Consolidated B-24 Liberator
More bombers built than any other American type of the war.
Designed after the B-17 but built in far greater numbers, the B-24 had a longer range, a larger bomb bay, and more fuel — though it was harder to fly and less loved by its crews. It served everywhere: over Germany, over the Atlantic hunting U-boats, and across the vast distances of the Pacific.
01The high-aspect-ratio Davis wing gave the Liberator range and economy but poor stability at altitude. In the 8th Air Force it flew alongside B-17s; in the 15th Air Force from Italy it was the dominant heavy bomber.
02Executed Operation Tidal Wave on 1 August 1943 — the ultra-low-level raid on the Ploești oil refineries in Romania from bases in Libya. Of 177 B-24s launched, 53 were lost; five Medals of Honor were awarded, three of them posthumously.
03In its maritime patrol form, the Very Long Range (VLR) Liberator closed the "Mid-Atlantic Gap" — the zone of ocean previously beyond air cover where U-boat wolfpacks had hunted convoys with near-impunity. This contribution to winning the Battle of the Atlantic is often underrated.
Theatres of operation
- ·Western Europe
- ·Mediterranean
- ·Pacific
- ·Atlantic
Principal operators
- ·USAAF
- ·RAF Coastal Command
- ·Royal Canadian Air Force
Others in the same fight.
Avro Lancaster
B.I / B.III / B.X
North American P-51 Mustang
P-51B / C / D / K
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47C / D / M / N
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
P-38F / G / H / J / L