Article 9115 of rec.aviation.military:
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From: jfb@usgp1.ih.att.com (Joe Baugher)
Subject: Bomber Series--Consolidated B-24 Liberator (36 of ??)
Message-ID: <D13CMy.A7n@ssbunews.ih.att.com>
Summary: Liberator in USAAF service
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Date: Tue, 20 Dec 1994 04:04:10 GMT
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The USAAF was not destined to receive the B-24 until the Royal Air 
Force had received the first few production examples, owing to the 
urgency of the British need.  Only one of the seven service-test 
YB-24s was destined to be delivered to the USAAC.  The remaining six 
were diverted to Great Britain.  The last YB-24 (serial number 40-702) 
ended up being delivered to the USAAF.  It had armor and self-sealing 
fuel tanks and was accepted by the Army in May of 1941.  The USAAC 
YB-24 was later redesignated simply B-24 and spent its entire career 
with the Army Air Corps Ferry Command Training School.  

The USAAF took delivery of its first B-24As in June of 1941.  Only 
nine B-24As were actually delivered, all between June 16 and July 10, 
1941.  The serials were 40-2369/2377.  The remainer of the B-24As on 
the original order were either diverted to Britain or converted on the 
assembly line to later variants such as the B-24C and B-24D.  The 
B-24A was generally similar to the RAF's Liberator I, except for its 
armament of six 0.5-inch machine guns plus twin 0.3-inch guns in the 
tail.  

These aircraft were used by the USAAC in much the same role as the RAF 
used the LB-30A--primarily as long-range transports.  The Ferry 
Command B-24s were painted in the early RAF-style camouflage of dark 
earth and dark green over black undersides.  However, during this 
immediate pre-war era, these planes carried large American flags 
painted on the sides of their forward fuselages and on the top of the 
fuselage, hopefully indicative of neutrality should they enter a 
combat zone.  Two B-24As (40-2373 and 40-2374) were used to transport 
the Harriman Mission to Moscow in September of 1941 via the United 
Kingdom.  The last leg of the flight to Moscow involved a nonstop 
distance of 3150 miles, and from Moscow one of the USAAC B-24As 
continued on around the globe via the Middle East, India, Singapore, 
Darwin, Port Moresby, Wake Island, Hawaii, and back to Washington.  
The other B-24A returned to the USA via Cairo, Africa, the South 
Atlantic, and Brazil.  

Two other USAAF B-24As had been earmarked for a secret spy flight over 
Japanese bases in the South Pacific while enroute to the Philippines.  
However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took place before this 
flight could be carried out.  One of the B-24As (ser no 40-2371) 
earmarked for this flight was, in fact, destroyed on the ground at 
Hickham Field during the attack.  

The Liberator II was the designation assigned to a version of the 
Liberator ordered for the RAF in 1941 directly from the Consolidated 
production line rather than being diverted from USAAC production 
orders.  It was designed specifically for British requirements and had 
no direct USAAF counterpart.  165 were ordered under RAF serials 
AL503/AL667, but only 140 were actually built.  They served with three 
Coastal and two Bomber Command squadrons.  Immediatedly after Pearl 
Harbor, the USAAF requisitioned 75 of the Liberator IIs from the RAF 
order.  For some reason, they were carried on USAAF rosters under the 
designation LB-30 (the original export designation for the Liberator) 
rather than as B-24, and they retained their RAF serial numbers.  

Fifteen USAAF LB-30 bombers were deployed in Java in early 1942 to 
reinforce the B-17-equipped 19th Bombardment Group in a vain attempt 
to stem the Japanese advance.  These USAAF LB-30s were hastily 
re-equipped with a Martin power turret armed with two 0.50-inch 
machine guns in the dorsal position behind the wing instead of the 
four-gun Boulton-Paul turret of the RAF version.  The tail position 
was fitted with a pair of hand-held 0.50-inch machine guns mounted 
behind sliding doors.  Single hand-held 0.50-inch machine guns were 
installed in the nose, ventral tunnel, and each waist position.  The 
tunnel gun was located on the belly of the rear fuselage, and pointed 
in the aft direction.  It was fired downward through the rear entrance 
hatch.  Small scanning windows for the gun were located along the 
lower sides of the fuselage.  The Dark Earth and Dark Green over Black 
camouflage scheme of the RAF was retained, but the roundels were 
painted over with USAAF insignia.  

