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Liberator
Manufacturer : Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California
he initial production batch of B-24As was completed in 1941, with many being sold directly to the Royal Air Force. Sent to Britain, where the bomber was dubbed "Liberator," the RAF soon found that they were unsuitable for combat over Europe as they had insufficient defensive armament and lacked self-sealing fuel tanks. Due to the aircraft's heavy payload and long range, the British converted these aircraft for use in maritime patrols. Learning from these issues, Consolidated improved the design and the first major American production model was the B-24C which also included improved Pratt & Whitney engines. In 1940, Consolidated again revised the aircraft and produced the B-24D. The first major variant of the Liberator, the B-24D quickly amassed orders for 2,738 aircraft. Overwhelming Consolidated's production capabilities, the aircraft was also built under license by North American, Douglas, and Ford. The latter built a massive plant at Willow Run, Michigan that, at its peak (August 1944), was producing fourteen aircraft per day. Revised and improved several times throughout World War II, the final variant, the B-24M, ended production on May 31, 1945. he United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took delivery of its first B-24As in mid-1941. Over the next three years, B-24 squadrons deployed to all theaters of the war: African, European, China-Burma-India, the Anti-submarine Campaign, the Southwest Pacific Theater and the Pacific Theater. 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. By mid-1943, the shorter-range B-17 was phased out. The Liberators which had served early in the war in the Pacific continued the efforts from the Philippines, Australia, Espiritu Santo,Guadalcanal, Hawaii, and Midway Island. The Liberator peak overseas deployment was 45.5 bomb groups in June 1944. Additionally, the Liberator equipped a number of independent squadrons in a variety of special combat roles. The cargo versions, C-87 and C-109 tanker, further increased its overseas presence, especially in Asia in support of the XX Bomber Command air offensive against Japan. So vital was the need for long range operations, that at first USAAF used the type as transports. The sole B-24 in Hawaii was destroyed by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. It had been sent to the Central Pacific for a very long range reconnaissance mission that was preempted by the Japanese attack. The first USAAF Liberators to carry out combat missions were 12 repossessed LB-30s deployed to Java with the 11th Bombardment Squadron (7th Bombardment Group) that flew their first combat mission in mid-January. Two were shot up by Japanese fighters, but both managed to land safely. One was written off due to battle damage and the other crash-landed on a beach. US-based B-24s entered combat service in 1942 when on 6 June, four B-24s from Hawaii staging through Midway Island attempted an attack on Wake Island, but were unable to find it. The B-24 came to dominate the heavy bombardment role in the Pacific because compared to the B-17, the B-24 was faster, had longer range, and could carry a ton more bombs. In the European and North Africa Theatres On 12 June 1942, 13 B-24s of the Halverson Project (HALPRO) flying from Egypt attacked the Axis-controlled oil fields and refineries around Ploiești, Romania. Within weeks, the First Provisional Bombardment Group formed from the remnants of the Halverson and China detachments. 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. The Ninth Air Force moved to England in late 1943. This was a major component of the USSTAF and took a major role in strategic bombing. Fifteen of the 15th AF's 21 bombardment groups flew B-24s 1st August 1943 Operation Tidal Wave: A group of 177 American B-24 Liberator bombers, with 1,726 total crew, departed from Libya to make the first bombing of the oil refineries at Ploieşti, Romania, the major supplier of fuel to Germany. The mission temporarily halted oil production, but 532 airmen and 54 of the planes were lost. After a 40% loss of production, the refineries would be repaired more quickly than projected.[1] Germany's Radio Reconnaissance Service had intercepted and decrypted the Allied messages about the raid and the departure from Libya, and anti-aircraft defenses were in place despite the low-level approach of the bombers. |
Liberator
Liberator Artwork Collection |
Ploesti, The Vital Mission by Robert Taylor. | Mustangs and Liberators by Richard Ward | Battle of the Atlantic by Richard Ward |
The Long Patrol by Ivan Berryman. | Clipped Signature - Robert Souter. | Clipped Signature - Ken Hubbard. |
Clipped Signature - Vernon Swain. | Clipped Signature - George Hammond. | Clipped Signature - Perry Morse. |
Clipped Signature - James Dyke. | Clipped Signature - Robert Dubowsky. | Clipped Signature - Will Lundy. |
Clipped Signature - Everett Jones. | Clipped Signature - Richard Butler. | Clipped Signature - Elmo Geppelt. |
Clipped Signature - Robert W Sternfels. | Clipped Signature - Travis Hoover. | Motley Crew by Tim Fisher. |
Me262 1As of 3rd Gruppe JG7 by Randall Wilson. (GL) | Safe Haven by Nicolas Trudgian. | Hostile Sky by Robert Taylor |
End Game by Nicolas Trudgian. | Safe by Keith Woodcock. | Operation Tidal Wave by Nicolas Trudgian. |
Savage Skies by Robert Taylor. | B-24 Liberator by Nicolas Trudgian. | Thundering Home by Nicolas Trudgian. (B) |
The Defence of Napoli by Ivan Berryman. | To Hell and Back - Operation Tidal Wave by Anthony Saunders. | Tribute to Terry Bulloch by Ivan Berryman. |
Help for the Straggler by Keith Aspinall. | Welcome Sight by Robert Taylor. | The Dragon and his Tail by Stan Stokes. |
Liberators by Stan Stokes. | Too Little Too Late by Stan Stokes. | Tail End Charlie by Stan Stokes. |
Squadrons for : Liberator | ||
A list of all squadrons from known to have used this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
Squadron | Info | |
Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 34th Bomb Group | 34th Bomb Group Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 9th August 1917 Fate : Disbanded 27th April 1963 Ceylon Tentate et perficite - Attempt and achieve | No.102 Sqn RAF No. 102 squadron was formed at Hingham in Norfolk in August 1917 and was equipped with FE2b and FE2ds and operated as a night bomber squadron. 102 squadron went to France and operated behind German lines with their main targets being railway stations, railway lines, and railway trains, specialising in night attacks. In March 1919 after the war had finished, 102 squadron returned to Britain and disbanded on the 3rd of July 1919. On the 1st of October 1935, 102 squadron was reformed at RAF Worthy Down with the role again as a night bomber squadron, initially using Handley Page Heyford aircraft. In October 1938, 102 Squadron became part of the newly formed No.4 group of Bomber Command based at RAF Driffield and was now equipped with the new Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber. 102 squadron dropped leaflets in the night from 4th to 5th September 1939 over Germany. The squadron spent six weeks on convoy escort duty under the command of Coastal Command from 1st September until 10th October 1940 flying from Prestwick. 102 Squadron returned to bomber command and soon after Leonard Cheshire won his DSO. On the night of 12th/13th November 1940, Whitley V P5005 found itself slightly off course above the primary target due to problems with the intercom. Changing instead to a secondary target, some railway marshalling yards near Cologne, Pilot Officer Leonard Cheshire suddenly felt his aircraft rocked by a series of violent explosions that caused a severe fire to break out in the fuselage, filling the cockpit with acrid black smoke. As DY-N plunged some 2,000 feet, Cheshire managed to regain control and the fire was eventually extinguished. For bringing his aircraft safely home to 102 Squadrons base after being airborne for eight and half hours, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. 102 Squadron continued for the next thirty-six months to fly night sorties (including the thousand bomber raids) over Germany. In 1944 the squadron attacked rail targets in France in preparation for the invasion. In February 1942 the squadron was adopted by the island of Ceylon, which paid for aircraft for use by the squadron. The squadron transferred to Transport Command on 8th March 1945 and in September 1945 re-equipped with Liberators. The squadrons main role was the return of troops and POWs back from India and it disbanded on the 28th of February 1946. No.102 Squadron used the following aircraft : Fe2b from August 1917 to July 1919. Handley Page Heyford from October 1935 to May 1939 - specifically Mk.II from October 1935 to April 1937 and Mk.III from December 1935 to May 1939. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley from October 1938 to February 1942, specifically Mk.IV from October 1938 to January 1940 and Mk.V from November 1939 to February 1942. Handley Page Halifax from December 1941 to September 1945, specifically Mk.II from December 1941 to May 1944, Mk.III from May 1944 to September 1945 and Mk.VI from July 1945 to September 1945. Consolidated Liberator Mks.VI and VIII from September 1945 February 1946. English Electric Canberra B.2 from October 1954 to August 1956. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st September 1917 Fate : Disbanded 24th May 1963 Strike hard | No.104 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st January 1918 Endurance | No.120 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 10th February 1918 Fate : Disbanded 1st May 1965 Trusty | No.148 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st June 1918 Fate : Disbanded 30th September 1946 Api soya paragasamu - We seek and strike | No.160 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1918 Fate : Disbanded 31st December 1977 Occidens oriensque - West and east | No.203 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1918 Nihil nos effugit - Naught escapes us | No.206 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1918 Fate : Disbanded 10th July 1963 We observe unseen | No.220 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1918 Fate : Disbanded 23rd August 1963 Alae defendunt Africam - Wings defend Africa | No.223 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1918 Fate : Disbanded 31st October 1966 Fedele all amico - Faithful to a freind | No.224 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 11th October 1915 In caelum indicum primus - First into Indian skies | No.31 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 29th July 1940 Fate : Disbanded 15th February 1946 Czech Na mnozstui nehledte - Never regard their numbers | No.311 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 18th August 1943 Fate : Disbanded 31st May 1946 Liberamus per caerula - We liberate through tropical skies | No.355 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 8th November 1944 Fate : Disbanded 21st November 1945 Alere flamman - To feed the flame | No.358 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : Canada Founded : 18th May 1942 Fate : Disbanded 3rd September 1945 Quaerimus et petimus - We search and strike | No.423 Sqn RCAF Formed at Oban on 18th May 1942 flying Sunderlands, the squadron moved to Lough Erne on 3rd November 1942. Later they re-equipped with Liberators at Bassingbourn and were part of Transport Command. This squadron and No.422 Sqn were the only Canadian squadrons to fly the Sunderland. | |
Country : Canada Founded : 15th October 1942 Fate : Disbanded 31st December 1945 Thunderbird On wings of fire | No.426 Sqn RCAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 15th May 1916 Fate : Disbanded 14th September 1976 United in effort | No.53 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 21st June 1916 Fate : Disbanded 4th January 1961 Ab uno disce omes - From one learn all | No.59 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st September 1917 Fate : Disbanded 25th April 1946 Ad libertates volamus - We fly to freedom | No.86 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. |
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