#1154
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1939· bomber
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. B24J-The Dragon And His Tail: Tequask· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. XB-41 Liberator: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 3. Liberator B Mk.I in RAF service 23 03 05: The original uploader was Bzuk at English Wikipedia .· Public domain
- 4. 375th Bombardment Squadron - B-24 Liberator: United States Army Air Forces· Public domain
- 5. American Aircraft in Royal Air Force Service 1939-1945- Consolidated Model 32 Liberator. CH18035: Hensser H (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer· Public domain
- 6. B-24M-20-CO USAAF: USAAF· Public domain
- 7. B-24 Destroyed: US Army Air Force· Public domain
- 8. B-24 Liberators at low altitude: USAF· Public domain
- 9. B-24 Liberators over Bratislava, Slovakia on 16 June 1944: United States Army Air Forces· Public domain
- 10. B 24 in raf service 23 03 05: The original uploader was Bzuk at English Wikipedia .· Public domain
what is it?
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. 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. At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing.
How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · retractable tricycle gear · 33.5 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 87 years ago, in 1939.
- Top speed is 3.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 33.5 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 7,600 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1939-12-29
- introduced
- 1941
- retired
- 1945
- status
- retired
- number built
- 18,482
- role
- bomber
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Ford Motor Company, Douglas, Sperry Corporation, Bell Aircraft Corporation, Emerson Electric, North American Aviation
- engines
- 4× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35 Twin Wasp, R-1830-41 or R-1830-65
- crew
- 11
- length
- 20.5 m
- wingspan
- 33.5 m
- height
- 5.4 m
- max take-off weight
- 29.5 t
- top speed
- 478 km/h
- cruise speed
- 346 km/h
- range
- 7,600 km
- ceiling
- 8,534 m
- landing gear
- retractable tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q220759, Wikipedia: Consolidated B-24 Liberator (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.