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May 17, 2024 · B-24, long-range heavy bomber used during World War II by the U.S. and British air forces. It was designed by the Consolidated Aircraft Company (later Consolidated-Vultee) in response to a January 1939 U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) requirement for a four-engined heavy bomber.
The B-24 originated in a 1938 request by the Air Corps for Consolidated Aircraft to produce B-17's. But Consolidated's engineer, David Davis, had designed a wing suited for long-range bombers, a wing that offered 15 percent less drag than ordinary wings.
The durable B-24 was the most versatile American bomber. Before the advent of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Liberator was one of the few land-based heavy bombers used in the Pacific Theater because it could handle the long flights where no emergency landing fields were available.
(U.S. Air Force photo) Consolidated B-24D Liberator. The B-24 was employed in operations in every combat theater during World War II. Because of its great range, it was particularly suited for such missions as the famous raid from North Africa against the oil industry at Ploesti, Rumania, on Aug. 1, 1943.
Conceived in 1938 by Consolidated Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin legacy company, the original B-24 prototype was designed to fly faster and carry a larger payload than the US Army Air Corps’s B-17 Flying Fortress. In time the B-24 would boast a long, tapered wing atop its fuselage, which allowed impressive long-range cruising capabilities.
Named for the role it was intended to play in the war to come, the aircraft would play a key role in America’s bombing effort around the world and become the most produced military aircraft of all time. The B-24 Liberator. In this video, Emily Charles walks us through the history and technical aspects of this iconic aircraft. The B-24 Liberator.
The B-24 Liberator heavy bombers were the response to the United States Army Air Corps' 1938 request for production expansion of the B-17 bombers, but it later evolved into a project of its own. The contract was awarded in Mar 1939, and the prototype took flight before the end of that year.
