Consolidated B-24H Liberator rumbles out for update

Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.

We have something just that little bit special for Workbench readers this weekend, as we not only have our first double blog posting edition of the year, but also our first re-visit to a 2024 new tooling project, something which underlines the fact that it’s advancing nicely towards its initial release. For this update posting, we will be paying our second development update visit to the largest of our new tooling projects for 2024, the Consolidated B-24H Liberator. Often described as America’s other four engined heavy bomber of the Second World War, the Liberator was actually produced in much greater quantities than the more famous B-17 Flying Fortress, and with around 18,500 aircraft manufactured, that figure was almost half as many again as the number of B-17s produced.

In this second project visit, we will be looking at the tooling design phase of the new kit and thanks to the continued support of the kit’s designer Chris Joy, will be including an exclusive selection of test frame and tooling correction imagery, for your information. Our second, separately posted blog for this weekend features a kit which has just arrived in our warehouse, the latest release from our 1/72nd scale Messerschmitt Bf 109E tooling. Always a range favourite, this one features unusual scheme details relating to an aircraft which served during the height of the Battle of Britain, one which has links to the region around where our Head Office is located.

As always, for these and nine years of previous Workbench blogs, our main Workbench hub is your search rallying point, where you will be able to chart the development of all the new tooling and significant kit additions to the Airfix range over that period. If you ever find yourself stuck for something to do for a couple of hours, you could always embark on a Workbench blog voyage of discovery.

We have a Workbench Dogfight Double blog posting awaiting your inspection for this first weekend in March.

New Liberator project advances

In this design view of the new B-24 Liberator kit, you can see just how much detail designer Chris Joy had to cram into his scale representation of the most heavily produced US aircraft of WWII.

With the Masters of the Air TV mini series currently showing to such rave reviews, the subject of the USAAF daylight bombing campaign during the Second World War is once again coming to the attention of many millions of people all over the world, both from the perspective of the brave crews who endured those terrifying missions and the mighty aircraft they operated. Whilst the series focuses on the effort of one particular Bomb Group and their use of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in combat, it effectively highlights just what those airmen had to face in order to enable the Allies to turn the tide of war in their favour and how America’s industrial prowess played a significant role in the eventual outcome of the war.

No individual aircraft type better illustrates the manufacturing capabilities America possessed during WWII than the Flying Fortress’ hangar-mate, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, an aircraft which was produced in greater numbers than any other American aircraft of the Second World War and a mass-produced four engine heavy bomber which pounded Axis forces from the day it entered service.

The celebrated talents of the Airfix product design team places them in the unique position to immortalise some of the world’s most famous aircraft, military vehicles, cars and other type of craft as scale model kit representations of the real machines, helping to preserve their history in a way no book, magazine or YouTube video could ever hope to do, giving us a real appreciation of these famous machines and in many respects, how those machines were designed and manufactured.

In the subject of our first new tooling project overview for 2024, designer Chris Joy allowed us an insight into some of the challenges he faced whilst designing his new scale kit representation of the Consolidated B-24H Liberator, and we are delighted to say that we have managed to secure his expert input once again this week, as we find out how the project is progressing. This time, he will be guiding us through the test shots and tooling report stage of the new kit’s development, but crucially, also highlighting the fact that this impressive new model is advancing nicely towards a spring release.

The modelling hobby really does allow us an appreciation of the complexity of the Consolidated Liberator and just how effective the manufacturing process must have been to enable around 18,500 of these beasts to be produced during times of war.

As the previous overview served to get us all a little excited about the prospect of adding a Consolidated B-24H Liberator to our build schedules later this year, we wanted to go back to Chris to check in on the current status of the project and what the next stage in progressing the Liberator is for him.

As Chris kindly informed us in our previous project overview, the Airfix design team now have access to a quality in-house 3D printer and whilst this technology is great for printing smaller components, larger items such as fuselage halves and wings are not within its repertoire and often result in corrupted or misshapen parts being produced. The full prototyping for a design project of this size will always be outsourced to our usual specialist supplier and what the designer can expect to receive back are all the individual components of the new design for assessment and test assembly.

The close inspection of these parts is absolutely crucial and may result is some modifications being made to the tooling design prior to instructing the toolmakers to run the first test frames from the tooling, another crucial stage in the development of any new Airfix tooling project.

