Article 2820 of rec.aviation.military:
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From: jfb@usgp1.ih.att.com (Joe Baugher)
Subject: Bomber Series--Consolidated B-24 Liberator (1 of ??)
Message-ID: <Cx4HKK.FJ0@ssbunews.ih.att.com>
Summary: XB-24 prototype 
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The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was one of the most versatile aircraft 
of the Second World War.  It served not only as a long-range strategic 
bomber but also in the maritime reconnaissance, antisubmarine, 
passenger and freight transportation, flying tanker, and photographic 
reconnaissance roles.  It was built by no less than five different 
manufacturers--Consolidated Aircraft Corporation of San Diego, 
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation of Fort Worth, Douglas Aircraft 
Corporation of Tulsa, Oklahoma, North American Aviation of Dallas, 
Texas, and the Ford Motor Company of Willow Run, Michigan.  It was 
produced in greater numbers than any other American aircraft.  A total 
of 18,188 Liberators and Liberator variants were built between June of 
1941 and the closing down of the last assembly line on May 31, 1945.  

A comparison between the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Fortress is 
perhaps inevitable.  The Liberator was slightly faster than the Fort, 
carried a heavier bombload and could carry it farther and higher than 
the Fort.  It was slightly more maneuverable than the Fort, and was 
much more adaptable to other missions.  On the debit side, the 
Liberator was harder to fly, less stable, and much more difficult to 
hold in the tight bomber formations that were mandatory in the 
European theatre of operations.  The Liberator was not capable of 
absorbing nearly the same amount of battle damage that the Fortress 
could handle.  Any sort of solid hit on the wing of a Liberator was 
generally fatal, the high-aspect ratio Davis wing often folding up 
when hit.  In comparison to the B-17, there are relatively few 
photographs of Liberators returning home with half their wings shot 
away or with major sections of their tails missing.  The Liberator was 
not very crashworthy, a "wheels up" landing generally causing the 
fuselage to split into two or three pieces, resulting in a complete 
writeoff.  When ditching at sea, the Liberator's lightly-built bomb 
bay doors would often immediately collapse upon impact, the interior 
of the aircraft quickly filling up with water, causing the aircraft to 
sink rapidly.  In spite of the Liberator's defects, Eighth Air Force 
statistics show that B-17 operational losses were 15.2 percent as 
compared with 13.3 percent for the B-24.  Statistically, a crew had a 
better chance of surviving the war in a Liberator than in a Fortress.  

The origin of the B-24 Liberator can be traced back to 1938, when the 
San Diego-based Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was approached by 
the Army Air Corps with a proposal that they build the B-17 Fortress 
under license to provide an additional production line.  After a visit 
to Boeing's Seattle plant, Consolidated's management convinced 
themselves that they could do better, and in January of 1939, 
Consolidated president Reuben Fleet and chief engineer Isaac Laddon 
approached the Army Air Corps with a proposal for a bomber that would 
have a performance superior to that of the B-17 Fortress.  The Air 
Corps was interested in the Consolidated proposal, and encouraged the 
company to proceed.  By the end of January, a mockup had been thrown 
together and had been inspected.  On February 1, the USAAC went 
through the formality of issuing Type Specification C-212 which called 
for a heavy bomber that was to have a maximum speed greater than 300 
mph, a range of 2000 miles, and a ceiling of 35,000 feet.  On March 
30, 1939, a contract for one prototype was issued under the 
designation XB-24.  The serial number was 39-680.  The first example 
was to be ready by the end of 1939.  The contract also called for a 
structural test model and a set of engineering reports.  

