johnbr
2nd Lieutenant
Cavernous, slab-sided fuselage, shoulder
mounted wings, the hallmarks of a load
carrier, are obvious in this take off shot of the XB-24, which flew for the first time on December 29, 1939. Prototype was fitted with fixed "letter-box" slots on the outer leading edges of wing to improve low-speed handling. These were later deleted, when it appeared they were unnecessary. However, added weight in later models revived the problem, which was never fully compensated
Taxiing out for its maiden flight, the XB-24 is shown leaving factory for test run. Like most bombers of its day, it was lightly armed with only five .30 caliber gun positions. XB-24
was delivered one day before deadline stipulated in its contract.
Sitting on the taxi way' like a boxcar attempting to fly, its brakes hissing like a Greyhound bus, the B·24 looked dumpy. When heavily loaded, she had to be handled gingerly on take off. Airspeed was highly critical in the Liberator, particularly at low altitudes where any increase in drag guaranteed disaster. In formation, the pilot was constantly on the throttles. The B-24 did not fly well at high altitude and its best performance was invariably turned in at speed, otherwise the aircraft just hung in the sky, its engines struggling to keep the high-lift Davis Wing in the air.
mounted wings, the hallmarks of a load
carrier, are obvious in this take off shot of the XB-24, which flew for the first time on December 29, 1939. Prototype was fitted with fixed "letter-box" slots on the outer leading edges of wing to improve low-speed handling. These were later deleted, when it appeared they were unnecessary. However, added weight in later models revived the problem, which was never fully compensated
Taxiing out for its maiden flight, the XB-24 is shown leaving factory for test run. Like most bombers of its day, it was lightly armed with only five .30 caliber gun positions. XB-24
was delivered one day before deadline stipulated in its contract.
Sitting on the taxi way' like a boxcar attempting to fly, its brakes hissing like a Greyhound bus, the B·24 looked dumpy. When heavily loaded, she had to be handled gingerly on take off. Airspeed was highly critical in the Liberator, particularly at low altitudes where any increase in drag guaranteed disaster. In formation, the pilot was constantly on the throttles. The B-24 did not fly well at high altitude and its best performance was invariably turned in at speed, otherwise the aircraft just hung in the sky, its engines struggling to keep the high-lift Davis Wing in the air.
