B24 / LB-30 for sale!!!!!

[rwdfresno]

Side by side of the LB-30 and B-24D other than the nose and gun positions most people would never know. Although I would think touring the inside would be more exciting on a real 24.
WarbirdKid's Grandfather was on a B-24 so Im sure there is a certain fondness as well. At this point if someone is willing to pump metric tons of cash into a project for fly I wont be complaining about the paint job or the lack of guns.

Untitled-2 by Drew King, on Flickr

I think that there is a little bit of a misconception about what an LB-30 is. An LB-30 isn't a transport designation. It is the designation for the Liberator and Liberator II which were the export versions of the B-24. There were several configurations: bomber, transport, patrol, etc. You posted a picture of a transport version. Below is a picture of a bomber version. An LB-30 restored to original bomber configuration would be just as interesting as a B-24D and I'd be surprised if many would even know the difference.


ROYAL AIR FORCE: OPERATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, 1939-1943.. © IWM (CBM 1261)IWM Non Commercial Licence

[Pogo]

Thanks for that, rwdfresno.

[SaxMan]

The lack of the oil coolers and the different cockpit window arrangement is the big giveaway between the LB-30 and the B-24D, but agree than an LB-30 is certainly every bit as worthy of being restored as an LB-30. A number of the RAF models were taken over by the AAF and sent to the Pacific right after Pearl Harbor to try to help stem the Japanese tide.

[Steve Nelson]

The cockpit canopy on the LB-30 and B-24D were identical. The only reason Diamond Lil and the Morrison Knudson LB-30s had a different arangement was because somewhere along the way they were fitted with the "knife edge" style windscreen introduced on the XB-24N (and incorporated into the very late production Ms.) The B-24M in the American Air Museum at Duxford (formerly at Lackland) has the same style canopy. During Lil's makeover, Gary added some extra windows to the cockpit roof to make her look a bit more "B-24ish," but I'd still love to see her refitted with a stock "greenhouse" canopy someday (that's not a complaint..I applaud those who contribute their time and money to the monumental task of just keeping her operational!)

SN

[Lon Moer]

dead link

Last edited by Lon Moer on Sat Nov 14, 2020 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[george]

Wasn't it mentioned on here at while back that a man in Florida was amassing as many Lib parts as he could find, in hopes of being able to build an airframe? I think it was also mentioned that he was looking at purchasing the Fort Collins Lib. If his project does happen, hope he goes with a D.