b24 vs b17 range and payload

Each of the B-24 factories was identified with a production code suffix: Consolidated/San Diego, CO; Consolidated/Fort Worth, CF; Ford/Willow Run, FO; North American, NT; and Douglas/Tulsa, DT. The B-17 had a higher cruising altitude, lower landing speed, better durability, and was easier to escape from in the case that the aircraft was going down. Flying mainly from bases in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia, aircraft conducted bombing raids against Japanese positions, ships and strategic targets in New Guinea, Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies. All but the last turret were power-operated, and each mounted a pair of 0.50-calibre (12.7-mm) machine guns. (1978). The Eighth Air Force's 458th Bombardment Group deployed the guided Azon ordnance in Europe between June and September 1944,[32] while the Tenth Air Force's 493rd Bomb Squadron employed it against Japanese railroad bridges on the Burma Railway in early 1945, fulfilling the intended original purpose of the Azon system. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Engines: Four Wright "Cyclone" R-1820s of 1,200 hp. This meant climbing to about 500ft (150m) above cruise altitude, levelling off, achieving a cruise speed of 165-170mph (265-275 km/h), then descending to assigned altitude. As early as 1938, the US Army Air Corps realized that if it went to war with another world power, the B-17 was be too small for long range bombing missions. MEMORANDUM REPORT ON Boeing B-17E Airplane, A.C. No. Thousands of B-24s flying from bases in Europe dropped hundreds of thousands of tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on German military and industrial targets. For its actions on the Ploieti mission, the 44th was awarded its second Distinguished Unit Citation. It used differential braking and differential thrust for ground steering, which made taxiing difficult.[16]. It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time. When the RAF purchased the first six YB-24 aircraft, the serial numbers were reassigned to an early batch of B-24D funded by the deferment. The sudden and decisive turning of the Battle of the Atlantic in favor of the Allies in May 1943 was the result of many factors. [28] The B-24 was vital for missions of a radius less than 1,000mi (1,600km), in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters where U.S. Navy PB4Y-1s and USAAF SB-24s took a heavy toll of enemy submarines and surface combatants and shipping. Though produced in smaller numbers than its partner the B-24 Liberator, the B-17, with superior high-altitude performance and greater resistance to battle damage, was the mainstay of the strategic bombing campaign. Updates? Designed to help the U.S. and allies leverage emerging technologies to create a resilient multi-domain network. Both BOAC and the RAF used converted Liberator IIs as unarmed long-range cargo carriers. In time the B-24 would boast a long, tapered wing atop its fuselage, which allowed impressive long-range cruising capabilities. B-17G (In Addition to Above): 2 x 0.50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns in powered Bendix chin turret. Over the next three years, B-24 squadrons deployed to all theaters of the war: African, European, China-Burma-India, the Anti-submarine Campaign, the Southwest Pacific Theater and the Pacific Theater. Our Multi-Domain Operations/Joint All-Domain Operations solutions provide a complete picture of the battlespace and empowers warfighters to quickly make decisions that drive action. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber that entered service in 1941. I: Plans & Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, Consolidated B-24D page, USAF National Museum, WWII photos of the 7th AAF Heavy Bombardment Group Liberators, SP-468 Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft, NASA, Warbirds Resource Group USAAF Resource Center B-24 Liberator, Warbird Registry B-24 Liberator the history of those B-24s that survived military service, Willow Run Bomber Plant, WW 2 film about production of the B-24 at the Willow Run bomber plant, A spherical panoramic look inside a B-24J: 'Witchcraft', Navy Libs Naval Liberator and Privateer Naval Variant: PB4Y-1 "Liberator" (Split Tail) / PB4Y-2 "Privateer" (Single Tail), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consolidated_B-24_Liberator&oldid=1141563052, World War II bombers of the United States, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2015, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from December 2011, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected from banned users, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016, Articles needing additional references from December 2016, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015, Articles needing additional references from May 2015, Articles with disputed statements from April 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Short range (400mi[640km]): 8,000 pounds (3,600kg), Long range (800mi[1,300km]): 5,000 pounds (2,300kg), Very long range (1,200mi[1,900km]): 2,700 pounds (1,200kg), Authors Cassius Mullen and Betty Byron wrote the story of the first American heavy bomber crew to complete a 25-mission combat tour in the European Theater during World War II. The 44th destroyed both of its assigned targets, but lost 11 of its 37 bombers and their crews. The Norden consisted of a gyroscopically stabilized telescopic sight coupled to an electromechanical computer into which the bombardier fed inputs for altitude, atmospheric conditions, air speed, ground speed, and drift. 