XB-41 Liberator

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XB-41 Liberator

Type	Escort bomber
Manufacturer	Consolidated Aircraft
Status	Cancelled in 1943

The Consolidated XB-41 Liberator was a single Consolidated B-24D Liberator bomber, serial 41-11822, which was modified for the long-range escort role for U.S. Eighth Air Force bombing missions over Europe. Outfitted with fourteen .50 caliber weapons, paired in two upper turrets, nose, tail and ventral turrets plus a pair at each waist window, the XB-41 carried 11,000 rounds of ammunition, stored in the bomb bay. It was powered by four 1,250 h.p. Pratt & Whitney R-1830-43 Twin Wasp radial engines. It received limited testing but stability problems, coupled with the unsatisfactory performance of similarly-converted YB-40 gunships derived from the B-17 Flying Fortress in actual operations, led to no further conversions of the Liberator as gunships. The XB-41 was never flown operationally.

[edit] Specifications (XB-41)

General characteristics

Crew: nine
Length: 66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in (33.54 m)
Height: 17 ft 11 in (5.46 m)
Wing area: ft² (m²)
Empty weight: lb (kg)
Loaded weight: lb (kg)
Max takeoff weight: 63,000 lb (28,576 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-43 radial engines, 1,250 hp (934 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 289 mph (465 km/h)
Range: 3,100 mi (4,989 km)
Service ceiling: 28,500 ft (8,689 m)
Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
Power/mass: hp/lb (kW/kg)

Armament

Guns: 14× .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns

[edit] References and external links

Andrade, John M. (1979). U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Earl Shilton, Leicester: Midland Counties Publications. ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
Birdsall, Steve (1973). Log Of The Liberators. Garden City: Doubleday and Company. ISBN 0-385-03870-4.