The aircraft was designated Model 32 by the company.  It was designed 
around a high aspect ratio wing employing the Davis high-lift airfoil.  
This airfoil was the brainchild of David R.  Davis, who had been a 
partner with Donald Douglas back in the 1920s.  Basically, Davis's 
idea was that minimal drag could be achieved if the airfoil design 
team started with a basic teardrop-shaped cross section and worked 
from there.  According to aerodynamic tests at the California 
Institute of Technology wind tunnel, this airfoil section offered 
significantly less drag at all speeds.  This wing airfoil was first 
tried out on the Consolidated Model 31, a twin-engined commercial 
flying boat.  The wing structure was stiff and offered the maximum 
internal volume for the accommodation for fuel.  The wing did not 
contain any fuel cells but rather entire sections of the wing were 
sealed with Duprene sealant and filled with fuel, creating the first 
"wet wing" on an American military aircraft.  For good low-speed 
characteristics, the wing was fitted with Fowler area-increasing flaps 
on the trailing edges and with fixed slots on the outer wing leading 
edges near the tips.  The wing was shoulder-mounted for maximum 
bomb-stowage and easy loading.  

A tricycle undercarriage was fitted, with the long main undercarriage 
members being retracted outwards to lie flat into open wing stowage 
bays behind small underwing blisters.  A twin fin and rudder assembly 
was chosen for the tail unit.  

The large slab-sided fuselage had a central bomb bay which could 
accommodate up to 8000 pounds of bombs.  It was divided into front and 
rear compartments.  The two sections of the bomb bay were further 
divided by a central catwalk, which was also the fuselage keel beam.  
A rather unusual bomb bay door was fitted, which consisted of two 
roller-type segments that retracted upward into the fuselage from the 
keel beam much like the segments of a roll-top desk or a garage door.  
This arrangement had the advantage of offering little additional 
aerodynamic drag when the bomb bay doors were open.  

The armament of the XB-24 was to consist of several hand-held 
0.30-inch machine guns.  One gun was to be mounted in the large 
transparent nose which accommodated the navigator and bombardier.  
Further 0.30 inch machine guns could be fired from removable hatches 
above, below, and on each side of the fuselage.  There was a cupola 
for an additional gun in the extreme tail, which was a relatively new 
feature for American bombers at the time, having been first introduced 
on the Douglas B-23.  

On April 27, 1939, the Army approved the construction of seven YB-24 
service test aircraft, serial numbers being 40-696/702.  On August 10, 
1939, 38 B-24A evaluation aircraft were ordered, serial numbers being 
40-2349/2386.  

The XB-24 prototype rolled out of the San Diego plant about 9 months 
after the contract had been approved.  It was powered by four 1200 hp 
Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen cylinder radial 
engines fitted with mechanical two-speed superchargers.  It took off 
on its maiden flight on December 29, 1939, chief test pilot Bill 
Wheatley being at the controls.  George Newman, Jack Kline, and Bob 
Keith were also on board.  This was one day short of the time limit 
specified in the USAAC contract.  Early test flights proved the Davis 
wing to be everything that its designers had hoped for.  With a full 
bomb load, the range of the XB-24 was 200 miles greater than that of 
the B-17.  With extra fuel tanks mounted in the forward bomb bay, the 
range was 600 miles greater than that of a similarly-equipped B-17, 
which in such a configuration could carry no load at all.  However, 
the maximum speed of the XB-24 was only 273 mph, which was somewhat 
less than that of the contemporary turbosupercharged B-17C.  Gross 
weight was 38,300 pounds.  

Following the breaking out of war in Europe, the French government 
sight unseen placed an order for 60 B-24s with an option for 120 more.  
The export designation was LB-30-MF, which stood for Land Bomber, 30 
(Consolidated's export number), Mission Francais).  In 1940, Britain 
ordered 164 machines.  These large foreign orders were placed well 
before the US military placed similar-sized orders, and played a large 
role in getting the B-24 project going.  

The name "Liberator" was given to the British-ordered machines.  The 
name apparently originated with Consolidated.  According to Reuben 
Fleet, he justified the choice of the name Liberator to the British 
because "this airplane can carry destruction to the heart of the Hun, 
and thus help you and us to liberate those nations temporarily finding 
themselves under Hitler's yoke." The name stuck, and was eventually 
applied to USAAC machines as well.  

