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1 day ago · John L. Hennessy: Personal details; Born November 14, 1954 (age 69) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Political party: Republican (after 1982) Democratic (before 1982) Education: University of Denver (BA, PhD) University of Notre Dame : Signature: Scientific career: Fields: Political science: Thesis
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1 day ago · Views on slavery. Views on religion. Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 [b] – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. [6] He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
- Design and Development
- Operational History
- Production
- Variants
- Specifications
- Notable B-24 Crewmen
- Notable Appearances in Media
- See Also
- References
- External Links
Initial specifications
The Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B-17 under license. After company executives including President Reuben Fleet visited the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington, Consolidated decided instead to submit a more modern design of its own. The new Model 32 combined designer David R. Davis's wing, a high-efficiency airfoil design created by unorthodox means, with the twin tail design from the Consolidated Model 31 fl...
Design
The B-24 had a shoulder-mounted high aspect ratio Davis wing. This wing was highly efficient allowing a relatively high airspeed and long range. Compared to the B-17, it had a 6 feet (1.8 m) larger wingspan but a lower wing area. This gave the B-24 a 35-percent higher wing loading. The relatively thick wing held the promise of increased tankage while delivering increased lift and speed, but it became unpleasant to fly when committed to heavier loadings as experienced at high altitude and in b...
Armament
The defensive armament of the B-24 varied from transport variants, which were usually unarmed, to bombers armed with up to ten .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns located in turrets and waist gun positions. Early model Liberators were fitted with a top-mounted turret, a tail turret and single machine guns located in the waist and in the glazed nose. The B-24D initially featured upper, belly and tail turrets, plus swiveling single guns in the waist and on either side of the nose. Th...
RAF
The first British Liberators had been ordered by the Anglo-French Purchasing Board in 1940. After the Fall of France the French orders were in most cases transferred to the United Kingdom. The RAF found, as did the US, that global war increased the need for air transports and early-type bombers and seaplanes were converted or completed as cargo carriers and transports. LB-30As were assigned to transatlantic flights by RAF Ferry Command, between Canada and Prestwick, Scotland. The first Libera...
Antisubmarine and maritime patrols
The Liberators made a significant contribution to Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic against German U-boats. Aircraft had the ability to undertake surprise air attacks against surfaced submarines. Liberators assigned to the RAF's Coastal Command in 1941, offensively to patrol against submarines in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, produced immediate results. The introduction of Very Long Range (VLR) Liberators vastly increased the reach of the UK's maritime reconnaissance force, closing t...
Approximately 18,500 B-24s were produced across a number of versions, including over 4,600 manufactured by Ford. It holds records as the world's most-produced bomber, heavy bomber, multi-engine aircraft, and American military aircraft in history. Production took place at 5 plants. At Ford's Ypsilanti, Michigan based Willow RunBomber plant alone, on...
U.S. Army Air Forces variants
XB-24 1. Single prototype ordered by Army Air Corps on 30 March 1939. Powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 Twin Wasps rated at 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) for takeoff and 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) at 14,500 feet (4,400 m). Bombload of eight 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs, with defensive armament of three 0.5 in (12.7 mm) and four 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns. First flew 29 December 1939. Later converted to XB-24B. YB-24/LB-30A 1. Pre-production prototypes, six of which were sold to the UK direc...
U.S. Navy nomenclature and sub-variants
PB4Y-1 1. U.S. Navy designation applied to 976 navalized B-24D, J, L and M models built at Consolidated's San Diego factory, as well as one North American-built B-24G. Later aircraft were equipped with an ERCOnose turret. PB4Y-1P 1. Photographic reconnaissance variant developed from the PB4Y-1. PB4Y-2 Privateer 1. A developed PB4Y with a large single fin, a lengthened fuselage and many other improvements and changes. P5Y 1. Proposed twin-engined patrol version of PB4Y-1. Unbuilt. RY-1 1. U.S....
British Commonwealth nomenclature and sub-variants
Liberator C Mk.I 1. YB-24/LB-30A RAF direct purchase aircraft. (Total: 9) Unsuitable for combat, rebuilt as transports and used by BOACbetween the UK and Canada, including transferring aircrew ferrying Lend-Lease aircraft. Liberator B Mk.I 1. B-24A/LB-30B, RAF direct purchase aircraft. (Total: 20) Unsuitable for combat, some rebuilt for other roles. Liberator GR Mk.I 1. Mk.I rebuilt as General Reconnaissance for anti-submarine patrol. Fitted with belly pannier with additional forward firing f...
Data from Quest for Performance, Jane's Fighting aircraft of World War II,General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors General characteristics 1. Crew:11 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator, nose turret, top turret, 2 waist gunners, ball turret, tail gunner) 2. Length:67 ft 2 in (20.47 m) 3. Wingspan:110 ft (34 m) 4. Height:...
Hal Clement, science fiction author, was a pilot and copilot on B-24s and flew 35 combat missions over Europe with the 68th Bomb Squadron, 44th Bomb Group, based in England with Eighth Air Force.The book One Damned Island After Another (1946) contains the official history of the 7th Bomber Command of the Seventh Air Force. It describes B-24 operations in the Central Pacific. B-24s from the...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. The book Before the...Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010) tells the story of B-24D bombardier Louis Zamperiniand how he survived crashing in the Pacific, bei...Damnyankee: A WWII Story of Tragedy and Survival off the West of Irelandby Thomas L. Walsh (2009) tells the story of a US Navy PB4Y-1 (B-24 Liberator) submarine patrol bomber that ditched off the w...Little Eva(aircraft)Bibliography
1. Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0-904597-22-9. 2. Axworthy, Mark. Third Axis Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945. London: Arms & Armour, First edition 1995. ISBN 978-1-85409-267-0. 3. Birdsall, Steve. The B-24 Liberator. New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1968. ISBN 0-668-01695-7. 4. Birdsall, Steve. B-24 Liberator in Action (Aircraft number...
1 day ago · Charles L. Flynn, Jr. (Ph.D.), president of the College of Mount Saint Vincent. W. Kent Fuchs (B.S.E. 1977), president of the University of Florida, former provost of Cornell University. Pamela Gann (J.D. 1973), president of Claremont McKenna College and former dean of Duke University School of Law.
1 day ago · James Longstreet (January 8, 1821 – January 2, 1904) was a Confederate general who served during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps commander for most of the battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Eastern Theater ...
1 day ago · John Peter Altgeld, Governor of Illinois 1893–97 (born in Germany) Dave Altizer, MLB infielder 1906–11; Scott Altman, astronaut, four Space Shuttle missions; John Altschuler, screenwriter, Blades of Glory, Silicon Valley; Anita Alvarez, Cook County State's Attorney 2008-16; John Alvin, actor, The Beast with Five Fingers, Objective, Burma!
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