The Java-based LB-30s would be the first US-flown Liberators to see 
action.  One was lost in a crash in the USA before delivery, another 
ditched en route, and a third was delayed as a result of damage 
incurred in an accident in the USA.  Those Liberators which did reach 
the Java front participated in numerous attacks against Japanese 
targets in the Celebese, in Sumatra, and against shipping during the 
Japanese invasion of Bali.  By late February, the position of Allied 
forces in Java had become untenable, and the surviving LB-30s were 
evacuated to Australia.  Two LB-30s survived in Australia until 1944 
after having been converted to C-87 transport configuration.  

Another 17 LB-30s were equipped with Canadian-built radar and deployed 
to Latin America with the 6th Bombardment Group to provide defense for 
the Panama Canal.  Three LB-30s were sent to Alaska to join the 28th 
Composite Group.  These saw action against Japanese shipping during 
the Aleutian campaign.  

Those LB-30s that were not used as bombers were converted as 
transports and were assigned to the 7th Air Force in the Pacific and 
used to ferry men and supplies.  All of their armament was removed, 
and the transparent nose and tail positions were faired over.  Windows 
were cut into the sides of the fuselage, and a cargo door was 
installed in the rear fuselage where the waist positions used to be.  

46 of the requisitioned LB-30s saw active service with the USAAF, 
either as bombers or as transports.  Of the remaining 29, six were 
lost in accidents during the first six weeks of their service, and 23 
were eventually returned to the RAF.  

The B-24C was the production breakdown aircraft used to finalize the 
production line for mass production of a fully-combat capable 
Liberator.  The nine B-24Cs were delivered to the USAAF at the end of 
1941.  No B-24Cs were to see combat, all nine planes being used for 
crew training and various tests.  They were redesignated RB-24C, where 
the R stood for "restricted from combat use".  The B-24C was 
immediately followed off the line by the B-24D, the first fully 
combat-capable version.  

The first B-24Ds to go abroad were the Liberators of the so-called 
Halverson Provisional Group (HALPRO), which consisted of 23 planes 
commanded by Col. Harry A. Halverson.  The purpose of this group of 
picked aircrew was to begin bombing operations against Japan from 
bases in China in June of 1942.  They were to fly to their Chinese 
bases by way of Africa, the Middle East, Iraq, and India.  However, 
this force was held over in the Middle East to help defend against 
Rommel's advancing Afrika Korps.  While there, the decision was made 
for the force to carry out a single raid against the Ploesti oil 
refineries in Rumania.  Thirteen planes of the Halverson Detachment 
carried out the first Ploesti raid on June 11-12, 1942, which was also 
the first strategic attack of any significance of the war to be 
carried out by land-based aircraft of the USAAF.  The Liberators took 
off from the RAF base at Fayid in Egypt and flew across the 
Mediterranean, Greece, and Bulgaria to reach Ploesti.  Complete 
surprise was achieved, and the planes dropped their 4000-pound 
bombloads through cloud at 10,000 feet.  Seven of the planes reached 
their intended base in Iraq, two landed in Syria, and four landed in 
Turkey, where they were interned.  Unfortunately, the damage to 
Ploesti was minimal and only succeeded in alerting the German High 
Command to the vulnerability of one of its primary fuel sources.  

The Halverson Detachment never did reach China.  After the first 
Ploesti raid, it remained in the Middle East to fight against Rommel, 
eventually being absorbed by the 1st Bomb Group in October of 1942.  

Perhaps the most memorable mission flown by the Liberator was the 
August 1, 1943 raid on the oil refineries at Ploesti in Rumania.  For 
this mission, the 44th, 93rd and 389th Bombardment Groups of the 8th 
AF were sent to Libya to join two other B-24D-equipped groups of the 
9th Air Force, the 98th and 376th.  A total of 177 B-24Ds from these 
five groups were assembled for the mission.  The Ploesti target was 
over a thousand miles from the USAAF bases at Bengazi.  Each plane 
would carry 3100 US gallons of fuel and 5000 pounds of bombs and 
incendiaries.  The mission plan called for the entire flight to be 
carried out at extremely low level (50-300 feet) in order to avoid 
detection.  An extra nose gun was provided for each lead aircraft, and 
the dorsal turrets were slightly modified to make it easier to fire 
the guns at targets on the ground.  The radio operator and flight 
engineers were even given Thompson sub-machine guns to fire out the 
the waist position windows.  The commander of the mission, General 
Lewis Brereton (who had been General Douglas MacArthur's air chief in 
the Philippines), warned his airmen to expect losses of 50 percent!  