Specification of the Consolidated XB-24:  

Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder 
air-cooled radials rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1000 hp at 14,500 
feet.  
Performance:  Maximum speed 273 mph at 15,000 feet.  Cruising speed 
186 mph.  Landing speed 90 mph.  Service ceiling 31,500 feet.  An 
altitude of 10,000 feet could be attained in 6 minutes.  Range was 
3000 miles with a 2500 pound bombload.  Maximum range was 4700 miles.  
Weights:  27,500 pounds, empty, 38,360 pounds gross, 46,400 pounds 
maximum.  
Dimensions:  Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 63 feet 9 inches, 
height 18 feet 8 inches, wing area 1048 square feet.  

Sources:

    Famous Bombers of the Second World War, William Green, 
    Doubleday, 1959.

    Liberator: America's Global Bomber, Alwyn T. Lloyd,
    Pictorial Histories Publishing Co, Inc, 1993.

    B-24 Liberator in Action, Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal Publications
    Inc, 1987.

    General Dynamics Aircraft and Their Predecsssors, John Wegg,
    Naval Institute Press, 1990.

    Consolidated B-24D-M Liberator IN USAAF-RAF-RAAF-MLD-IAF-CzechAF
    and CNAF Service, Ernest R. McDowell, Arco, 1970. 

    United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough
    and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

    American Combat Planes, 3rd Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner,
    Doubleday, 1982.

    Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century,  Michael
    J.H. Taylor, Mallard Press.


Joe Baugher			  **************************************
AT&T Bell Laboratories		  *  "For a succesful technology,      *
1000 E. Warrenville Road	  *  reality must take precedence over *
Room 1N 311			  *  public relations, for Nature      * 
P. O. Box 3013			  *  cannot be fooled."		       *
Naperville, Illinois 60566-7013	  *              - Richard P. Feynman  *
USA				  **************************************
Phone: (708) 713 4548
jfb@uscbu.ih.att.com
			    Who, me?  Speak for AT&T?  Surely you jest!	


Article 741 of sci.military:
Xref: ssbunews sci.military:741
Newsgroups: sci.military
Path: ssbunews!nntpa!att-out!pacbell.com!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ranger!military
From: jfb@usgp1.ih.att.com (Joe Baugher)
Subject: Bomber Series--Consolidated B-24 Liberator (1 of ??)
Message-ID: <Cx6IsH.E0w@ranger.daytonoh.ncr.com>
Summary: XB-24 prototype
Sender: military@ranger.daytonoh.ncr.com (Sci.military Login)
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 02:55:29 GMT
Approved: military@ranger.daytonoh.ncr.com
Lines: 195


From jfb@usgp1.ih.att.com (Joe Baugher)

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was one of the most versatile aircraft 
of the Second World War.  It served not only as a long-range strategic 
bomber but also in the maritime reconnaissance, antisubmarine, 
passenger and freight transportation, flying tanker, and photographic 
reconnaissance roles.  It was built by no less than five different 
manufacturers--Consolidated Aircraft Corporation of San Diego, 
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation of Fort Worth, Douglas Aircraft 
Corporation of Tulsa, Oklahoma, North American Aviation of Dallas, 
Texas, and the Ford Motor Company of Willow Run, Michigan.  It was 
produced in greater numbers than any other American aircraft.  A total 
of 18,188 Liberators and Liberator variants were built between June of 
1941 and the closing down of the last assembly line on May 31, 1945.  

A comparison between the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Fortress is 
perhaps inevitable.  The Liberator was slightly faster than the Fort, 
carried a heavier bombload and could carry it farther and higher than 
the Fort.  It was slightly more maneuverable than the Fort, and was 
much more adaptable to other missions.  On the debit side, the 
Liberator was harder to fly, less stable, and much more difficult to 
hold in the tight bomber formations that were mandatory in the 
European theatre of operations.  The Liberator was not capable of 
absorbing nearly the same amount of battle damage that the Fortress 
could handle.  Any sort of solid hit on the wing of a Liberator was 
generally fatal, the high-aspect ratio Davis wing often folding up 
when hit.  In comparison to the B-17, there are relatively few 
photographs of Liberators returning home with half their wings shot 
away or with major sections of their tails missing.  The Liberator was 
not very crashworthy, a "wheels up" landing generally causing the 
fuselage to split into two or three pieces, resulting in a complete 
writeoff.  When ditching at sea, the Liberator's lightly-built bomb 
bay doors would often immediately collapse upon impact, the interior 
of the aircraft quickly filling up with water, causing the aircraft to 
sink rapidly.  In spite of the Liberator's defects, Eighth Air Force 
statistics show that B-17 operational losses were 15.2 percent as 
compared with 13.3 percent for the B-24.  Statistically, a crew had a 
better chance of surviving the war in a Liberator than in a Fortress.  

