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American B-24D - This is a model of a long-range Army heavy bomber that participated in the daring August 1, 1943, raid on the Ploesti oil fields in Romania. The first Liberators to see action were Lend-Lease export versions, called LB-30s, built for the British. They began using them in Europe in 1941. But after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army kept some LB-30s for itself and in early 1942 sent them to the Dutch East Indies to help resist the Japanese advance. These were the first American-flown B-24s to see action. Starting with the H variant, introduced in 1943, a machine gun turret was factory-installed in the bomber's nose for better defense against head-on attacks by enemy fighters. Some Liberators were navalized for use by the Navy and Marines and were called PB4Y-1s. The B-24 was designed to replace the B-17, and by 1943 it was America's primary long-range heavy bomber. More than 18,000 were built using multiple factories, making it the most extensively produced U.S. plane of WWII. The U.S. Navy's PB4Y-2 Privateer, introduced in 1944, was derived from the B-24. |
More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front, Front Angle Right, Front Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Rear Angle Left |
Consolidated B-24 Liberator 1/72 Scale Model Kit Box Art
