Copyright Disclaimer: Under section 107 of the copyright Act 1976, allowance is mad for FAIR USE for purpose such a as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statues that might otherwise be infringing. Non Profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of FAIR USE. B24, also called Liberator, longrange heavy bomber used during World War II by the U.S. and British air forces. It was designed by the Consolidated Aircraft Company (later ConsolidatedVultee) in response to a January 1939 U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) requirement for a fourengined heavy bomber. The B24 was powered by four aircooled 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, B24s were being delivered to the British Royal Air Force on a cashandcarry basis.
Early models of the B24 lacked selfsealing fuel tanks and the heavy defensive armament deemed essential by the USAAF for a strategic daylight bomber; therefore, they were used primarily to transport highpriority cargo and VIPs (British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used one as his personal transport) and for antisubmarine patrols. Antisubmarine B24s, some fitted with radar, played a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic and were instrumental in closing the midAtlantic “gap” where German Uboats had previously operated with impunity.
Alongside the B29 Superfortress and the B17 Flying Fortress, the Liberator gained a distinguished war record during its service in the European, Pacific, African, and Middle Eastern theaters. The B24’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 B17 Flying Fortress, which was supposedly inferior to the B24. So, what made this destructive heavy bomber deserve an ugly duckling reputation?

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