Consolidated B-24 Survivors
Encyclopedia
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s and includes brief history, markings, owners, locations, and aircraft condition or status.
Background
By the time the last complete B-24M came off the Willow RunWillow Run
The Willow Run manufacturing plant, located between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Michigan, was constructed during World War II by Ford Motor Company for the mass production of the B-24 Liberator military aircraft....
assembly line in July 1945, 18,482 Liberators had been built by the five B-24 manufacturers.
Post World War II
The B-24 was quickly declared obsolete by the USAAF and the remaining stateside aircraft were flown to desert storage in the US Southwest. In the Pacific theatre, many aircraft were simply parked, the oil drained from the engines and left for reclamation. By 1950, except for the one B-24D held for preservation, the vast fleet of Liberators were gone. The last flight of a B-24 by the USAF was on 12 May 1959 when Strawberry Bitch left Davis–Monthan Air Force Base for the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
, where it is now displayed.
Lend lease
While at the end of the war both the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as well as the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
were willing to continue operating the B-24, the terms of the Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
agreements stipulated that these aircraft had to be either paid for or returned to the US and vast graveyards of aircraft accumulated in India as well as Tarakan
Tarakan Island
Tarakan is an island off the coast of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is a marshy island situated in the eastern Celebes Sea, off the northeastern coast of Borneo. The island occupies an area of .-Petroleum:...
,and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Other countries needs
When IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
gained independence in 1947, 37 Liberators were resurrected and gave service until their retirement in 1968. It is from the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
that the majority of the remaining B-24s owe their existence.
In 1948 when Israel was looking for aircraft, the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
was approached with the offer to purchase 25 aircraft, but since these aircraft had not been stored with long-term preservation in mind, they were neither airworthy nor economically feasible to restore to flyable condition. In 1968 the Indian Air Force donate HE-771, stored at Poonah, to ex-RCAF pilot Lynn Garrison for inclusion in his aircraft collection. It was to be ferried back to the United States in company with the B-24 giver to Strategic Air Command. Garrison was busy with Roger Corman's film
Richthofen & Brown, in 1970, so he turned it over to the RAF. Somehow it ended up in Kermit Weeks' museum in Florida.
With the availability of intact, existing airframes beginning to diminish, the warbird movement since the late 1990s has been seeking out previously considered unrecoverable airframes for restoration. The RAAF has three airframes in storage (serials unknown) which were recovered when they restored their museum aircraft. Both India and China are reported to have additional recoverable aircraft and the jungles of the Southwest Pacific still hold abandoned aircraft.
Australia
Under restoration- B-24M (s/n 44-41956) is under restoration by the Liberator Memorial Fund in Melbourne, Victoria.
Canada
On display- B-24L (s/n 44-50154) is on display at the National Aviation Museum in Rockcliffe Park, OntarioRockcliffe Park, OntarioRockcliffe Park is one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Ottawa, Ontario, and is one of the most prosperous enclaves in Canada. From 1926 until 2001 it was an independent village, but was amalgamated with the rest of the city January 1, 2001...
.
India
On display- B-24J (s/n 44-44213) is on display at the Indian Air Force Museum in Palam Air Base, New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
.
Turkey
On display- B-24D (s/n 41-24311) Hadley's Harem (nose only) is on display in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
United Kingdom
On display- B-24M (s/n 44-51228) Dugan is on display at the Imperial War MuseumImperial War MuseumImperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in DuxfordDuxfordDuxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, some ten miles south of Cambridge.-History:The village formed on the banks of the River Cam, a little below its emergence from the hills of north Essex...
. - B-24L (s/n 44-50206) Liberator B.VI formerly KN751 of the RAF and HE807 of the IAF. On display at the RAF MuseumRAF MuseumThe Royal Air Force Museum London, commonly known as the RAF Museum, is a museum located on the former Hendon Aerodrome, dedicated to the history of aviation and the British Royal Air Force. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and a registered charity...
in RAF Hendon.