The origin of the B-24 Liberator can be traced back to 1938, when the 
San Diego-based Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was approached by 
the Army Air Corps with a proposal that they build the B-17 Fortress 
under license to provide an additional production line.  After a visit 
to Boeing's Seattle plant, Consolidated's management convinced 
themselves that they could do better, and in January of 1939, 
Consolidated president Reuben Fleet and chief engineer Isaac Laddon 
approached the Army Air Corps with a proposal for a bomber that would 
have a performance superior to that of the B-17 Fortress.  The Air 
Corps was interested in the Consolidated proposal, and encouraged the 
company to proceed.  By the end of January, a mockup had been thrown 
together and had been inspected.  On February 1, the USAAC went 
through the formality of issuing Type Specification C-212 which called 
for a heavy bomber that was to have a maximum speed greater than 300 
mph, a range of 2000 miles, and a ceiling of 35,000 feet.  On March 
30, 1939, a contract for one prototype was issued under the 
designation XB-24.  The serial number was 39-680.  The first example 
was to be ready by the end of 1939.  The contract also called for a 
structural test model and a set of engineering reports.  

The aircraft was designated Model 32 by the company.  It was designed 
around a high aspect ratio wing employing the Davis high-lift airfoil.  
This airfoil was the brainchild of David R.  Davis, who had been a 
partner with Donald Douglas back in the 1920s.  Basically, Davis's 
idea was that minimal drag could be achieved if the airfoil design 
team started with a basic teardrop-shaped cross section and worked 
from there.  According to aerodynamic tests at the California 
Institute of Technology wind tunnel, this airfoil section offered 
significantly less drag at all speeds.  This wing airfoil was first 
tried out on the Consolidated Model 31, a twin-engined commercial 
flying boat.  The wing structure was stiff and offered the maximum 
internal volume for the accommodation for fuel.  The wing did not 
contain any fuel cells but rather entire sections of the wing were 
sealed with Duprene sealant and filled with fuel, creating the first 
"wet wing" on an American military aircraft.  For good low-speed 
characteristics, the wing was fitted with Fowler area-increasing flaps 
on the trailing edges and with fixed slots on the outer wing leading 
edges near the tips.  The wing was shoulder-mounted for maximum 
bomb-stowage and easy loading.  

A tricycle undercarriage was fitted, with the long main undercarriage 
members being retracted outwards to lie flat into open wing stowage 
bays behind small underwing blisters.  A twin fin and rudder assembly 
was chosen for the tail unit.  

The large slab-sided fuselage had a central bomb bay which could 
accommodate up to 8000 pounds of bombs.  It was divided into front and 
rear compartments.  The two sections of the bomb bay were further 
divided by a central catwalk, which was also the fuselage keel beam.  
A rather unusual bomb bay door was fitted, which consisted of two 
roller-type segments that retracted upward into the fuselage from the 
keel beam much like the segments of a roll-top desk or a garage door.  
This arrangement had the advantage of offering little additional 
aerodynamic drag when the bomb bay doors were open.  

The armament of the XB-24 was to consist of several hand-held 
0.30-inch machine guns.  One gun was to be mounted in the large 
transparent nose which accommodated the navigator and bombardier.  
Further 0.30 inch machine guns could be fired from removable hatches 
above, below, and on each side of the fuselage.  There was a cupola 
for an additional gun in the extreme tail, which was a relatively new 
feature for American bombers at the time, having been first introduced 
on the Douglas B-23.  

