Liberators took on bombing, recon missions in Pacific

[thedrifter]

Lore of the Corps
Liberators took on bombing, recon missions in Pacific
By Robert F. Dorrand Fred L. Borch - Special to the Times
Posted : September 24, 2007

The B-24 Liberator was the most numerous military aircraft ever manufactured in the U.S., with more than 18,000 built in five factories during World War II. But only a couple hundred of the bombers, known as the PB4Y-1 model, went to the Marine Corps.

The 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into World War II and suddenly made it necessary to wage war across vast expanses of the Pacific. The B-24 was the longest-range warplane in inventory.

Starting in 1942, the Navy acquired 977 of the four-engine bombers, according to “B-24 Liberator in Action” by Larry Davis. About 200 of the Navy’s planes ended up in Marine hands.

The Marine Corps had established a tradition of using airpower to provide direct support to its ground forces. Yet in the Pacific, leathernecks flew a different kind of mission that was indistinguishable from the Army Air Forces — the predecessor of today’s Air Force.

B-25 Mitchell bombers, known as PBJs, operated in half a dozen Marine squadrons and flew bombing missions identical to those flown by the AAF. Similarly, Marine crews in PB4Y-1 Liberator bombers flew long-range bombing missions much like those flown by the AAF’s Pacific bomb groups.

The Marines also operated the PB4Y-1P version of the Liberator, a photo reconnaissance aircraft equipped with cameras.

According to Peter M. Bowers and Gordon Swanborough’s book “United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911,” Marine Liberators usually carried eight .50-caliber machine guns and could haul up to 8,000 pounds of bombs on a typical mission.

In his book, “B-24 Liberator,” Alan G. Blue describes the deployment of Marine photographic reconnaissance squadrons: “Dis-patched to Espirito Santo in mid-October 1942, VMD-254 eventually flew over 300 photo reconnaissance missions. � before it returned to the U.S. in January 1944.

“Other Marine photo-recce units that saw action with the PB4Y-1 were VMD-154, which received its first Liberator during January 1943, and VMD-354, which got its first aircraft one a year later.”

Though Marine Liberators also flew hundreds of bombing missions, it appears that no complete description of their accomplishments has been published.

Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net. Fred L. Borch retired from the Army after 25 years and works as the regimental historian for the Army JAG Corps. His e-mail address is borchfj@aol.com.

Ellie

[Eddie Z]

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