As the olive-green jeep drifts around the four-engine Liberator Vultee B-24 Liberator, morning, sun, unimpeded, immaculately blue sky, flashed from the sides of the aircraft 252534 "Witchcraft" and the Combat B-17 Flying Fortress 231909 "Nine-ninth" that day in September 2005 at Farmingdale Republic Airport on Long Island.
Around to try an aircraft aboard this B-24 bomb, I somehow felt that I had entered the war of the Second World War.
The combined Vultee B-24 Liberator had its origin in the demand of the United States Air Corps in 1938 for a long-range high-performance bomber capable of cruising at a speed of 300 miles per hour and 30,000 feet, with a range of 3000 miles. Although it was originally intended that Consolidated Aircraft would produce the existing B-17, he was able to develop a completely new long-range heavy bomber with four engines essentially at the same time that he had to convert his current production line to San Diego, built the original layout in January 1939, three months before the signing of the contract between Consolidated and the Army Air Corps on March 30. The prototype, designated XB-24, first flew by the end of December 29, when full-scale production will end next fall for the governments of the United States, Britain and France.
The design, reflected in a dark green building plane with a red and white diagonal stripe in front of me, was distinguished by a monocoque aluminum alloy structure consisting of five main bulkheads and a 67.2-foot-thick Alclad skin with a glazed nasal tower, a raised cockpit windshield, an upper the tower, the ventral compartments of the bomb shelter, which are retracted to form the lower part of the fuselage, two rectangular openings for Taliban shooters and a glazed tail tower. Sporting two high-level cantilever wings, which were based on the planned shape of the model 31 model's flying boat, used Davis’s aerodynamic profiles with high-profile all-metal construction, consisting of a central and two outer sections with removable wings, and a constant cone from their conjugate fuselage points to their tips . The increased distance between the front and rear spars has increased the fuel capacity and, consequently, increase the range. The metal-framed suspended ailerons were covered with a cloth, and the hydraulic, increasing area, the rear edges of the Fowler squirmed to match the taper of the lower wing stretched between the ailerons and the fuselage root, and replaced the less effective flaps of the comparable B-17. At 110 feet, wings offered a total area of 1048 square feet.
Two PBY R-1830-33 Pratt and Whitney piston ports were installed in four PBY engine packages with three-bladed, hydromechanical, full-permeable Hamilton Standard propellers. Fully metallized horizontal stabilizers with double vertical tails with woven metal advanced rudders, equivalent fabric lifts and offered a radical departure from the usual, one tail of the Flying Fortress.
The three-wheeled undercarriage, replacing the less stable B-17 bicycle layout, showed a single-stroke rear-retractable wheel that could be stored in an integrated fuselage, a wheel arch closed and two single, side and outer retractor main wheels that were placed in uncooled wing covers between outboard and outboard engines. All were installed on the oleo racks and were activated with hydraulic jacks. An aircraft weighing 60,000 pounds could reach a maximum speed of 297 mph at an altitude of 25,000 feet and fly 1,540 miles with conventional fuel and a maximum bomb load at an average speed of 237 miles per hour.
The first version of the B-24, equipped with R-1830-33 engines and with a production capacity of only 26, was built in San Diego and flew to the United Kingdom for work by the British government, but initial experience showed that they were unsuitable for their alleged European combat tasks, and they were previously forcibly transferred to armored vehicles for use on the Transatlantic Return Ferry Service.
The Liberator’s development, although initially delayed, was fully brought to the B-24A, in which four 20 m / m guns in the fuselage below are presented, two 303-inch waists, one 303-inch tunnel pistol and two 303-inch tail guns guns, and joined the service with the Royal Coastal Command navy.
Built entirely for British specifications, the LB-30 was equipped with two two-speed R-1830-S3C4G two-speed engines with Curtiss Electric propellers. The XB-24B had a sport turbocharged piston engine with self-closing tanks and armor. In the B-24C version, the next version with R-1830-41 engines with exhaust gas turbochargers, dorsal and tail turrets with a mechanical drive were installed, each of which is equipped with -50 caliber guns.
