XB-41 Liberator

XB-41 Liberator
Role	Escort bomber
Manufacturer	Consolidated Aircraft
Introduced	1942
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 during World War II. Outfitted with fourteen .50 caliber defensive machine guns 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.

• 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

• B-24 Liberator
• YB-40 Flying Fortress
  

Related lists

• List of bomber aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United States