Consolidated Liberator I

The Consolidated Liberator I was the service name of the first Consolidated B-24 Liberator four-engined bombers to see use with the Royal Air Force. Twenty aircraft released from the United States Army Air Corps order for the B-24A were bought by the RAF as the Liberator B.Mk.I and delivered from mid 1941 with serials AM910 to AM929. Trials found them unsuitable for combat over Europe, citing the lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, poor defensive armament and general lack of combat readiness. Their long range and heavy bomb load made them a natural choice for Coastal Command, and twelve were converted at Scottish Aviation in Prestwick into the Liberator GR.Mk.I with air-to-surface-vessel radar and four forward-firing 20 mm Hispano cannon. They served with No. 120 Squadron against U-boats until December 1943, and survivors became Liberator C.I transports.