B 24 Liberator: 3 Major Design Flaws

B-24, also called Liberator, 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 was powered by four air-cooled radial engines and had a spacious boxlike fuselage slung beneath a high wing, a tricycle landing gear, and a twin tail assembly. The first prototype flew in December 1939, and, by the spring of 1941, B-24s were being delivered to the British Royal Air Force on a cash-and-carry basis.
Early models of the B-24 lacked self-sealing fuel tanks and the heavy defensive armament deemed essential by the USAAF for a strategic daylight bomber; therefore, they were used primarily to transport high-priority cargo and VIPs (British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used one as his personal transport) and for antisubmarine patrols. Antisubmarine B-24s, some fitted with radar, played a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic and were instrumental in closing the mid-Atlantic “gap” where German U-boats had previously operated with impunity.
Alongside the B-29 Superfortress and the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Liberator gained a distinguished war record during its service in the European, Pacific, African, and Middle Eastern theaters. The B-24’s longer range and higher bomb load capacity helped bring the Axis forces down to their knees.
However, despite being the most produced American wartime aircraft, the Liberator was not as popular as its contemporaries. The media and many airmen preferred the B-17 Flying Fortress, which was supposedly inferior to the B-24. So, what made this destructive heavy bomber deserve an ugly duckling reputation?

Music used:
"Scott Buckley - Legionnaire" is under an Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)

#B24 #Liberator #DesignFlaws

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[sblack]

These were not flaws. They were tradeoffs. They could have increased the service ceiling simply by reducing the bomb load, but they chose to deliver more bombs or to deliver them further or both. As for sustaining battle damage, the more you over-build an airplane the heavier it is and the less payload/range you have. Do you design it to fly or to get shot up? In the overall scheme of things, as an airforce you will hit the enemy harder if the majority of the aircraft deliver more bombs. The b24 was a successful design. Every airplane design is the product of many tradeoffs. In most cases these are not “flaws”. There are no perfect airplanes.

[pjb]

My great uncle flew in these in WW2 he was an Observer with RAF Coastal Command and part of 224sqn. He used to descibe this aircraft as 'very luxurious' and prefered these to the Hudsons they had been using. His squadron was one of the first to use them and his plane was fitted with the then top secret ASV radar. Tragically he lost his life in a flying accident when his B24D hit a barrage balloon whilst attempting an emergency landing on 30 October 1942. The Aircraft was FK242 and the sqn letter was 'K' call sign K - King. Let us all remember all these brave aircrews and the sacrafice they made for us.

[donwhitt]

My brother was crew chief on a B24 that took off from a base in Italy and bombed Germany. German artillery was shelling our troops and the artillery piece was so disguised, they couldn't tell where it was coming from. An observer spotted it located in a large cathedral. B-24s took off from Italy and my brother said they flattened that building. They didn't have any more trouble with artillery after that. He survived 2 crash landings in B24s. In the last one the fuel lines were all shot up and leaking. My brother wrapped some rags tightly around the fuel line and had to hold it. He held it until they slid in and got all the wounded and everybody off. Then at the last he barely got off before the fuel ignited and the plane blew up. He got a medal for that.

[heyfitzpablum]

Both the B-17 and B-24 had their advantages and disadvantages. The Liberator had greater range, speed and bomb load, the Flying Fortress was more durable, could fly higher and was better defended. In Europe the B-17 probably was the superior bomber, but in the Pacific it was definitely the B-24. They both served their role admirably.

[keegan]

Flaws ? What flaws ?
It was good enough to bring my father home from every mission so he survived WW2.

[BronzeGiant]

We call the B-24 "the box the B-17 came in."

[KevTheImpaler]

When I was a cadet in the Ait Training Corps (13-18 year-olds), one of the instructors was an RAF navigator in B24 Liberators. He was proud to have served in the aircraft. He donated a prize, which was a plaque of a Liberator, to be awarded to the cadet who passed the navigation exam the best, which was me the first year.

[Everythingblackpowder]

My grandfather flew a PB4Y-2 in WW2, Navy squadron VPB118. I’m glad to see it get a mention in the video.