On April 27, 1939, the Army approved the construction of seven YB-24 
service test aircraft, serial numbers being 40-696/702.  On August 10, 
1939, 38 B-24A evaluation aircraft were ordered, serial numbers being 
40-2349/2386.  

The XB-24 prototype rolled out of the San Diego plant about 9 months 
after the contract had been approved.  It was powered by four 1200 hp 
Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen cylinder radial 
engines fitted with mechanical two-speed superchargers.  It took off 
on its maiden flight on December 29, 1939, chief test pilot Bill 
Wheatley being at the controls.  George Newman, Jack Kline, and Bob 
Keith were also on board.  This was one day short of the time limit 
specified in the USAAC contract.  Early test flights proved the Davis 
wing to be everything that its designers had hoped for.  With a full 
bomb load, the range of the XB-24 was 200 miles greater than that of 
the B-17.  With extra fuel tanks mounted in the forward bomb bay, the 
range was 600 miles greater than that of a similarly-equipped B-17, 
which in such a configuration could carry no load at all.  However, 
the maximum speed of the XB-24 was only 273 mph, which was somewhat 
less than that of the contemporary turbosupercharged B-17C.  Gross 
weight was 38,300 pounds.  

Following the breaking out of war in Europe, the French government 
sight unseen placed an order for 60 B-24s with an option for 120 more.  
The export designation was LB-30-MF, which stood for Land Bomber, 30 
(Consolidated's export number), Mission Francais).  In 1940, Britain 
ordered 164 machines.  These large foreign orders were placed well 
before the US military placed similar-sized orders, and played a large 
role in getting the B-24 project going.  

The name "Liberator" was given to the British-ordered machines.  The 
name apparently originated with Consolidated.  According to Reuben 
Fleet, he justified the choice of the name Liberator to the British 
because "this airplane can carry destruction to the heart of the Hun, 
and thus help you and us to liberate those nations temporarily finding 
themselves under Hitler's yoke." The name stuck, and was eventually 
applied to USAAC machines as well.  

Specification of the Consolidated XB-24:  

Four Pratt & Whitney R-3830-33 (S3C4-G) Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder 
air-cooled radials rated at 2100 hp for takeoff and 1000 hp at 14,500 
feet.  
Performance:  Maximum speed 273 mph at 15,000 feet.  Cruising speed 
186 mph.  Landing speed 90 mph.  Service ceiling 31,500 feet.  An 
altitude of 10,000 feet could be attained in 6 minutes.  Range was 
3000 miles with a 2500 pound bombload.  Maximum range was 4700 miles.  
Weights:  27,500 pounds, empty, 38,360 pounds gross, 46,400 pounds 
maximum.  
Dimensions:  Wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 63 feet 9 inches, 
height 18 feet 8 inches, wing area 1048 square feet.  

Sources:

    Famous Bombers of the Second World War, William Green, 
    Doubleday, 1959.

    Liberator: America's Global Bomber, Alwyn T. Lloyd,
    Pictorial Histories Publishing Co, Inc, 1993.

    B-24 Liberator in Action, Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal Publications
    Inc, 1987.

    General Dynamics Aircraft and Their Predecsssors, John Wegg,
    Naval Institute Press, 1990.

    Consolidated B-24D-M Liberator IN USAAF-RAF-RAAF-MLD-IAF-CzechAF
    and CNAF Service, Ernest R. McDowell, Arco, 1970. 

    United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough
    and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

    American Combat Planes, 3rd Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner,
    Doubleday, 1982.

    Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century,  Michael
    J.H. Taylor, Mallard Press.


Joe Baugher			  **************************************
AT&T Bell Laboratories		  *  "For a succesful technology,      *
1000 E. Warrenville Road	  *  reality must take precedence over *
Room 1N 311			  *  public relations, for Nature      * 
P. O. Box 3013			  *  cannot be fooled."		       *
Naperville, Illinois 60566-7013	  *              - Richard P. Feynman  *
USA				  **************************************
Phone: (708) 713 4548
jfb@uscbu.ih.att.com
			    Who, me?  Speak for AT&T?  Surely you jest!	





