The Consolidated XB-41 Liberator was a single
Consolidated B-24D Liberator
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 desi ...
bomber, serial ''41-11822'', which was modified for the long-range escort role for U.S.
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...
bombing missions over
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Design and development
When the USAAF started strategic bombing in Europe there were no fighters available to escort the bombers all the way to distant targets. The bombers carried several defensive guns and formed up in boxes so that they could provide mutually covering fire but there was interest in providing more firepower for the formation.
The XB-41 Liberator was outfitted with 14
.50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns. This was achieved by adding a second dorsal turret and a remotely operated Bendix turret (of the same type as fitted to the
YB-40) under the chin to the standard twin gun tail turret and twin gun retractable ventral
ball turret
A ball turret is a spherical-shaped, altazimuth mount Aircraft gun turret, gun turret, fitted to some American-built aircraft during World War II. The name arose from the turret's spherical housing.
It was a manned turret, as distinct from remot ...
, plus twin mount guns at each waist window.
[Davis 1987, p.24.] The port waist mount was originally covered by a
Plexiglas
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bra ...
bubble; testing showed this caused severe optical distortion and it was removed.
The XB-41 carried 12,420 rounds of ammunition, 4,000 rounds of which were stored in the bomb bay as a reserve.
[ It was powered by four ]Pratt & Whitney R-1830
The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It has 14 cylinders, arranged in two rings of seven. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments a ...
-43 radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...
s.
Operational history
On 29 January 1943, the sole XB-41 was delivered to Eglin Field Eglin may refer to:
* Eglin (surname)
* Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Flor ...
, Florida. Tests were carried out for two months at Eglin during February 1943.Consolidated XB-41 Liberator
Historyofwar.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-31. These indicated significant problems with the aircraft; on 21 March 1943, the Army declared the XB-41 as unsuitable for operational use;
[ the conversion of thirteen Liberators to YB-41 service test aircraft was cancelled. Despite this, Consolidated continued to work on the XB-41 prototype; wide-blade propellers were fitted, and some of the armor was removed to reduce the aircraft's weight. Tests resumed at Eglin on 28 July 1943; however, the basic flaws of the "gunship" concept remained, and the XB-41 program was abandoned. The prototype XB-41 was redesignated TB-24D; it served as an instructional airframe for training mechanics on the B-24.][ It was scrapped at ]Maxwell Field
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...
, Alabama on 2 February 1945.
Specifications (XB-41)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Andrade, John M. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Earl Shilton, Leicester: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. .
* Birdsall, Steve. ''Log Of The Liberators''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1973. .
* Davis, Larry. ''B-24 Liberator in action''. Aircraft in Action No. 80. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1987. .
{{USAF bomber aircraft
B-41
Consolidated B-41 Liberator
1940s United States fighter aircraft
Four-engined tractor aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Four-engined piston aircraft
Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear
Twin-tail aircraft