| PB4Y-2/P4Y-2 Privateer | |
|---|---|
 U.S. Navy PB4Y-2 fromVP-23 in flight. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Maritime patrol bomber |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Consolidated Aircraft |
| Primary users | United States Navy |
| Number built | 739 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1943–1945 |
| Introduction date | 1943 |
| Retired | 1954, U.S. Navy 1958, U.S. Coast Guard |
| Developed from | Consolidated B-24 Liberator |
TheConsolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer is an AmericanWorld War II andKorean War erapatrol bomber of theUnited States Navy derived from theConsolidated B-24 Liberator. The Navy had been using B-24s with only minor modifications as thePB4Y-1 Liberator, and along with maritime patrol Liberators used byRAF Coastal Command, this type of patrol plane was proven successful. A fullynavalized design was desired, and Consolidated developed a dedicated long-range patrol bomber with tests begun in 1943, designated PB4Y-2 Privateer. The first version of the Privateer flew in September 1943 with production versions arriving in March 1944.[1] In 1951, the type was redesignatedP4Y-2 Privateer. A further designation change occurred in September 1962, when the remaining US Navy Privateers (all having previously been converted todrone configuration as P4Y-2K) were redesignated QP-4B.
The Privateer was externally similar to the Liberator, but thefuselage was longer to accommodate aflight engineer's station, and it had a tall singlevertical stabilizer rather than the B-24'stwin tail configuration. The Navy wanted a flight engineercrewmember to reducepilot fatigue on long duration over water patrols. The single vertical tail was adopted from theUnited States Army Air Forces' canceledB-24N design (and was slightly taller on the Privateer) because it would increasestability at low to mediumaltitudes formaritime patrol. TheFord Motor Company, which produced B-24s for the USAAF, had earlier built an experimental variant (B-24K) using a single tail.[2] Aircraft handling was improved. The single tail design was used on theB-32 Dominator and PB4Y-2 and was slated for the proposed B-24N production model to be built by Ford, but that order (for several thousand bombers) was canceled on 31 May 1945.
Defensive armament on the PB4Y-2 was increased to twelve.50-in (12.7 mm)M2 Browningmachine guns in six power-operatedturrets (two dorsal, two waist, nose and tail); the B-24's ventral, retractable Sperryball turret was omitted.Turbosuperchargers were not fitted to the Privateer's engines since maritime patrol missions were not usually flown at high altitude, improving performance and also saving weight.
The navigator'sastrodome was moved from its (B-24/PB4Y-1) position on the aircraft's upper nose to behind the first dorsal gun turret.Electronic countermeasure (ECM), communication and radar antennas also protruded or were enclosed infairings at various locations on thefuselage of the Privateer, including a manually retractableAN/APS-2radome behind the nose wheel well.
TheNavy eventually took delivery of 739 Privateers, the majority after the end ofthe war. Several PB4Y-2squadrons saw operational service in thePacific theater through August 1945 in thereconnaissance,search and rescue,electronic countermeasures, communication relay, andanti-shipping roles (the latter with the"Bat" radar-guided bomb).
The Privateer entered U.S. Navy service during early 1944,[1] Patrol Bomber Squadrons 118 and 119 (VPB-118 andVPB-119) being the first Fleet squadrons to equip with the aircraft. The first overseas deployment began on 6 January 1945, when VPB-118 left for operations in theMarianas. On 2 March 1945 VPB-119 began "offensive search" missions out ofClark Field onLuzon in the Philippines, flying sectored searches of the seas and coastlines extending from theGulf of Tonkin in the south, along the Chinese coast, and beyondOkinawa in the north.
Privateers were used astyphoon/hurricane hunters from 1945 to the mid-1950s. One aircraft, designated BuNo 59415 of VPB-119, went down when it experienced mechanical trouble while investigating a Category 1 typhoon nearBatan Island in thePhilippines. It attempted to land on the island, but was unable to do so and crashed. It was one of only six hurricane hunter flights ever lost, and the only one found.[3] Another P4Y-2S, designated BuNo 59716 of Squadron VW-3 (formerly VJ-1), was lost during reconnaissance of Super Typhoon Doris on 16 December 1953. Flying out of NAS Agana, Guam, the Privateer with a crew of nine was tracking Typhoon Doris with sustained winds of 90-95 knots near the small island of Agrihan north of Guam. No sign of the crew nor wreckage of the plane was ever found.
PB4Y-2s were also used during theKorean War to fly "Firefly" night illumination missions droppingparachute flares to detectNorth Korean and Chinese seaborne infiltrators. In addition, Privateers were used by the U.S. Navy forsignals intelligence (SIGINT) flights off of the coast of theSoviet Union and the People's Republic of China. On 8 April 1950, SovietLa-11 fighters shot down a U.S. Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer (BuNo 59645) over the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Liepāja, Latvia. Nicknamed the "Turbulent Turtle,"[4] the aircraft was assigned toPatrol Squadron 26 (VP-26), Det A.[5]
The FrenchAéronavale was supplied with Privateers via theMutual Defense Assistance Act, which they used as bombers during theIndochina War and later operated out ofBizerte,Tunisia andAlgiers.
All U.S. Navy PB4Y-2s were retired by 1954, though unarmed PB4Y-2G Privateers served until 1958 with theCoast Guard before being auctioned off for salvage.
The Navy dropped the patrol-bomber designation in 1951 and its remaining PB4Y-2s were redesignatedP4Y-2 Privateer. (The earlierXP4Y-1 Corregidor was a completely different design, based on the Consolidated Model 31 twin-engine flying boat.) PB4Y-2s were still being used asdrones in the 1950s/early 1960s, designatedPB4Y-2K, andP4Y-2K after 1951. They were then redesignatedQP-4B under the1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, becoming part of the new patrol number series between theLockheed P-3 Orion and theMartin P-5 Marlin.[6]
A number of PB4Ys were supplied to theRepublic of China Air Force for use in missions over the People's Republic of China. One was shot down by ground fire on 12 September 1954, nearXiamen, People's Republic of China. The crew of nine was killed. Another was shot down on 15 February 1961 by BurmeseHawker Sea Fury fighter aircraft, near the Thai-Burmese border, killing five members of the crew. Two other crew members were taken prisoner. This aircraft was carrying supplies for ChineseKuomintang forces fighting in northernBurma.[7]
A limited number of refitted PB4Ys and P4Ys continued in civilian service asairtankers, dropping fire retardant on forest fires throughout the western United States. On 18 July 2002, one such refitted P4Y, BuNo 66260 (seen in picture to right) operated by Hawkins and Powers Aviation ofGreybull, Wyoming broke up in flight while fighting a wildfire nearRocky Mountain National Park. Both crew members were killed in the accident, and theFederal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded all large air tankers in the region.[8] Despite the fact that the crash was the result of poor maintenance, and a much newer C-130 based aircraft also broke apart due to similar stresses, all remaining Privateers were retired. (See2002 United States airtanker crashes.)
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Data fromJane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II,[20]Historic Naval Aircraft[21] &General Dynamics Aircraft[22]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
