Consolidated B-24 Liberator

The B-24 was a four-engine heavy bomber used during the Second World War. The main characteristics of the Liberator are the shape of the wing (called Davis) narrow and elongated, positioned in the middle-upper area of the fuselage, the tail composed of two oval-shaped fins and, most importantly, the landing gear in tricycle position. This allowed the pilots to be able to look directly at the runway outside the cockpit without having to snake during taxiing like aircraft that had the tail wheel. It was a very versatile machine, but not too loved by the crews because unlike its predecessor B-17, which had proven to be incredibly robust being able to return to base even with vital parts seriously damaged, the B-24 was not able to withstand serious damage in combat. Paradoxically, this was due to its advanced structural characteristics which however translated into a weakness of the structure, which often, if hit in its strong points, could give way completely, breaking cleanly. Despite its weaknesses, it ended the war as the most built US aircraft (over 18,000 aircraft) and, together with the B-17, immediately became the flagship bomber of the USAAF. Slightly more capacious and faster than the B-17, on the other hand it had a lower operational altitude and this meant that it was hit and shot down more frequently by enemy anti-aircraft fire. Heavily armed, it was equipped with 10 Browning 12.7mm caliber machine guns positioned on turrets. Access for the crew was in the rear part of the aircraft. To get to the cockpit the internal passage was very narrow especially considering that you were also wearing a parachute. Very often this difficulty in passing to forcefully direct yourself to the rear compromised the possibility of saving yourself in the event that it was necessary to jump from the plane in flight since it was also the only escape route. 

For this reason the Liberator was nicknamed "The Flying Coffin" by the crews.