List of B-24 Liberator Surviving Aircraft

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was a 4-engine, twin-tail heavy bomber designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego. Its first flight was on December 29, 1939, and it began service in 1941.

The B-24's spacious, slab-sided fuselage was built around a central bomb bay with two compartments that could accommodate up to 8,000 pounds of ordnance each. The B-24 provided excellent service in a variety of roles due to its large payload and long range.

B-24 Liberator Surviving Aircraft

A total of 18,493 Liberators were built, more than any other airplane in World War II. Several factories produced the Liberator:

Original Consolidated plant in San Diego

A second Consolidated plant in Fort Worth

Ford Motor Co. at Willow Run, Michigan

North American Aviation in Dallas

Douglas Aircraft Co. in Tulsa

After the end of World War II in August of 1945, the U.S. Army Air Corp found itself with thousands of surplus, and now obsolete, B-24 Liberators. Most were sent to military aircraft boneyards for temporary storage, sale, or scrapping and smelting into aluminum ingots. While some planes were sold and continued usage in civilian aviation, most ended their service, not in combat, but in the smelter at locations such as Kingman Army Air Field in Arizona.

Read more about B-24 Liberator storage, scrapping and smelting into ingots after World War II



Of the massive numbers of Liberators that were built, only thirteen are known to exist around the world, either on display (10), under restoration (1), or airworthy (2).

B-24 Liberators in the United States

In the United States, only two aircraft are airworthy, and six complete airplanes are on static display, for a total of eight B-24 Liberator survivors, shown below listed by state. Other Liberators are on display around the world.





B-24 Liberator at the Imperial War Museum in the U.K.

Another B-24M is on display at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, U.K. It was built at the Ford Willow Run plant as S/N 44-51228, and assigned to the Wright Aeronautical Development Center in Minneapolis, Minnnesota, for ice research.

The bomber was retired from active service in 1954. It was flown to the Lackland Air Force Base Enlisted Mens Basic Training Centre in San Antonio, Texas, where it was displayed on the edge of the parade ground. Many recruits who passed through Lackland scratched there names/initials on it.

In early 1999 it was recovered by the Imperial War Museum. Today, it is painted as S/N 44-50493, "Dugan".

Other B-24 Liberators on Display

Model S/N Location Status City B-24L 44-50206 Royal Air Force Museum Static Display London, UK B-24L 44-50154 Canada Aviation and Space Museum Static Display Ottawa, Canada B-24J 44-44213 Indian Air Force Museum Static Display Delhi, India

B-24 Liberator Restoration in Australia

There is also a B-24M being restored in Australia, the last surviving Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Liberator, RAAF serial number A72-176. The plane was delivered from the United States in late 1944 as USAAF Serial Number 44-41956. The restoration is being done at a hangar at the former RAAF Werribee Aerodrome in Victoria.

The RAAF operated 287 B-24D, B-24J, B-24L and B-24M models from 1944 to 1948.

Read about the 2018 status of the restoration at AcesFlyingHigh

PB4Y-2 Privateer Survivors

The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer was a World War II and Korean War era patrol bomber of the United States Navy based on the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.

Read more about the PB4Y-2 and survivors on this website

PB4Y-2 Privateer 59-819 at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona

B-24J Liberator "Louisiana Belle II" Photos by Airplanes Of The Past



view more photographs of Louisiana Belle II Consolidated (Ford) B-24J Liberator "Louisiana Belle II" S/N 44-48781 at the Barksdale Global Power Museum

B-24J Liberator "Bungay Buckaroo" Photographs by Airplanes Of The Past



view more photographs of Bungay Buckaroo Consolidated B-24J Liberator "Bungay Buckaroo" S/N 44-44175 at the Pima Air & Space Museum

B-24J Liberator "Witchcraft" Photos by Airplanes Of The Past



view more photographs of Witchcraft Consolidated B-24J Liberator "Witchcraft" (S/N 44-44052) of the Collings Foundation

B-24D Liberator at the Hill Aerospace Museum ... Photographs by Airplanes Of The Past

B-24J Liberator "Straberrry Bitch" Photos by Airplanes Of The Past



view more photographs of B-24 Strawberry Bitch Nose art on B-24 Liberator "Strawberry Bitch"

More Photographs of B-24 Survivors





B-24 Liberator "Diamond Lil" of the Commemorative Air Force in flight (Photo courtesy of the CAF)



B-24 Liberator "Shady Lady" on display at the Castle Air Museum in California