw extensive service amongst every branch of the American and Allied Forces, as well as use in all theaters of operation in the Second World War.
The Liberator was not outfitted with a ball turret, but it did carry 10 .50-caliber M2 Browning machine guns in six emplacements along its fuselage, with four turrets and two gun positions at the waist.
The B-24 was originally built as a heavy bomber, though over the course of its service would eventually see every theater of combat in the Second World War and take on a variety of roles. Besides performing high-altitude bombing, the Liberator acted as a troop transport, assembly vehicle and even supplied resistance forces throughout Europe.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom received some 2,100 Liberators in total.
The B-24 cost approximately $240,000 dollars to produce by the end of the war, which translates to $2.6 million dollars in today’s currency.
The B-24 Liberator was developed by Consolidated Aircraft in late 1939.
