Consolidated LB-30 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was built in greater numbers than any other American military aircraft in history, over 18,000 produced, thanks to Ford's mass-production assembly-line approach borrowed from the automobile industry. Its distinctive high, narrow Davis wing gave it better range and altitude than the more famous B-17, though at some cost to stability and ease of formation flying. It served in every theatre of the Second World War, from Pacific island-hopping raids to the famous, costly low-level attack on the Ploiesti oil refineries in Romania. Despite its wartime numbers, comparatively few survive today, making it noticeably rarer at airshows than the B-17.
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Did you know?
At its peak, Ford's Willow Run plant turned out a complete B-24 every 63 minutes, a production rate no other wartime bomber factory matched.
Specifications
| Length | 20.5 m (67 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 33.5 m (110 ft) |
| Height | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Persons on board | 11 |
| Crew | 10 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 29.4 t |
| Range | 1,700 NM (3,148 km) |
| Maximum speed | 250 kt (463 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 28,000 ft (8,534 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 25,000 ft (7,620 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s) |
| Fuel capacity | 8,870 l |
| Engines | 4x Pratt & Whitney R-1830 (radial) |
| Units built | 75 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Consolidated LB-30 Liberator starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
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