Consolidated B-24 Liberator: Illustrated History Books & Guides

B-24 Bridge Busters: RAF Liberators Over Burma

Provides a gripping and detailed account of RAF Liberator missions against the Japanese in Asia. British and Commonwealth aircrews displayed great gallantry in many instances on low-level precise bombing sorties destroying specific targets, including a great number of bridges constructed by the Japanese in their conquest to reach India.

A number of detailed accounts are based upon personal flying logbooks and other unique material originating from the pilots and aircrews. 159 Squadron was the first four-engine heavy bomber squadron that flew from India and operated over Burma. They instigated greater accuracy in destroying a multitude of vital targets.

The legendary film The Bridge over the River Kwai (1957) evokes images that are historically set in celluloid; however, that blockbusting film had separated fact from fiction and this book examines the true events that took place through 'Bridge Busting', including techniques developed and deployed by the RAF against the Japanese.

Features:
- Referenced from operational flying log books written by aircrews during the Second World War
- Provides a detailed examination of the Japanese military administration and occupation of Burma
- Provides the true account of the destruction of the infamous bridge over the River Kwai
- Profusely illustrated with rare and unpublished photographs.

Product details

Author:	Colin Pateman
Details:	208 pages, 9 x 6.5 x 0.94 in (24 x 16.5 x 2.4 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	38 b&w photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Fonthill Media (GB, 2016)
ISBN:	9781781555194

B-24 Liberator Bomber- Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator first saw combat in June of 1942, making a daring raid into Nazi-occupied Romania to bomb the oil fields at Ploesti. Nearly 18,500 Liberators were built during the war years, making it by far the most-produced American combat aircraft. It served in many roles beyond heavy bomber, transport, and anti-submarine patrol, and flew in Africa, Europe, India, the Atlantic, India and the Pacific Theatre.

Originally printed by the United States Army Air Force in 1942, the B-24 Liberator Pilot's Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Originally classified "Restricted", the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form.

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Author:	Periscope Film.com
Details:	156 pages, 11 x 8.5 x 0.31 in (28 x 21.5 x 0.8 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	many photos and drawings
Language:	English
Publisher:	Periscope Film (USA, 2006)
ISBN:	9781411613218

B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force / 49th Bomb Wing in World War II

The first in a planned series that presents the B-24 Liberators used by the 15th Air Force in World War II, noted B-24 historians Robert Beitling and Mike Hill present for the first time the biographies of the individual B-24s used by the 451st, 461st and 484th Bomb Groups of the 49th Bomb Wing in Italy.

As much information as is known about the individual aircraft is presented in biographical form: serial number, nickname, how the aircraft received its nickname, number of missions, original aircraft for the groups, and the ultimate fate of the aircraft.
The volume will be of interest to historians, veterans and those who are interested in the B-24s that flew in the flak filled skies of the Third Reich.

Product details

Author:	Michael D. Hill
Details:	160 pages, 11.4 x 8.9 x 0.83 in (29 x 22.5 x 2.1 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	300+ b&w photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2006)
ISBN:	9780764324239

Consolidated B24 (Vol. 2) - The B24G to B24M Liberators in World War II (Legends of Warfare)

The B-24 Liberator is the most-produced heavy bomber and multi-engine aircraft in history, with nearly 19.000 units built across five plants, making it the most-produced military aircraft in U.S. history. This second volume in a two-part series explores the design, development, and wartime service of the late-production B-24, featuring nose-mounted gun turrets.
The book tells the story of this iconic World War II aircraft through a collection of carefully researched photographs, many of which have never been published. These high-quality images, paired with informative captions, provide detailed insights into the B-24.

Product details

Author:	David Doyle
Details:	128 pages, 9.25 x 9.25 x 0.71 in (23.5 x 23.5 x 1.8 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	291 b&w and color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2019)
Series:	Legends of Warfare
ISBN:	9780764356698

Consolidated B-24 (Vol.1) - The XB-24 to B-24E Liberators in World War II (Legends of Warfare)

The B-24 Liberator remains to this day the world's most-produced heavy bomber and multi-engine aircraft, and the most produced military aircraft in US history, with almost 19,000 examples leaving the assembly lines of five plants.
Through a broad range of photos gathered from around the world, this book chronicles the design, development, and wartime use of the iconic early models of the B-24-those featuring the so-called "glass nose"-from the assembly line to their use in the famous raid on the refineries at Ploesti, Romania, in 1943.