The subsequent derivative, the B-24D, offered a maximum armor capability with pistols of caliber 10.50 caliber, of which two additional were installed in the nose, and another one was installed in the tunnel. When using the R-1830-43 engines, a more efficient version contained auxiliary self-closing elements of the fuel tanks in the outer wings, which increased the total fuel capacity and flight range, as well as the possibility of additional installation of the tanker in the bomb compartments. The B-24D could carry two 4000-pound bombs, each attached to a rack under any wing.
This was followed by several other derivatives, differing in weapons, icing, and manufacturing. Although the Liberator fought in many theaters during World War II, including England, the Middle East, and the Aleutses, by 1943 he had completely replaced the Flying Fortress in the Pacific.
Seeking to fix many design flaws associated with its dual-tail configuration, Consolidated Vultee released an experimental single-fin version developed by XB-24K, the tail components of which consisted of a stub fastening assembly, a dorsal fin, horizontal stabilizers and their elevator surfaces, the vertical tail itself , trimming roll and tail revolver. A large tail with a larger area improved the side stability of the aircraft, and its larger steering wheel turned out to be more efficient under two-stage conditions on the one hand. The reconstructed B-24N, derived from R-1830-75, triggered the optimized spherical bow tower of the Emerson Model 128, which significantly increased the visibility of the bomber and navigator, improving the target target and shooting accuracy. The reduced profile of the tower’s resistance combined with a single, albeit much larger vertical fin, increased the flight range of the aircraft with a payload of 5000 pounds with a maximum power setting of 300 miles. The revised canopy, which reduced the number of alternating edges, also improved cab visibility. Despite the fact that the design offered more power, its late appearance at the end of the war was considered in short production from only a few examples.
The B-24M was the 6,725th and last of the base configuration, which was released by the Consolidated Vultee in San Diego. However, the base B-24 Liberator was more than proven to be valuable: by the time the last glider fell off the production line on May 31, 1945, 18,479 aircraft of all versions were built by Consolidated Vultee, Douglas, Ford, and North American, and served the army’s air force corps, the navy and 15 allied nations in every military theater, working more missions and dropping more bombs than any other model of the Second World War.
The aircraft destined for today's flight, the B-24J, was released in August 1944 by a consolidated aircraft in Fort Worth, Texas, and was flown to the RAF Kingdom two months later, in October, which operated it in the Pacific roles, including bombing, countering shipping, and replenishing resistance until the war ended.
After listening to a safety briefing on the ramp on September morning, seven passengers got to the powerful four-door bomber through the extended doors under the fuselage, which were balanced on one leg along the runway and going up to the stern cabin, where the three claimed that the back seats were installed. with a strap, and the other three on the bottom floor. Seventh followed the podium to the radio operator.
Instantly removing black smoke, as its four piston engines Pratt and Whitney R-1830 ignited into the deep, throaty turns of goalkeeper Hamilton Standard at 09:00, the dark green livery Liberator, pulling in his bomb compartment doors and ventral hatch and checking his flight surfaces, it slows down and advances its throttles, moving over the building of the American Museum of Aviation, heading for a taxiway after demining from the territory of the Republic at 121.6. In parallel with the active runway, 32 and an increase in speed, the aluminum mass was smeared with wind flows into its cabin through the waist’s open gunner stations, the rudders continuously deflected during the slow roll, as evidenced by the continuous pulley running into the rear fuselage. According to today's taxi co-author, it was difficult, despite the fact that the design of the improved tricycle suspension improved the B-17 because of the reliable, tightly coupled gear geometry, as well as with a full rounded nose wheel, swing fatigue, creating the need for brake dependencies and when using differential power.
After a pause for the full run-up and flight of the flight surface, the giant bomber, now hooked by its Flying Fortress counter, received a clearance from the Tower of the Republic at 125.2 and made a 180-degree turn to the right up to the threshold of 6,827 runways prepared for the initial transition from a grounded , dead weight, metal tractor soaked in rubber tires, to the airborne, majestic, winged bird, soaked in air. Farmingdale, I thought your reasons for World War II are not over yet! By pushing four of their throttles and engulfing the deafening cocoon of noise emissions Twin Wasp, engines swallowing fuel, like a thirsty man in the desert, turned energy into a propeller motion, feeding a ferocious flow through the talisman stations and above the horizontal and vertical surfaces of the tail. The man twisted on the left side of the cabin: “We ride!” An expression I heard countless times, watching the acceleration rolling on the ground, but which somehow acquired a tireless, exciting meaning, combined with the actual maneuver in the plane.
