The B-24 Liberator
General Characteristics

  • Crew: 11(pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator, nose turret gunner, top turret gunner, 2 waist gunners, ball turret gunner and tail gunner)
  • Length: 67 ft 8 in (20.6 m)
  • Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in (33.5 m)
  • Height: 18 ft 0 in (5.5 m)
  • Wing area: 1,048 ft² (97.4 m²)
  • Empty weight: 36,500 lb (16,590 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 55,000 lb (25,000 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 65,000 lb (29,500 kg)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35 or -41 turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (900 kW) each
  • Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0406
  • Drag area: 42.54 ft² (3.95 m²)
  • Aspect ratio: 11.55
Heavy Bomber

  • Manufactured by Consolidated Aircraft
  • First Flight was on December 29, 1939 
  • Introduced for deployment in 1941 
  • 18,482 aircraft were produced from 1940 to 1945
  • Unit cost $297,627 (About $5 million in today's dollars.)
Performance

  • Maximum speed: 290 mph (250 kn, 470 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: 215 mph (187 kn, 346 km/h)
  • Stall speed: 95 mph (83 kn, 153 km/h)
  • Range: 2,100 mi (1,800 nmi, 3,400 km)
  • Ferry range: 3,700 mi (3,200 nmi, 6,000 km)
  • Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1,025 ft/min (5.2 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 52.5 lb/ft² (256 kg/m²)
  • Power/mass: 0.0873 hp/lb (144 W/kg)
  • Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.9
Armament

  • 10 - .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 4 turrets and two waist positions.
  • 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) bomb load for sorties of 400 miles or less.
  • 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) bomb load for sorties of 400 to 800 miles.
  • 2,700 lb (1,200 kg) for sorties of 800 to 1,200 miles.
Links





* The Collings Foundation owns and operates the only flying B-24 in the United States and the only B-24J in the world.
In this picture, Ralph Schneck is the pilot of the lead aircraft (red nose), during a mission over Germany for the 93rd Bomb Group in 1944.