United States
Airworthy- B-24A (s/n 40-2366) Ol '927 is airworthy and owned by the Commemorative Air ForceCommemorative Air ForceThe Commemorative Air Force , formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is a Texas-based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and showing historical aircraft at airshows primarily throughout the U.S. and Canada...
(B-24/B-29 Squadron) in Addison, TexasAddison, TexasAddison is a city in Dallas County, Texas . The population was 14,166 at the 2000 census, and 15,737 according to a 2009 estimate. Addison is a northern suburb of Dallas...
. - B-24J (s/n 44-44052) Witchcraft is airworthy and owned by the Collings Foundation in Stow, MassachusettsStow, MassachusettsStow is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,590 at the 2010 census.- History :Stow was first settled c. 1660 by Matthew Boon and John Kettell...
. - B-24J (s/n 44-44272) Joe is airworthy and owned by the Fantasy of FlightFantasy of FlightFantasy of Flight is an aviation-related attraction in Polk City, Florida, USA that takes visitors back to the pioneering days of early flight, World War I, World War II and beyond. The attraction opened in November of 1995, and houses the world's largest private aircraft collection on display...
in Polk City, FloridaPolk City, FloridaPolk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,516 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 1,515. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. When originally retired by the Indian Air Force this aircraft was donated to Lynn Garrison's collection.
On display
- B-24D (s/n 41-11825) Hail Columbia (nose only) is on display at the Fantasy of FlightFantasy of FlightFantasy of Flight is an aviation-related attraction in Polk City, Florida, USA that takes visitors back to the pioneering days of early flight, World War I, World War II and beyond. The attraction opened in November of 1995, and houses the world's largest private aircraft collection on display...
Museum in Polk City, FloridaPolk City, FloridaPolk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,516 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 1,515. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. - B-24D (s/n 42-40557) Fightin' Sam (nose only). Liberator GR.V formerly BZ755 of the RCAF. On display at the Mighty Eighth Air Force MuseumMighty Eighth Air Force MuseumThe Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum is a non-profit 501 organization located in Pooler, Georgia, in the western suburbs of Savannah. It educates visitors through the use of exhibits, artifacts, archival materials, and stories, most of which are dedicated to the history of the Eighth Air Force...
in Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, GeorgiaSavannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. - B-24D (s/n 42-40461) Grumpy (nose only) is on display at the Virginia Air and Space CenterVirginia Air and Space CenterThe Virginia Air and Space Center is a museum and educational facility in Hampton, Virginia that also serves as the visitors center for NASA's Langley Research Center...
in Hampton, VirginiaHampton, VirginiaHampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
. - B-24D (s/n 42-72843) Strawberry Bitch is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air ForceNational Museum of the United States Air ForceThe National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
in Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. - B-24M (s/n 44-41916) Shady Lady is on display at the Castle Air MuseumCastle Air MuseumCastle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to the site of the former Castle Air Force Base...
in Castle Air Force BaseCastle Air Force BaseCastle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced and about east southeast of San Francisco, California....
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. - B-24J (s/n 44-44175) Bungay Buckaroo is on display at the Pima Air & Space MuseumPima Air & Space MuseumThe Pima Air & Space Museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres on a campus occupying 127 acres . Located in Tucson, Arizona, it is one of the world's largest, non-government funded aerospace museums...
in Tucson, ArizonaTucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
- B-24J (s/n 44-48781) Louisiana Belle II is on display at the Eighth Air Force MuseumEighth Air Force MuseumEighth Air Force Museum is located on Barksdale AFB near Bossier City, Louisiana and is hosted by the 2nd Bomb Wing.This aviation museum has a large collection of military aircraft and historical artifacts that dates from the early days of US military aviation as well as the history of Barksdale...
in Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.
Under restoration
- B-24D (s/n 41-23908) is under restoration at the Hill Aerospace MuseumHill Aerospace MuseumHill Aerospace Museum, located near Ogden, Utah, is a U.S. Air Force museum that is part of the United States Air Force Heritage Program.The museum, founded in 1981 and moved to its current location in 1991, displays over 90 aircraft from around the world, in addition to a variety of munitions,...
in Ogden, UtahOgden, UtahOgden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
.