The Consolidated B24 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 LB30s, in the Land Bomber design category.
At its inception, the B24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shouldermounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries, the B24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor lowspeed performance; it also had a lower ceiling and was less robust than the Boeing B17 Flying Fortress. While aircrews tended to prefer the B17, General Staff favored the B24 and procured it in huge numbers for a wide variety of roles. At approximately 18,500 units – including 8,685 manufactured by Ford Motor Company – it holds records as the world's most produced bomber, heavy bomber, multiengine aircraft, and American military aircraft in history.
The B24 was used extensively in World War II. It served in every branch of the American armed forces as well as several Allied air forces and navies. It saw use in every theater of operations. Along with the B17, the B24 was the mainstay of the US strategic bombing campaign in the Western European theater. Due to its range, it proved useful in bombing operations in the Pacific, including the bombing of Japan. Longrange antisubmarine Liberators played an instrumental role in closing the MidAtlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The C87 transport derivative served as a longer range, higher capacity counterpart to the Douglas C47 Skytrain.
By the end of World War II, the technological breakthroughs of the Boeing B29 Superfortress and other modern types had surpassed the bombers that served from the start of the war. The B24 was rapidly phased out of U.S. service, although the PB4Y2 Privateer maritime patrol derivative carried on in service with the U.S. Navy in the Korean War.
The Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B17 under license. After company executives including President Reuben Fleet visited the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington, Consolidated decided instead to submit a more modern design of its own.
The new Model 32 combined designer David R. Davis's wing, a highefficiency airfoil design created by unorthodox means, with the twin tail design from the Consolidated Model 31 flying boat, together on a new fuselage. This new fuselage was intentionally designed around twin bomb bays, each one being the same size and capacity of the B17 bomb bays.

Specifications:

B24 photographed from above, showing the Davis wing design.
Data from Quest for Performance, Jane's Fighting aircraft of World War II, General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors

General characteristics

Crew: 11 (pilot, copilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator, nose turret, top turret, 2 waist gunners, ball turret, tail gunner)
Length: 67 ft 2 in (20.47 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft (34 m)
Height: 17 ft 7.5 in (5.372 m)
Wing area: 1,048 sq ft (97.4 m2)
Aspect ratio: 11.55
Zerolift drag coefficient: CD0.0406
Frontal area: 42.54 sq ft (3.952 m2)
Airfoil: root: Davis (22%); tip: Davis (9.3%)
Empty weight: 36,500 lb (16,556 kg)
Gross weight: 55,000 lb (24,948 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 65,000 lb (29,484 kg) plus
Fuel capacity: 2,344 US gal (1,952 imp gal; 8,870 l) normal capacity; 3,614 US gal (3,009 imp gal; 13,680 l) with longrange tanks in the bomb bay; Oil capacity 131.6 US gal (109.6 imp gal; 498 l) in four selfsealing nacelle hopper tanks
Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R183035 Twin Wasp, R183041 or R183065 14cylinder tworow aircooled turbosupercharged radial piston engines, 1,200 hp (890 kW) each
Propellers: 3bladed Hamilton Standard, 11 ft 7 in (3.53 m) diameter constantspeed fullyfeathering propellers
Performance

Maximum speed: 297 mph (478 km/h, 258 kn) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Cruise speed: 215 mph (346 km/h, 187 kn)
Stall speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn)
Range: 1,540 mi (2,480 km, 1,340 nmi) at 237 mph (206 kn; 381 km/h) and 25,000 ft (7,600 m) with normal fuel and maximum internal bomb load
Ferry range: 3,700 mi (6,000 km, 3,200 nmi)
Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
Rate of climb: 1,025 ft/min (5.21 m/s)
Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,100 m) in 25 minutes
Lifttodrag: 12.9
Wing loading: 52.5 lb/sq ft (256 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.0873 hp/lb (0.1435 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 10 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 4 turrets and two waist positions
Bombs:
Short range (400 mi [640 km]): 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg)
Long range (800 mi [1,300 km]): 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg)
Very long range (1,200 mi [1,900 km]): 2,700 pounds (1,200 kg)