Chris kindly sent us the following series of images in a folder entitled ‘First Shot part frame issues’ and has included descriptions to help aid our understanding of the issues highlighted.

Each stage of this process brings with it new areas of concern for the Airfix designer and whilst each successive round of assessment and report submission will result in an ever-decreasing number of issues which need addressing, absolute attention to detail is required throughout, because when it comes to the design a new Airfix model kit, project delays mean additional cost and that must be avoided at all costs.

Once the prototype components have been assessed, the tooling can be released for initial test production, with these resultant frames representing the first time the new design has had molten plastic injected through it. Following receipt of these first test frames, an exhaustive process of assessment, part assembly and report writing follows, where design and tooling modifications can be actioned and sent on to the toolmaker prior to the production of a further round of test frames.

Issues which often manifest themselves at this stage might include parts which have failed to mould as intended, parts sticking in the tool during the manufacturing process and others which require re-design due to fit issues or surface detailing not replicating as Chris had intended. To illustrate some of these points, Chris has supplied us with a selection of images above which all relate to this test frame analysis stage and include components which failed to mould correctly and those which exhibited too much unwanted flashing for his liking.

Chris told us that in most cases, the cycle of test frame production, assessment and modification, and the receipt of updated test frame components for a new tooling project will usually take place two or three times and even though the new B-24 Liberator did creep up to four cycles, this was only because one of the points he raised in his previous report wasn’t actioned by the toolmaker and therefore had to go back one final time.

The test frame component images Chris has allowed us to share here all feature the final round of production quality components produced from the new tooling and therefore indicate that the B-24 Liberator project is advancing inexorably towards an initial release in just a few weeks’ time (perhaps a little optimistic, maybe a couple of months’ time).

On to our exclusive first look at the Liberator part frames themselves and how the new B-24 kit’s going to be taking up quite some space on our workbenches following its Spring release.

As for areas of concern with the Liberator tooling, Chris said that these stemmed right back to the very beginning of the project and were around the size and rigidity of the larger parts within the kit, namely fuselage halves and wing sections. Chris did include strengthening measures within his overall design, but on receipt of the first test frame components, he could clearly see that there was some warping/fouling evident on the parts, something which simply had to be rectified.

Calling on all his previous experience and knowing that his design was sound, consultation with the toolmaker soon highlighted the problem, which proved to be nothing more than a production timing inaccuracy. It transpired that during the moulding process, insufficient cooling time was being given to the parts before they were being ejected from the tool and therefore, how the still warm plastic was being manhandled by the tooling injector mechanism too early and thus creating the problem. Adding a little more cooling time into the process completely cured the issue, but does serve to illustrate how the close collaboration between designer and toolmaker is crucial in this kind of work and how the combined experience of both will overcome almost any highlighted problem in no time at all.

A robust understanding of all aspects of the design and manufacturing processes in injection moulding technologies really does come as standard for Airfix product designers and whilst Chris has sent these images to illustrate the points raised above, he did want to qualify the situation by confirming that nothing in relation to the B-24 Liberator project proved to be particularly problematic for him.

Production blocks the key to manufacturing success

A feature of Airfix kits which always provides enduring modelling inspiration for us all, the new Liberator box artwork features our lead scheme B-24 showing how a tight formation and lots of lead from .50 Cal machine guns would give any Luftwaffe fighter pilot plenty to think about.

Following the aircraft’s USAAF introduction in 1941, the B-24 Liberator would go on to be produced in vast quantities, serving in every theatre of war during WWII, and making a vital contribution to the Allied War effort. Indeed, it could be argued that no other aircraft came to represent the incredible industrial might of the American war machine than the B-24 Liberator, an aircraft which during its production life, was manufactured at five different plants across the country. It was claimed that at its height, the Ford production plant at Willow Run Michigan could construct Liberators faster that the USAAF could process them into service, with some sources claiming around one bomber per hour could be produced by Ford’s teams at this impressive facility.

The introduction of the 'H' model addressed the aircraft's vulnerability to frontal attack once and for all, something enemy fighter pilots had been exploiting since the B-24's combat introduction. This variant was the first to be manufactured from the outset complete with an electrically operated Emerson A-15 nose turret, in addition to introducing around fifty other design modifications to make the Liberator a more combat effective aircraft. Although earlier versions of the Liberator did feature nose turrets, they were introduced later in the production run of those variants and in some cases, even installed as in-service modifications.