'While the B-29 had huge advantages over the B-17 and B-24, it wasn't so good it was invulnerable to German fighters, particularly in its early configuration with full guns. The Royal Air Force received about 2,100 B-24s equipping 46 bomber groups and 41 squadrons; the Royal Canadian Air Force 1,200 B-24Js; and the Royal Australian Air Force 287 B-24Js, B-24Ls, and B-24Ms. The US policy at the time, despite neutrality, was that American requirements could be deferred while its Allies could immediately put US production into the war effort. The later B-24L and B-24M were lighter-weight versions and differed mainly in defensive armament. It had turbocharged engines and increased fuel capacity. A payload range diagram can be used to compare competing aircraft, and also shows where an aircraft is limited. The bomber was intended from the outset to attack strategic targets by precision daylight bombing, penetrating deep into enemy territory by flying above the effective range of antiaircraft artillery. Post and five other reporters of The New York Times were granted permission. In October 1944, two RAF Liberator squadrons (357 and 358) were deployed to Jessore India in support of British SAS, American OSS and French SIS underground operations throughout SE Asia. A B-24 could reach 290 miles per hour and carry a 5,000-pound bomb load for 1,700 miles, giving it a longer range, greater speed and a bigger payload than its B-17 cousin. The top horizontal line represents the maximum payload. Several storage tanks were added, allowing a C-109 to carry 2,900gal (11,000L) of fuel weighing over 22,000 pounds (10,000kg). Deep raids were called off in mid-October 1943 and were not resumed until February 1944, when long-range escort fighters such as the P-51 Mustang became available. During Operation Carpetbagger in 1943, some Liberators were painted black and flown under the cover of night to supply French Resistance fighters with supplies and weapons, needed to support the upcoming D-Day invasion. Crashed B-24s were the source of the landing gear units for the strictly experimental Junkers Ju 287 V1 first prototype jet bomber airframe in 1945. Following incidents when flare guns were accidentally discharged inside the rear fuselage, some assembly (formation) ships had pyrotechnic guns fixed through the fuselage sides. With it's great range, it performed anti-sub work in the Atlantic and heavy bomber support in the Pacific. Lindell Hendrix, later a test pilot for Republic Aviation, flew B-24s for the Eighth Air force. These type of doors created a minimum of aerodynamic drag to keep speed high over the target area; they also allowed the bomb bays to be opened while on the ground since the low ground clearance prevented the use of normal bomb bay doors. The Double Sunrise route across the Indian Ocean was 3,513mi (5,654km) long, the longest non-stop airline route in the world at the time. "[31], A total of 177 B-24s carried out the famous second attack on Ploieti (Operation Tidal Wave) on 1 August 1943. In Eighth Air force combat configuration, the aircraft carried 8000lb (3600kg) of bombs. This was the B-24's most costly mission. All armament and armor were removed and in some cases the tail turret. Hendrix did not permit smoking on his B-24, even though he was a smoker. [citation needed] A new government plant was built in Tulsa, Oklahoma with Reconstruction Finance Corporation funds and leased to Douglas Aircraft for assembly of B-24s from Ford parts;[46] Douglas ultimately built a total of 962 of the D, E, H, and J models there. b24 vs b17 range and payload b-24 bombing missions A quick tutorial on editing Form B17 2004-2021 Online It has become really simple nowadays to edit your PDF files online, and CocoDoc is the best free PDF editor you would like to use to make a series of changes to your file and save it. By mid-1943, the shorter-range B-17 was phased out. In addition, the small number of Liberators operated by No. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category. Twelve thousand saw service with the USAAF, with a peak inventory in September 1944 of 6,043. Compared to the B-17, it had a 6 feet (1.8 m) larger wingspan but a lower wing area. "Consolidated B-24 Liberator. ", This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 18:00. Sharing production with the Douglas, Lockheed, and Vega companies, Boeing oversaw the manufacture of some 12,730 Flying Fortresses, nearly all of them committed to high-altitude bombing over Europe. With the American entry into World War II, production of the B-24 increased. The introduction of Very Long Range (VLR) Liberators vastly increased the reach of the UK's maritime reconnaissance force, closing the Mid Atlantic Gap where a lack of air cover had allowed U-boats to operate without risk of aerial attack. Although the B-24 did not meet Project A goals, it was a step in that direction. The bomber had disintegrated. Bomb load of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere the! 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