The story of these iconic early WWII aircraft is told through carefully researched photos, many of which have never before been published, which are reproduced in remarkable clarity.
Large clear photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, unlock the secrets of this aircraft. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

Product details

Author:	David Doyle
Details:	112 pages, 9.25 x 9.25 x 0.67 in (23.5 x 23.5 x 1.7 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	153 b&w and color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2018)
Series:	Legends of Warfare
ISBN:	9780764356155

Consolidated B-24 Liberator (Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions)

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator first saw combat in June of 1942, making a daring raid into Nazi-occupied Romania to bomb the oil fields at Ploesti. Nearly 18,500 Liberators were built during the war years, making it by far the most-produced American combat aircraft.
It served in many roles beyond heavy bomber, transport, and anti-submarine patrol, and flew in Africa, Europe, India, the Atlantic, India and the Pacific Theatre.

Originally printed by the United States Army Air Force in 1942, the B-24 Liberator Pilot's Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Originally classified "Restricted", the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form.

Product details

Details:	160 pages, 9.8 x 8.1 x 0.35 in (25 x 20.5 x 0.9 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	b&w photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	CKE Publications (USA, 2010)
Series:	Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions
ISBN:	9781935327882

Consolidated B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was almost certainly the most versatile Second World War Bomber. Apart from its bombing role in all theatres of operation, the B-24 hauled fuel to France during the push towards Germany, carried troops, fought U-boats in the Atlantic and, probably most important of all, made a vital contribution towards winning the war in the Pacific. Its most famous single exploit is possibly the raid on the Ploesti oilfields in August 1943.
The B-24 ended World War Two as the most produced Allied heavy bomber in history, and the most produced American military aircraft at over 18,000 units, thanks in large measure to Henry Ford and the harnessing of American industry. It still holds the distinction as the most produced American military aircraft.
The B-24 was used by several Allied air forces and navies, and by every branch of the American armed forces during the war, attaining a distinguished war record with its operations in the Western European, Pacific, Mediterranean and China-Burma-India theatres.

This book focuses on the design, engineering, development and tactical use of the many variants throughout the bomber's service life. The overall result is, as David Lee, the former Deputy Director of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford said upon reading the final manuscript, to be acquainted with '...all you never knew about the B-24!'
The book is enlivened by the many dramatic photographs which feature, and this coupled with the clarity of Simons' prose makes for an engaging and entertaining history of this iconic Allied bomber, a key component in several of their biggest victories and a marvel of military engineering.

Product details

Author:	Graham Simons
Details:	256 pages, 9 x 6.3 x 0.91 in (24 x 16 x 2.3 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	250 b&w photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Ltd (GB, 2012)
ISBN:	9781848846449

Consolidated B-24 Liberator (American Bomber Aircraft Vol. 1)

Over 24,000 B-24s were constructed between 1940 and 1945, making it the single most produced aircraft of World War II. The B-24 served in all theaters of World War II: China-Burma-India, Japan, South Pacific, North Africa, Italy, France, Germany, and Russia.

The history of the B-24 is presented here in hundreds of photos, over seventy in World War II era color, and most unpublished. Detailed photographs of nose art and markings, and overall shots, present all aspects of the various models.
All war fronts are covered and show the early B-24c types to the late war, Privateer, and Naval models, and the B-32 Dominator. A special color section features the doomed Lady Be Good when it was found in the Libyan desert in the early 1960s.

Product details

Author:	John M. Campbell, Donna Campbell
Details:	256 pages, 11 x 8.5 x 0.98 in (28 x 21.5 x 2.5 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	over 700 b&w and color photos, 10 color profile illustrations
Language:	English
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2004)
ISBN:	9780887404528

Liberators over the Atlantic

An informative and personal account of a young man's flying experiences during WW2. Growing up in York, shaped by the threat of war-Jack Colman achieves his long held desire to become a pilot, joining the RAF in October 1940 just after his 21st birthday.
He is sent to Canada to learn to fly and becomes intrigued by the technical and practical aspects of flying and navigation. Becoming a Pilot/Navigator, he joins Costal Command on Liberators based in Iceland.