Supporting 2,700 rpm and 41-inch manifold pressure on its engines, the hippo moved 90 miles an hour, pulling back to its deflecting yoke and, winning a metal machine in the power of the earth battle, surrendered to heaven triumph with his straight, elongated, suddenly graceful wings. Pulling in its lasting, still spinning chassis on Route 110, Witchcraft joined the nose-fighting procedure at the airport, carefully keeping it straight to zero, almost to the north. Having adjusted to a pressure of 2300 rpm and a 31-inch reservoir pressure level, the B-24J undoubtedly envied the many daily visits to the Republic and the gigantic compared to its almost toy singles of general aviation, overcome by the greens - Long Island. One can see the monolithic heights of Manhattan in the entire starboard window of the talisman, albeit miniaturized from the current distance.
Rapidly accelerating to a wind speed of 175 mph, the bomber, further strangled at the 2000 rpm and 30-inch reservoir pressure level, reached its height of 1,500 feet above the long island sound of the Northern Island and its northern coast. Four red-and-white stripes of the Northport Stacks passed under the windows of the right cockpit in miniature. The plane landed on the east, 095-degree course, supporting the tuning of its engines for 2000 rpm and the VFR 1200 frequency of its transponder.
Cruise mode triggered closer internal checks. The plexiglass glazed nasal tower, projecting itself in front of the cockpit windows and the scorer, provided visibility and powerful armament. The lower bypass shelf led to the radio operator's station, in which one was installed, the back side, a seat supported on the seat and a side console with two small rectangular windows, right under the roof tower and one step below the bunk cabin. A walk along the pedestrian paths led to two compartments for bombs, which was twice as large as the comparable B-17. Outside was the aft cabin with its ventral, expandable ball head; two side racks for storing ammunition on the side racks; two side gunners on the side; stations; and through the bulkhead, the tail turret with the fuselage, which is located behind the tail unit, provided a 180-degree view at the eye level of the constant deflections of horizontal stabilizers bombarded by dropping the flow. The crew of a group of 10 people rules B-24.
Winged tips, from the point of view of the cabin, were not visible. The North Shore of Shinding Long Island, a giant metal bomber, moved to Port Jefferson, its large passenger and car ferry, approaching the right-wing harbor after another Long Island crossroad from Bridgeport, Connecticut. Burning 637 mph when removing power settings and 200 km / h during a cruise, he sank onto the mirror blue surface of the water, his four engines, powered by kevlar fuel tanks built into the roof, curved foam, which had been reduced from 2300 gallons of production version to the current 1,400 gallons. Height could be maintained on any two power plants.
The transition to the B-24, according to the co-pilot, was difficult, especially from the B-17, because of its flight characteristics. Sensitive to perpendicular, the aircraft had a heavy lift sensation, although the ailerons provided a standard banking feel. Because of the fuselage area, it was exemplary during lateral gliding, and its double vertical fins and rudders were particularly effective. Banking inland, Sorcery passed to the North Shore. The massive bomber's reflection tracked the earth like a shadow. Indeed, the plane itself was the shadow of its once numerous brothers. Unfortunately, it was the only remaining operational.
Supporting the southern header, the radio station, freed from the Liberator, launched its intention to “arrive at the landing”, passing to the right of the airport and expanding its Fowler barriers. Turning to the right bank, up to a 320-degree course, he turned on his massive tires covered with oleo-tires into a slip-stream and cut himself at an approaching speed of 120 mph. Having plunged to the perimeter fence and flying over the runway threshold, he turned in a fixed, low-power flash, its main wheels snatched up the concrete with a screech as they hovered up to the speed of the plane's flight, Heading toward the ramps of the American Aviation Museum and swinging to the left, it absorbs vibration through its wing-spar when the propellers are hungry with fuel slowed down, and the B-17 taxied into place from the departure of the Southern coast behind it. Accordingly, as during World War II, the Liberator B-24 took second place, but won first place.
Once again making my way through the doors of the bomb bay to the ramp, I stopped outside, marveling at the now silent, motionless, although once powerful bomber. From the engineers who designed it for the pilots who blew it up, Consolidated Vultee B-24 Liberator transferred its design technology to the triumph of its enemies. I proudly tested it.
