|
|
380th Bomb
Group Association
|
| B-24D | |||||
| Types 1-3 |
Types 4-8 |
Type 10 |
Types 9, 11-12 | ||
| Part V aircraft are Types 1-8 | Part VI aircraft are Types 2 and 4-12 | ||||
Note: Although there were many different models/types of B-24s, only 4 models and 12 types of these models were in the 380th.
For information on additional models and types, please check out these websites:
| http://www.aviation-history.com/consolidated/b24.html | http://www.b24bestweb.com/ |
| http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b24.html | http://www.onlineuniversity.net/history/museum-of-airplanes/ |
On
first appearance the most distinctive feature between any two B-24s is the type
of armament protection of the nose of the aircraft.
This is reflected in the appearance of the successive models of the B-24
and their variants as WWII progressed.
This
will be the basis for our separation of the aircraft used by the 380th
Bomb Group into groups or types. Our
grouping will closely follow that presented in Issue 41 of THE
FLYING CIRCUS Newsletter of the 380th Bombardment Group (H)
Association, Inc., dated March 1991, by Glenn Horton.
The
several separate groupings are as follows:
1.
The so-called "Greenhouse" nosed B-24D with only
manually-operated machine guns as nose protection.
All of the Initial Deployment aircraft of the 380th Bomb Group
were of this type.
2.
Modification of an original "Greenhouse" nosed
B-24D to carry a Consolidated A6A tail turret in the nose.
In the case of the 380th, these were all theatre modifications
carried out at the Townsville,
3.
In addition to theatre modifications, i.e., Townsville,
there was a stateside effort to supply a few such modifications before going
overseas. These were carried out at the Oklahoma City Depot and were
distinctively different from Group II.
4.
The initial B-24J models, which had the A6A nose turret
installed at the factory.
5.
B-24Js with the A6A turret replaced by the A6B, which
was lighter and could be more easily streamlined into the fuselage.
6.
B-24Js with the horn type pitot tubes of the earlier
models replaced by a pitot tube placed low on the left side of the nose.
7.
Type 6 B-24Js with a small window installed behind the
bombardier's window on each side to increase visibility for the bombardier.
8.
Replacement of the A6B Consolidated turret with the
Emerson A-15 electric turret. The
Consolidated turrets were all hydraulically operated.
All subsequent models used the Emerson turret for the nose protection.
9.
B-24M aircraft by Consolidated.
Very similar in appearance to Type 8.
However, these aircraft carried newer radar and other equipment.
(There was also a Consolidated B-24L but the 380th did not
receive any; one was borrowed for a short period from the 90th Bomb
Group.)
10.-12.
B-24s manufactured by the Ford Motor Company at Willow Run, Michigan.
These differed from the aircraft of Consolidated by having a large
"balcony" window in each side of the nose to increase visibility.
10.
B-24L-FO. In addition to the
above, this design featured a lightweight tail station with gun movement
hydraulic boost but no full turret.
11.
B-24M-FO. Returned to the
tail turret but had increased electronic features of B-24M-CO.
12.
B-24M-FO with a V-shaped (2-piece) pilots windshield to increase pilot
visibility.
Part V aircraft are Types 1-8. Part VI aircraft are Types 2 and 4-12.
Click on the Type in the table above for descriptions and examples.
Go to Aircraft Listing Aircraft Statistical Summaries
Go to Part V Introduction Go to Part VI Introduction