With just under 18,500 machines produced, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator would go on to become the most heavily produced four engined bomber in the history of warfare and America's most produced aircraft of the Second World War. Quite simply, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator was flown by more men, carried more bombs over greater distances and destroyed more targets than any other bomber in the history of aviation - quite impressive numbers for an aircraft which is probably still remains in the shadow of the more famous Flying Fortress.

Scheme A – Consolidated B-24H-10-FO Liberator 42-52234 ‘Corky Burgundy Bombers’, 733rd Bomb Squadron, 453rd Bomb Group, USAAF Eighth Air Force, Old Buckenham Airfield, Norfolk, England, 1944.

Very early in the war, US Military planners established a ‘Block System’ for the overseeing of aircraft manufacture, something intended to keep everything on track, with this simplicity of conformity helping to keep production lines moving apace. Some flexibility was built into the system, whereby different manufacturers were allowed to cap their production blocks at certain levels. As an illustration of this production flexibility, each Liberator production block at Consolidated’s own facility usually consisted of 50 aircraft, whilst those linked the Ford’s impressive Willow Run Michigan plant may run into hundreds of aircraft.

This system was intended to create a faster, more stable manufacturing process, where individual blocks would usually be constructed using the same variant of Pratt & Whitney engine and propeller combination, feature the same defensive armament and utilise the same basic aircraft equipment fit. Unfortunately for us modellers, there were quite a few occasions where significant equipment fit changes occurred mid-block, something which can lead to confusion when trying to identify individual aircraft and their definitive production block positioning.

The USAAF 453rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was constituted on 14th May 1943 and activated at the beginning of the following month. The unit was equipped with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and after a time training in California, were sent to fight in the European Theatre, based in the East of England – ground crews left first travelling by boat to England, whilst aircrews and their aircraft used the Mid-Atlantic ferry route to make their way to Britain. Their new home was to be US Station 144, the new airfield at Old Buckenham in Norfolk, an airfield which had been constructed specifically for its new American residents.

Making their combat introduction on 5th February 1944, the Group’s Liberators would be heavily involved in the strategic bombing campaign against enemy occupied Europe, targeting anything from airfields to rail marshalling yards, as the Allied air forces made their preparations for D-Day. The 453rd’s Liberators would also take part in ‘Big Week’, a concerted Allied effort to smash the German aircraft industry which saw almost 4000 bombers attacking strategic targets across Germany between 20th and 25th February 1944.

Full scheme details for this Old Buckenham based 453rd Bomb Group Liberator.

On D-Day itself, the Group was sent to destroy German shore gun emplacements sited along the French coast between Cherbourg and Le Havre, before then turning their attentions to targets further inland. The group would fly its final combat mission in the ETO on 12th April 1945 and whilst crews headed home prior to re-deployment to the Pacific, the end of the war would eventually see the Group disbanding.

B-24H Liberator 42-52234 ‘Corky Burgundy Bombers’ was manufactured at Ford’s mighty Willow Run plant and constructed with the inclusion of a Sperry gunsight as opposed to the more famous Norden alternative. The aircraft was delivered to the USAAF on 29th October 1943 and immediately flown to the Birmingham Alabama Modification Centre. Arriving at March Field California towards the end of November 1943, she was issued to crew 25 on 18th December, headed by pilot Lt. John Austin Nortridge, where they embarked on a period of combat work-up. On Sunday 30th January 1944, the aircraft arrived at Old Buckenham after flying the Mid-Atlantic ferry route and an intense period of flying and acclimatisation in the UK immediately followed.

This particular aircraft benefits form rather flamboyant decoration, not only on the nose of the aircraft, but also across the bomb bay doors and on many of the individual crew positions. Some of that artwork has been covered by the later fitting of additional armour protection on either side of the cockpit, where it was clearly felt that more physical protection would be of greater benefit to the crew than their decoration superstitions.

Scheme B – Consolidated B-24H-15-FO Liberator 42-52699 ‘Valiant Lady’, 831st Bomb Squadron, 485th Bomb Group, USAAF Fifteenth Air Force, Venosa, Italy, 1944.

