"Work on a B-24 variant that was better suited to the Navy's requirements began on May 3, 1943, when Consolidated/Vultee was instructed to allocate three PB4Y-1s for conversion into a more advanced patrol aircraft designated XPB4Y-2. The company designation of Model 40 was initially applied to the project, but the project was eventually assigned the new model number 100 in the old Vultee series. The name *Sea Liberator* was initially assigned to the PB4Y-2, but this was quickly changed to *Privateer*.
The Navy wanted a long-range maritime patrol aircraft which had a better performance at low altitudes. Since most Navy Liberator missions were flow at low or medium altitudes, the turbosuperchargers of the PB4Y-1 were thought to be unnecessary and a considerable weight savings could be achieved if they were omitted. The Navy also wanted to increase the Liberator's aerodynamic stability at low altitudes. In early 1942, Consolidated had demonstrated in wind tunnel tests that the Liberator would be more stable if the twin fins and rudders were replaced by a single tail fin and rudder. In addition, the Navy wanted to add a flight engineer's station which would help to reduce pilot fatigue on long patrols.
Three PB4Y-1s were allocated for the initial conversions. Bureau of Aeronautics serials were 32086, 32095, and 32096. A seven-foot extension was added to the forward fuselage to accommodate a flight engineer's station. The engines were changed to the non-supercharged 1350 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94. The oil cooler scoops were repositioned above and below the nacelle instead of on each side, changing the orientation of the elliptically-shaped nacelles from horizontal to vertical. A tall vertical tail was planned which would increase the overall height of the aircraft to 29 feet 1 5/8 inches, but the XPB4Y-2 initially retained the twin-tail Liberator configuration while the new single-tail was being tested.
The defensive armament was also beefed up. The PB4Y-2 carried two Martin A-3 power turrets mounted on the dorsal spine, one immediately behind the cockpit and one immediately ahead of the vertical tail. The nose had the ERCO 250 SH ball turret that had also been retrofitted to some of the early PB4Y-1s that had been based on the glass-nosed B-24D. The tail carried a standard Consolidated A-6B turret. The flexible waist positions of the PB4Y-1 were replaced by ERCO 250 THE teardrop-shaped waist blisters. Each of these blisters contained an internal powered ball turret which allowed both fore and aft traverse as well as up and down movement. Each blister carried a pair of 0.50-inch machine guns. When both turrets were depressed to maximum, the guns converged to a point 30 feet below the PB4Y-2. Consequently, the protection provided by these blisters against threats from below was deemed to be sufficiently adequate that it was decided that no additional ventral defensive armament was needed, and the Sperry belly ball turret fitted to many PB4Y-1s was omitted.
Cabin heating was provided by Convair exhaust heat exchangers. Eight JATO units could also be fitted. However, JATO units were very experimental and were not actually used in any of the active squadrons.
The first of three XPB4Y-2 prototypes flew on September 20, 1943. They were all initially flown without the single-tail modification, and the first two also retained the standard B-24 engine package. The first prototype retained the twin-tail configuration throughout its life, but the second prototype was eventually fitted with a small C-54-type single-fin vertical tail. Only the third prototype was fitted with the large-sized vertical tail that was eventually mounted on the production Privateer.
On October 15, 1943, 660 PB4Y-2s were ordered, followed a year later by an order for a second batch of 710 machines. All of them were to be built by Convair/San Diego. First Privateer deliveries began in March of 1944. The last of 739 Privateers was delivered in October of 1945. The remaining Privateers on the order were cancelled following V-J Day.
The Privateer entered Navy service during the late summer of 1944. VB-118 and VB-119 were the first Fleet squadrons to equip with the Privateer. In October of 1944, squadrons previously labeled "VB" were redesignated "VPB", and VB-118 and VB-119 became VPB-118 and VPB-119 respectively. The first overseas deployment began on January 6, 1945, when VPB-118 left for operations in the Marianas.
The Privateer was used exclusively in the Pacific theatre in WW 2, where it was used primarily for patrol missions in support of amphibious operations during the latter stages of the Pacific war. The crew was typically 11 to 13 on these missions. No other Navy aircraft had the Privateer's range and versatility on these patrol missions. The Privateers flew up to 16-hour missions in support of the invasion of Iwo Jima. Navy Privateers also performed a variety of other missions--they searched out and destroyed enemy radar and radio/navigational stations, troop ships, sea and land targets and other targets of opportunity. They reported on weather, on enemy positions and actions, located downed airmen, and coordinated rescue operations. They provided cover and recovery for many of the B-29 missions flown out of the Marianas against Japan. Many Privateers were outfitted as communications platforms and were operated as electronic countermeasures aircraft agains enemy positions and equipment.
Operational Privateers had numerous bumps and bulges underneath the fuselage and nose which housed various air-to-surface radar and radar countermeasures antennae. Equipment that could be carried included AN/APR-1 (100-950 MHz), AN/APR-2 (900-1000 MHz), and AN/APR-5 (1000-3100 MHz) radar intercept receivers which included direction finders and pulse analyzers. Also installed were AN/ARR-5 and AN/ARR-7 communications intercept receiver and AN/APT-1 *Dina* (90-220 MHz), AN/APT-5 *Carpet* (450-720 MHz), and AN/APQ-2 *Rug* (450-720 MHz) jammers. Although all this equipment could not be carried at the same time, racks were provided to carry specific pieces of equipment as required for a given mission.
Three squadrons (VPB-109, VPB-123, and VPB-124) were equipped with PB4Y-2Bs which carried an ASM-N-2 Bat anti-shipping radar-homing glide bomb underneath each wing. The Bat was 12 feet long, hand a 10-foot wingspan, and weighed 1600 pounds. The first operational use of the Bat was on April 23, 1945 when a VPB-109 Privateer launched a pair of these gliding bombs against enemy shipping in Valikpapan harbor on Borneo.
The first Privateer loss was an aircraft from VPB-106 which was ditched in October of 1944 in the Gulf of California. All crew were saved. The first Privateer combat loss was 59477 from VPB-121, which went down on January 12, 1945. The last Privateer combat loss of the war was 59495 from VPB-121, which was shot down on August 14, 1945 off the coast of Honshu. In all, 61 PB4Y-2 Privateers were lost in action during the War."
And
"Specification of Consolidated-Vultee PB4Y-2 Privateer:
Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94 fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, each rated at 1350 hp. Performance: Maximum speed 248.5 mph at 12,000 feet. Cruising speed 158 mph. Initial climb rate 1180 feet per minute. An altitude of 10,000 feet could be reached in 16.3 minutes. Service ceiling 18,300 feet. Range 2630 miles with 4000 pound bombload. Patrol range 2900 miles with 3964 US gallons fuel. Dimensions: wingspan 110 feet 0 inches, length 74 feet 7 inches, height 29 feet 1 1/2 inches, wing area 1048 square feet. Weights: 39,400 pounds empty, 64,000 pounds gross. Armament: Twelve 0.50-inch machine guns distributed as follows: two in nose turret, two in forward dorsal turret, two in rear dorsal turret, two in tail turret, two in left side blister turret, two in right side blister turret. Bombload of 8000 pounds could be carried."
From
http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b24_38.htmlFWIW, I think this would be an excellent aircraft for AH. Well armed but not overly so, good payload but not a strato-buff.
-Smut