The force of 179 B-24Ds took off on August 1, 1943.  Things began to 
go bad right from the start.  The plane carrying the lead navigator 
for the mission suddenly spiraled out of control and fell into the 
sea, and the backup navigator's aircraft had to abort because of 
mechanical problems.  Weather over Greece was worse than expected and 
forced the Liberators to break up their tight defensive formations.  
The lead force made a wrong turn over an incorrect Initial Point, 
sending it toward Bucharest.  This threw the entire plan off, and made 
the second wave late over the target, losing the element of surprise.  
The flak over Ploesti was heavy and accurate.  The Liberators were so 
low that their gunners often got into duels with antiaircraft crews on 
the ground.  Smoke and fire from the exploding refinery complex 
blackened and scorched many of the Liberators that flew through it.  
Luftwaffe Bf 109 and Rumanian IAR-80A fighters were now alerted and 
made numerous successful attacks.  

When it was over, out of the original 179 B-24Ds that that had taken 
off, 14 had aborted, 43 had been shot down, 15 had been forced down at 
auxiliary fields, and eight had been forced to land in Turkey where 
they were interned.  Only 99 had returned to base.  Of these, 56 of 
them had some sort of major combat damage.  Out of the seven refinery 
complexes targeted, two were heavily damage, two were put out of 
action for at least six months, two had only light damage, and one was 
not hit at all.  Five Medals of Honor were awarded for heroism during 
the mission, three of them awarded posthumously.  

It was to be in the Pacific Theatre where the Liberator was to be most 
widely used.  The early LB-30s were replaced by the first B-24Ds to 
reach the Pacific in late 1942.  By 1943, the Liberator had almost 
entirely replaced the B-17 Fortress as the primary long-range heavy 
bomber in the theatre.  It reigned supreme in the Pacific until the 
arrival of the B-29 Superfortress in mid-1944.  

The following outfits used B-24s:  

Antisubmarine Command:  

The USAAF Antisubmarine Command was established in October of 1942 to 
deal with the U-boat threat.  They flew such aircraft as Douglas B-18 
Bolo, Boeing B-17 Fortress, North American B-25 Mitchell, Lockheed 
B-34 Ventura, North American O-47, Douglas A-20 Havoc, and Lockheed 
A-29 Hudson, and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.  Their theatre of 
operation was the north and Middle Atlantic from Newfoundland to 
Trinidad, from the Bay of Biscay to the approaches to North Africa.  
As part of a deal cut with the Navy, the USAAF Antisubmarine Command 
was disbanded on August 24, 1943, and many of its B-24s were turned 
over to the US Navy where they were redesignated PB4Y-1.  

	25th Antisubmarine Wing:  

		1st, 2nd, 4th, 14th, 19th Antisubmarine Squadrons 

	26th Antisumbanrine Wing:  

		15th Antisubmarine Squadron.  

	1st Search Attack Group:  

		2nd, 3rd, 4th Search Attack Squadrons 

	479th Antisubmarine Group:  

	480th Antisubmarine Group:  

		13th Antisubarine Squadron 

Fifth Air Force:  

Far East--Australia, New Guinea, Philippines 

	20th CMS 

	22nd Bombardment Group 

		2nd, 19th, 33rd, 408th Bombardment Squadrons 

	43rd Bombardment Group 

		63rd, 64th, 65th, 403rd Bombardment Squadrons 

	90th Bombardment Group 

		319th, 320th, 321st, 400th Bombardment Squadrons 

	380th Bombardment Group 

		528th, 529th, 530th 531st Bombardment Squadrons 

Sixth Air Force:  

Control of USAAF operations in the Carribean.  Primarily flew 
antisumbarine patrols over both the Carribean and Pacific 

	6th Bombardment Group 

		3rd, 25th , 29th, 74th, 395th, 397 Bombardment Squadrons 

	40th Bomb Group 

		35th Bombardment Squadron 

Seventh Air Force:  

Initially formed in Hawaii in October of 1940.  Operated primarily in 
Pacific Theatre.  Total of four B-24 groups assigned to the 7th Air 
Force at various times.  

