The Consolidated B-24 Liberator

Preface; Acknowledgments; Foreword; Part I: Reuben Fleet, Consolidated Aircraft, and the B-24 Liberator; 1 Introduction; 2 Reuben Fleet: The Early Years; 3 Fleet in the Service of His Country; 4 Fleet Becomes an Aircraft Builder; 5 The San Diego Plant Goes into Production; 6 David Davis and the Davis Wing; 7 Consolidated Model 31 Long-Range Patrol Boat and the Davis Wing; 8 Consolidated Pre-XB-24 Four-Engined Bomber Proposals; 9 Consolidated Model 32/XB-24: B-24 Precursor; 10 Consolidated Heads toward B-24 Production; 11 Consolidated Confronts the West Coast Labor Unions; 12 Consolidated Merges with Vultee; 13 Epilog: Reuben Fleet After the Merger; Part II: Liberator Production Pool, Committee, and Manufacturer Contracts; 1 Liberator Production Pool; 2 B-24 Committee; 3 B-24 and Knock-Down Kit Contracts; Part III: Consolidated San Diego and Fort Worth B-24 Plants; Section 1: Consolidated San Diego; 1 Developing the San Diego Facility; 2 The San Diego Plant; 3 The San Diego Consolidated Labor Force; 4 Building the Liberator; 5 Feeder Shop Plan and Subcontracting; 6 Government-Furnished Equipment and Spare Parts; 7 Consolidated Assembly Line; 8 Consolidated San Diego: Summary and Conclusion; Section 2: Consolidated Fort Worth B-24 Plant; 1 Fort Worth's Aviation Heritage; 2 Enter Reuben Fleet; 3 The Consolidated Fort Worth Plant; 4 Fort Worth B-24 Knock-Down Assembly and Production; 5 B-24 Manufacture is Terminated and B-32 Production Begun; 6 Consolidated Fort Worth Plant Post-War to Present; Part IV: The Magnificent Ford Willow Run Plant; 1 Henry Ford and Automobile Mass Production; 2 The Trimotor Tin Goose: Ford's First Aircraft Manufacturing Endeavor; 3 The Auto Industry Begins Aircraft Manufacture; 4 Ford and Charles Sorensen Enter the U.S. Air Defense Program; 5 The Willow Run Factory is Conceived; 6 Plant Construction; 7 The Plant; 8 Mass Producing the B-24; 9 The Willow Run Workforce; 10 Production at Willow Run; 11 Ford Implements the Plan; 12 Engineering at Willow Run; 13 Raw Materials and Purchased Parts; 14 Subcontracting: Other Ford Plants and Outside Sub-Contractors; 15 Spare Parts; 16 Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE); 17 Inspection and Government Control; 18 Rate of Production Acceleration; 19 Willow Run Crises; 20 Period of Rapid Production Acceleration; 21 The Passing of Edsel Ford and Its Aftermath; 22 The Fabled Willow Run Production Line; 23 The Center Wing Section: The Essence of Liberator Manufacture; 24 Knock-Down (KD) Kit Production and Transport; 25 Was "Willit Run" a Success?; 26 Willow Run Post-War; Part V: North American Dallas Plant; 1 Planning and Building the Dallas Plant; 2 NAA Builds Plant B for B-24 Production; 3 Assembling KD and Scratch B-24s; 4 NAA Dallas B-24 Production and Costs; 5 NAA Dallas Plant Epilog; Part VI: Douglas Tulsa Plant; 1 Planning and Building the Tulsa Plant; 2 Assembling B-24s; Part VII: Modification Centers and Air Depots; 1 Introduction; 2 Consolidated Finds the Need for Liberator Modification; 3 Modification Centers Become Essential; 4 Modification Procedure; 5 Modification Centers, Air Depots, and Storage Pools; 6 U.S. B-24 Modification Centers and Modifications; 7 Air Depots in the U.K.; Part VIII: The Product; Section 1: B-24 Factory-Built and Assembled Precursors, Variants, and; Modifications; 1 Introduction; 2 Consolidated XB-24; 3 Consolidated XB-24B; 4 Consolidated YB-24; 5 Consolidated B-24A; 6 Consolidated LB-30A; 7 Consolidated Liberator I; 8 Liberator II/LB-30; 9 What's in a Name? "Liberator" and "LB-30"; 10 Requisitioned Liberator IIs and Consolidated LB-30s in AAF Service; 11 Consolidated B-24C; 12 Consolidated B-24D Liberator; 13 RAF Liberator IIIs; 14 Coastal Command and RCAF Liberator IIIs, IIIAs, GRVs, and CVs; 15 Australian-Manufactured RAAF B-24Ds and Alternate Procurement; 16 B-24Ds That Became Es and Hs; 17 The XB-24P; 14 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator; 18 Consolidated XB-41 Gunship Escort; 19 Ford B-24E; 20 Ford Liberator IV RAF; 21 Consolidated XB-24F; 22 North American B-24G; 23 Ford B-24H; 24 XB-24J with the B-17 Nose; 25 Model 38: Twin-Engined B-24; 26 B-24Js; 27 Consolidated San Diego and Ford B-24L Liberator; 28 The Liberator Mk. VI/VIII for the RAF; 29 Consolidated Ford B-24M; 30 Single-Tail XB-24K (B-24ST); 31 Single-Tail Liberator: XB-24N, YB-24N, and B-24N; 32 XB-24Q; Section 2: Special Liberator Transport and Special Duties Aircraft; 1 Liberator Haulers: Transport and Cargo Liberators; 2 TB-24s; 3 F-7 Photo Reconnaissance; 4 B-24 Electronic Warfare and Electronic Countermeasures; 5 B-24 Leaftlet-Dropping Aircraft; 6 B-24 Carpetbaggers; 7 Assembly Ships; 8 BQ-8 Drone; 9 Navy PB4Y-1s: The Last Twin Tail Liberators; Section 3: B-24 Post-War Survivors; 1 Introduction; 2 Post-War Civilian Use and Testing Extend B-24 Longevity; Part IX: Post-War Scrapping; 1 Introduction; 2 Overseas Scrapping; 3 U.S. Scrapping; 4 The Disposal Process; Bibliography; Index.