The practical difficulties of flying over the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans protecting the convoys and hunting U-boats are relived as he battles with atrocious weather and navigational uncertainties.
His brushes with death whether due to mechanical failure, hitting the sea, U-boat gun fire or running out of fuel, in an ever changing hostile environment are described realistically and calmly (often with humour), situations helped by a confidence in the good advice given by others, his knowledge, skills and a trust in his crew.
When training he hears about the death of his father, on leave he finds time to fall in love and marry.

Product details

Author:	Jack Colman
Details:	304 pages, 17.9 x 9 x 1.38 in (45.5 x 24 x 3.5 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	32 b&w photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Fonthill Media (GB, 2017)
ISBN:	9781781556504

Special Ops Liberators - 223 (Bomber Support) Squadron, 100 Group, and the Electronic War

The work of the RAF's 100 Group remains one of the least known aspects of the 1939-45 war. Even less has been written about the specifics of day-to-day electronic warface operations and the countermeasures employed.
This book, the result of many years meticulous research by Squadron Leader Richard Forder RAF (Ret'd) redresses the balance by focussing on one the heavy units, 223, and its sister units at RAF Oulton, Norfolk.

Equipped with former USAAF Liberators, they operated from August 1944 to the end of the European war, with a primary role of protecting Bomber Command Main Force ops by radio and radar countermeasures against German defences.
By analysing original documents and recording first hand accounts from both sides of the conflict, including those of Main Force personnel, Forder and Bond present a complete, detailed and valuable picture of the secret and vital activities of the special operatives, and their effect on German defences.

Product details

Author:	Steve Bond, Richard Forder
Details:	224 pages, 10 x 7.1 x 1.06 in (25.5 x 18 x 2.7 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	illustrations, maps
Language:	English
Publisher:	Grub Street (GB, 2011)
ISBN:	9781908117144

U.S. Navy PB4Y-1 (B-24) Liberator Squadrons: in Great Britain during World War II

This book on USN and USMC bomber units of the Second World War, is the story of U.S. Navy Fleet Air Wing Seven (FAW-7) and the men who flew the Navy version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber out of Dunkeswell and Upottery, England during World War II.

Navy PB4Y-1 Liberator squadrons were unlike their counterparts in the U.S. Army's 8th Air Force, who battled their way through thick flak and swarms of German fighters while flying to and from targets in continental Europe. The job of U.S. Navy PB4Y-1 Liberator aircrews was to keep German U-boats from successfully operating in the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel by going out day after day, often in miserable weather conditions, on unrelenting search and destroy missions.

During the war, FAW-7 Liberators were responsible for the sinking of five U-boats and damaging many more.

Product details

Author:	Alan C. Carey
Details:	160 pages, 11 x 8.7 x 0.43 in (28 x 22 x 1.1 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	300+ b&w photos, profile illustrations in color
Language:	English
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2004)
ISBN:	9780764317750

B-24 - Missions de combat - Témoignages d'équipages de Liberator au-dessus de l'Europe occupé

During World War II, the B-24 Liberator bomber was produced in greater numbers than any other American military aircraft, including the B-17. It formed the backbone of the USAAF's bombing offensive against Germany, alongside the B-17.
The Liberator made significant contributions in other roles, notably in the Pacific, where - thanks to its formidable ability to bomb Japanese targets at low altitude - it provided invaluable support to the US Navy. Despite its remarkable career, the B-24 - and the aviators who flew it - was always overshadowed by its sibling, the B-17. This book aims to redress the balance between the two aircraft.

This book provides a wealth of technical and operational detail about the aircraft, every weapon and/or crew member's equipment. The heart of the book, however, is the many testimonies of combat missions flown by Liberator crew members, many of which have never been published before.
The B-24 is perhaps best known for its raids over occupied Europe, with the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces. The testimonies in this book all relate to the European theater of operations. They reveal, in great detail, what it was like to fly a combat mission from the perspective of every crew member, from pilot to tail gunner.

Product details

Author:	Martin Bowman
Details:	160 pages, 11 x 10 in (28 x 25.5 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	300 b&w and color photos
Language:	French
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2011)
ISBN:	9782726895665