	11th Bombardment Group 

		transferred from 13th Air Force 

		26th, 42nd, 98th and 431st Bombardment Squadrons.  

	30th Bombardment Group 

		27th, 38th, 392nd and 819th Bombardment Squadrons 

	494th Bombardment Group 

		864th,865th, 866th, 867th Bombardment Squadron, 
		86th Reconnaissance Squadron

Eighth Air Force:  

The Eighth Air Force was originally activated on February 1, 1942.  It 
had the primary responsibility for the long-range bomber offensive 
against German-occupied Europe from bases in England.  The first 
Liberator mission from England took place on October 9, 1942, a raid 
against steel and engineering works at Lille, France.  Many initial 
raids were made against U-boat pens at Brest and St. Nazaire.  These 
raids achieved only meager results as against the losses that were 
incurred, and were soon discontinued.  At this time, the Luftwaffe 
changed from rear to frontal attacks, apparently having discovered the 
vulnerability of the Liberator (and the Fortress) to fighter attacks 
from the front.  

At first, the few Liberators operated in mixed formations with the 
larger number of B-17s.  Some were diverted to fly antisubmarine 
patrols in cooperation with RAF Coastal Command.  Many 8th Air Force 
Liberators were diverted to North Africa to support Operation *TORCH*, 
leaving only a handful of Liberators operating from England.  

Ultimately a total of twelve Liberator-equipped groups operated with 
the 8th Air Force.  However, even at the height of the bomber campaign 
from Britain, the Liberators in the 8th AF were outnumbered by about 
four-to-one by the Fortress. 

	25th Bomb Group 

		652nd, 653rd Bombardment Squadrons 

	34th Bombardment Group 

		4th, 7th 18th, 391st Bombardment Squadron 

	44th Bombardment Group 

		66th, 67th, 68th 506th Bombardment Squadrons 

	93rd Bombardment Group 

		328th, 329th, 330th, 331st Bombardment Squadrons 

	389th Bombardment Group 

		564th, 565th 566th 567th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	392nd Bombardment Group 

		576th, 577th, 578th, 579th Bombardment Squadrons 

	445th Bombardment Group 

		700th, 701st, 702nd, 703rd Bombardment Squadrons 

	446th Bombardment Group 

		704th, 705th, 706th, 707th Bombardment Squadrons 

	448th Bombardment Group 

		712th, 713th, 714th, 715th Bombardment Squadrons 

	453rd Bombardment Group 

		732nd, 733rd, 734th, 735th Bombardment Squadrons 

	458th Bombardment Group 

		752nd, 753rd, 754th, 755th Bombardment Squadrons 

	466th Bombardment Group 

		784th, 758th, 786th, 787th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	467th Bombardment Group 

		788th, 789th, 790th, 791st Bombardment Squadrons.  

	482nd Bombardment Group 

		814th Bombardment Squadron 

	486th Bombardment Group 

		832nd, 833rd, 834th, 835th Bombardment Squadrons 

	487th Bombardment Group 

		836th, 837th, 838th, 839th Bombardment Squadrons 

	489th Bombardment Group 

		844th, 845th, 846th, 847th Bombardment Squadrons 

	490th Bombardment Group 

		848th, 849th, 850th, 851st Bombardment Squadrons 

	491th Bombardment Group 

		852nd, 853rd, 854th, 855th Bombardment Squadrons 

	492nd Bombardment Group 

		856th, 857th, 858th, 859th Bombardment Squadrons 

	493rd Bombardment Group 

		860th, 861st, 862nd, 863rd Bombardment Squadrons 

Ninth Air Force 

Mediterranean theatre until October 1943, then moved to England.  

	98th Bombardment Group 

		343rd, 344th, 345th, 415th Bombardment Squadrons 

	376th Bombardment Group 

		512th, 513th, 514th, 515th Bombardment Squadrons 

Tenth Air Force:  

China-Burma-India theatre 

	24th Bombardment Group 

	CMS 

	7th Bombardment Group 

	436th, 492nd, 493rd Bombardment Squadrons 

Eleventh Air Force:  

Based in Alaska.  

