Consolidated Liberator B.VIII

Although often overshadowed by the B-17 Flying Fortress, the American B-24 Liberator was built in greater numbers than any other US military aircraft and served with distinction in both war and peace. It also played a major role in service with the RAF.

The RAF was the second-largest operator of Liberators. 1,900 B-24s were supplied to the Royal Air Force via purchase and through Lend Lease, with some of the earliest aircraft having originally been intended for France and the French l’Armée de l’Air in 1940, orders that were never filled. Others were transferred directly in theatre, bringing the RAF’s total to just over 2,000. Liberators were used by RAF bomber squadrons in the Middle East, and from January 1944 became the principal RAF strategic bomber in the Far East. Liberators were also deployed by RAF Coastal Command, playing a key role in the war against Germany’s submarine fleet. Liberators continued in use until December 1968 when the Indian Air Force retired its former RAF machines, and the Liberator on display in the Hangar 5 in London was presented to the Museum by the Indian Government in 1974.