Constituted as the 485th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on the 14th September 1943 and activated six days later, crews were sent to Fairmont Army Air Force Field in Nebraska for training with their new B-24 Liberators, prior to being sent to Europe and the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. Arriving in theatre from March 1944 onwards, the air component initially underwent an additional period of training in Tunisia, before joining their ground and support staff at their new base in Italy.

The group flew its first combat operation in May 1944 and would become specialists in undertaking long range bombing missions deep into enemy occupied Europe, including targets in France. As was the case with most of the USAAF daylight bombing force, they would be employed in supporting preparations for D-Day, but also made several devastating visits to the various German oil refinery sites in southern Europe, targets which became so crucial during the final stages of the Second World War.

Some of the Group’s final bombing missions were in support of British Eighth Army ground operations in Northern Italy, however, by the end of May 1945, the Group had arrived back home in the US. The Group consisted of the Liberators of Nos.828, 829, 830 and 831 Squadrons and during their time in Europe, they flew exclusively from the airfield at Venosa.

The airfield at Venosa was a semi-permanent facility in the south of the country, near the town of Cerignola, constructed by US engineers from September 1943 and part of the wider Foggia complex of Allied airfields. Consisting of a single Pierced Steel Planking runway, extensive taxiways and hard standings and at least initially, a rather rudimentary wooden control tower, the airfield opened on 14th March 1944 and would become home to the Liberators of the 485th Bombardment Group, which operated from there over an intense 14-month period of operational flying.

Crews who operated from the airfield during the war described how the land at the end of the runway fell away into a valley and when taking off with a full load of fuel and bombs, how pilots immediately retracted the aircraft’s undercarriage and used the additional height offered by the valley to steady their heavy ship and start to slowly gain height. During normal operations, aircraft would take off towards the valley and land flying over it.

More colourful nose artwork adorns this Italian based USAAF 15th Air Force Liberator.

When the weather was good, the Group’s Liberators would usually fly missions at least two, but often four times a week and when the aircraft returned, the ground crews would take over, working into the small hours to prepare aircraft, clean and service guns and even patch up flak damage, ensuring as many aircraft as possible were serviceable for the following day’s operations. Once their work was done, they were free to enjoy some down time, although most were so exhausted that they just slept. Without the professionalism and dedication of the various ground trades, the Allied bombing campaign would simply have ground to a halt.

Consolidated B-24H Liberator 42-52 ‘Valliant Lady’ was one of the Venosa based bombers which probably made use of that small valley at the end of its runway at the start of a bombing mission and was constructed at the Ford Willow Run plant during 1943. During a mission to Linz in Austria on 20th January 1945, the aircraft sustained flak damage and began to run low on fuel, so the pilot headed for an emergency landing strip on Viz Island in the Adriatic Sea. The situation proved so serious that the aircraft’s engines ran out of fuel and cut out whilst they were still two miles from the airstrip. The aircraft landed heavily on the sea and broke in two, almost immediately beginning to sink beneath the waves and tragically as a result, six members of the crew did not survive the incident.

Another distinctively presented Liberator, the two scheme options included with this impressive new kit mark USAAF aircraft which were heavily engaged in the bombing of targets in enemy occupied Europe, but from bases at opposite ends of Europe, a fascinating aspect of USAAF operations which rarely receives any attention these days. The kit will also serve as a scale tribute to both the brave airmen who operated them during the Second World War and the unsung ground trades who were so crucial to the bombing campaign, but rarely receive any recognition at all for their monumental efforts.

If we can start to look forward to a proposed Spring release for our new Liberator kit, you can therefore also expect us to be re-visiting this subject once more in the coming weeks, where that time, we will be looking at built sample models of the B-24, hopefully with examples finished in both of the scheme options featured above.

New Airfix B-24H Liberator 12 ‘O’ Clock high! Best keep your eyes peeled for this beauty. 

Until then, please don’t forget to check out our other blog posting for the week, where an unusually presented Battle of Britain Messerschmitt Bf 109E is the subject of our attentions.

We are afraid that's all we have for you in this latest edition, but we will be back next Friday with more project development updates and the very latest Airfix kit exclusives. In the meantime, we are always keen to hear your views on all things Airfix and in particular, any thoughts and opinions you may have regarding our Workbench blog. If you would like to drop us a quick line, could we please ask that you use our workbench@airfix.com email for all correspondence. 

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