The new Model 32 combined the Davis wing, a high-efficiency airfoil design created by unorthodox means by a lone inventor named David Davis, with the twin tail design from the Consolidated Model 31 flying boat, both mated together on a new fuselage. After company executives including President Reuben Fleet visited the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington, Consolidated decided instead to submit a more modern design of its own. The Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B-17 under license. 4.3 British Commonwealth nomenclature and sub-variants.2.2 RAF/RCAF/US Navy maritime patrol service.At over 18,400 units, half by Ford Motor Company, it still holds the distinction as the most-produced American military aircraft. The B-24 ended World War II as the most produced heavy bomber in history. The B-24's most infamous mission was the low-level strike against the Ploiești oil fields, in Romania on 1 August 1943, which turned into a disaster because the enemy was underestimated, fully alerted and attackers disorganized. Nevertheless, the B-24 provided excellent service in a variety of roles thanks to its large payload and long range and was the only bomber to operationally deploy the United States' first forerunner to precision-guided munitions during the war, the 1,000 lb. Its high fuselage-mounted " Davis wing" also meant it was dangerous to ditch or belly land, since the fuselage tended to break apart. The B-24 was notorious among American aircrews for its tendency to catch fire. The placement of the B-24's fuel tanks throughout the upper fuselage and its lightweight construction, designed to increase range and optimize assembly line production, made the aircraft vulnerable to battle damage.
Popular opinion among aircrews and general staffs tended to favor the B-17's rugged qualities above all other considerations in the European Theater. Often compared with the better-known Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 was a more modern design with a higher top speed, greater range, and a heavier bomb load it was also more difficult to fly, with heavy control forces and poor formation-flying characteristics. The B-24 was used in World War II by several Allied air forces and navies, and by every branch of the American armed forces during the war, attaining a distinguished war record with its operations in the Western European, Pacific, Mediterranean, and China-Burma-India Theaters. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California.
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