| XB-41 Liberator | |
|---|---|
| Role | Escort bomber |
| Manufacturer | Consolidated Aircraft |
| Introduction | 1942 |
| Retired | 1943 |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Force |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Consolidated B-24 Liberator |
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 during World War II.
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The XB-41 Liberator was outfitted with 14 .50 caliber defensive machine guns. These included twin dorsal turrets, a remotely-operated Bendix "chin" turret (of the same type as the YB-40 used) under the extreme nose, the usual twin-Browning M2 .50-cal armed, manned tail turret and twin-.50 cal armed, fully retractable Sperry ventral ball turret, plus a twinned-mount pair of Browning .50 cal M2s at each waist window.[1]
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.
The XB-41 received limited testing but stability problems, coupled with the unsatisfactory performance of similarly-converted YB-40 gunships derived from the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in actual operations, led to no further conversions of the Liberator as gunships. The XB-41 was never flown operationally.
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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