[qytfimf]

I would say it's durability was very underestimated. My Father's Ship a B24 H Ford Willow Run had the Hydraulics shot out, flak damage to both wings & one stabilizer, and lost an engine, it went in to a spiral. The Pilot gave the Order to bailout my Father and 5 others went down the catwalk and out through the Bombay Doors. MACR 2398. After dropping about 5000 feet the Pilot and Co Pilot regained control of the Ship and using manual controls limped it back to base. The Plane part of the 449th Bombardment Group Original Cadre was patched up and replacements were put into the crew and it completed it's 25 Missions. It was then turn over to a New Pilot and crew and flew 21 more Missions until being shot down in June of 44 MACR 6443 and had flown 46 missions without full escort. I think it was a pretty durable Aircraft. You also have to keep in mind that the 15th Air Force received no P51s. The 17s mostly flying out of England with the 8th Air Force were first in line to have full escort to and from the target and got them in late 43. My Father was in a Stalag Luft 1. They, heard about the P51s listening to crystal radios they built in the Camp. To the best
To the best of my knowledge they never received P51s and only had P38s & 47 for full escorts in the early Part of the War when they were hitting Northern Italy. Once they went any further, they were on their own and the Escorts would drop them off and pick them up @ the Italian border. Funny thing that was actually a travesty and a big FUP by the Brass, it turned out the P47 could handled larger drop tanks and could have been used for long range escort well before the P51 was deployed. A lot of Ships could have been saved had the Brass not been so adamant
about not experimenting with the P47 that was by far the most underrated Fighter in the Inventory.

[JackSmith-hmfh]

My neighbor Dan was a B-24 pilot in WWII. He always wore a hat that said “Liberator” on it. He talked about this one time when a German plane was tearing his Liberator up, when all of a sudden the shooting stopped. He said a P-51 with a red tail pulled up next to him, and in his own words “there was a black man flying it!” The Tuskegee airman had a big grin, shot Dan a salute, and then peeled off to regroup.

[robertphillips]

Sorry, my dad was in a B-24 outfit (459 Bg). He would never let anyone put down the plane.

[tombergman]

My Dad flew 50 missions in Libs out of Foggia, Italy. 451st Bomb Group, 724th Squadron. He flew on two different ships. The first was Satan’s Sister, which was damaged so badly, it had to be pulled out of service for repairs. They then were assigned Maresydoats, in which he flew the rest of his missions. Satan’s Sister was repaired and flew again. The crew renamed it, (can’t remember the new name…) and very shortly after it reentered service, it was shot down killing all hands. I’ve always heard it was bad luck to change the names of boats. I guess the same holds true for bombers…

[oldman]

Dad was a B-24 bottom turret gunner flying out of Italy, got 17 missions in before engine failure forced them to parachute out. He was captured and spent over a year in a German POW.

[Shelby-Ecoboost-Raptor-hp]

*The B-24 loss rate in the ETO was actually slightly better than that of the B-17.*

*The B-24 flew 226, 775 sorties with 3, 626 losses or 1.60% while the B-17 flew 291, 508 sorties with 4, 688 losses or 1.61%.*

[scotthaddad]

My dad was nose gunner and second radioman on a B-24 in the Pacific.
Most of his missions were anti-submarine. He brought back dozens of plane pics and most of them were of the unique “Nose Art” on many aircraft.
There are some beautifully painted noses on planes of that era.

[johncolwell]

Great aircraft my father was chief tooling engineer for DOUGLAS aircraft he was sent to Tulsa Oklahoma to build these aircraft along with the dauntless

[skywatcher]

My father flew 33 combat missions as flight mechanic in B-24's in the 735 sq/461bg/15AF. The Liberators had their issues but he was able to keep a badly damaged aircraft flying to get back to base. There were many 24's that suffered extreme damage and still flew. It was not so much the aircraft as where they took battle damage. Flak and enemy fighters were able to down just as many 17's as 24's.

[carlr]

My Dad was a waist gunner on a Lib during the Ploesti raids.

[darkknight]

Had the B-24 been used by RAF coastal command at the start of the battle of the Atlantic, U-boat kills would have gone through the roof.The Davis wing on the Liberator wasn't suited to high altitude flight with a heay bomb load, but at medium and low levels it would have excelled, as mentioned previously as a maritime patrol aircraft.

[davegeisler]

The B24 Liberator was still a great heavy Bomber 🇺🇸👍