	28th Composite Group 

		21st, 36th, 404th Bombardment Squadrons 

Twelfth Air Force 

Mediterranean theatre 

	98th Bombardment Group 

		343rd, 344th, 345th, 415th Bombardment Squadrons 

	376th Bombardment Group 

		512th, 513th, 514th, 515th Bombardment Squadrons 

Thirteenth Air Force 

Formed on December 14, 1942.  Primarily South Pacific Theatre 

	5th Bombardment Group 

		23rd, 31st, 72nd, 394th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	307th Bombardment Group 

		370th, 371st, 372nd, 424th Bombardment Squadrons 

Fourteenth Air Force 

China-Burma-India Theatre:  

	308th Bombardment Group 

		373rd, 374th, 375th, 425th Bombardment Squadrons 

Fifteenth Air Force 

Activated in Tunisia on November 1, 1943.  Primarily in Mediterranean 
theatre of operations.  Had six B-17 and 15 B-24 groups, plus seven 
fighter groups.  Bombing raids against targets in Italy, then took 
part in raids on Germany, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Rumania 
from bases in Italy.  Supported the invasion of southern France.  

	89th Bombardment Group 

		343rd, 344th, 345th, 415th Bombardment Squadrons 

	376th Bombardment Group 

		512th, 513th, 514th, 515th Bombardment Squadrons 

	449th Bombardment Group 

		716th, 717th, 718th, 719th Bombardment Squadrons 

	450th Bombardment Group 

		720th, 721st, 722nd, 723rd Bombardment Squadrons.  

	451st Bombardment Group 

		724th, 725th, 726th, 727th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	454th Bombardment Group 

		736th, 737th, 738th, 739th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	455th Bombardment Group 

		740th, 741st, 742nd, 743rd Bombardment Squadrons.  

	456th Bombardment Group 

		744th, 745th, 746th, 747th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	459th Bombardment Group 

		756th, 757th, 758th, 759th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	460th Bombardment Group 

		760th, 761st, 762nd, 763rd Bombardment Squadrons.  

	461st Bombardment Group 

		764th, 765th, 766th, 767th Bombardment Squadrons.  

	464th Bombardment Group 

		776th, 777th, 778th, 779th Bombardment Squadrons 

	465th Bombardment Group 

		780th, 781st, 782nd, 783rd Bombardment Squadrons 

	484th Bombardment Squadron 

		824th, 825th, 826th, 827th Bombardment Squadrons 

	485th Bombardment Squadron 

		828th, 829th, 830th, 831st Bombardment Squadron 

	2641st Special Group (Provisional) 

		859th, 885th Squadrons.  

Twentieth Air Force:  

South Pacific theatre 

	3rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 

	655th Bombardment Squadron/55th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron 


Following the end of the Second World War, the Liberator was rapidly
withdrawn from USAAF service.  Literally thousands of Liberators were
flown to various disposal units where they were cut up for scrap.
Some brand-new B-24Ms were flown directly from the factory door to
the scrapyards.  Only a few Liberators were still around when the USAF
was formed in 1947, most of them being used for various research
purposes.  The last USAF Liberator, an EZB-24M serial number 44-51228
used for ice researcy, was struck off the rolls in 1953.  This plane 
is now on display at Lackland AFB in Texas.

Sources:

    Famous Bombers of the Second World War, William Green, 
    Doubleday, 1959.

    Liberator: America's Global Bomber, Alwyn T. Lloyd,
    Pictorial Histories Publishing Co, Inc, 1993.

    The Consolidated B-24J Liberator, Roger A. Freeman,
    Profile Publications, Inc. 1969.

    B-24 Liberator in Action, Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal Publications
    Inc, 1987.

    General Dynamics Aircraft and Their Predecesssors, John Wegg,
    Naval Institute Press, 1990.

    Consolidated B-24D-M Liberator IN USAAF-RAF-RAAF-MLD-IAF-CzechAF
    and CNAF Service, Ernest R. McDowell, Arco, 1970. 

    United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough
    and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

    American Combat Planes, 3rd Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner,
    Doubleday, 1982.

    Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century,  Michael
    J.H. Taylor, Mallard Press.


Joe Baugher			  **************************************
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