View source for Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express

{{Short description|Transport derivative of the B-24 Liberator}}
{{more footnotes|date=January 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
  |name= C-87 Liberator Express
  |image= File:C-87-liberator-express.jpg
  |caption=
  |type= [[Military transport aircraft]]
  |manufacturer= [[Consolidated Aircraft]]
  |designer=
  |first_flight=
  |introduction= [[1942 in aviation|1942]]
  |retired=
  |status= Retired
  |primary_user= [[United States Army Air Forces]]
  |more_users= [[Royal Air Force]] <br /> [[United States Navy]]
  |produced=
  |number_built= 287
  |unit cost=
  |developed_from =  [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]]
  |variants=
}}

The '''Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express''' was a transport derivative of the [[B-24 Liberator]] heavy bomber built during [[World War II]] for the [[United States Army Air Forces]]. A total of 287 C-87s were delivered by [[Consolidated Aircraft]] from its plant in [[Fort Worth, Texas]]. 

The plant also developed and delivered a USAAF [[flight engineer]] trainer designated the '''AT-22.'''  Other versions included the AAF '''C-87A,''' an executive transport version; and the '''RY,''' a [[United States Navy]] [[VIP]] transport. 

The Navy also ordered the '''RY-3,''' a Navy-contracted, single-tail version with an extended fuselage built in San Diego; the AAF also ordered the design under the designation C-87C. Those were cancelled and allotted to a [[Royal Air Force]] VIP transport designated the '''Liberator C.IX.'''

The [[C-109 Liberator]] was a fuel-transport converted from existing B-24s.<ref name="c-109">https://web.archive.org/web/20090304014706/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b24_27.html Consolidated C-109</ref>

==Design and development==
The C-87 was hastily designed in early 1942 to fill the need for a heavy cargo and personnel transport with longer range and better high-altitude performance than the [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]], the most widely available [[United States Army Air Forces]] transport aircraft at the time. Production began in 1942.

The first C-87 prototype was 41–11608.  The design included various modifications, including the elimination of gun turrets and other armament along with the installation of a strengthened cargo floor, including a floor running through the bomb bay. The glazed nose of the bombardier compartment of the B-24 was replaced by a hinged metal cap to allow loading the nose compartment, which in the bomber version can only be reached through a crawlspace under the cockpit floor.  A cargo door was added to the port side of the fuselage, just forward of the tail, and a row of windows was fitted along the sides of the fuselage.

The C-87 could be fitted with removable seats and racks to carry personnel or litters in place of cargo.  In its final configuration, the C-87 could carry between 20 and 25 passengers or {{cvt|12000|lb|kg}} of cargo. Because of wartime production bottlenecks and shortages, many C-87 aircraft were fitted with turbosuperchargers producing lower boost pressure and thus unable to sustain power at the same altitudes as those fitted to B-24s destined for combat use, and ceiling and climb rate were accordingly reduced.

===C-87A VIP transport===
In 1942 and 1943, several C-87 aircraft were converted into VIP luxury passenger transports by adding insulation, padded seats, dividers, and other accommodations.  The modified aircraft, designated C-87A, could carry 16 passengers.  One C-87A, serial ''41-24159'', was converted in 1943 to a presidential VIP transport, the ''Guess Where II'', intended to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on international trips.  Had it been accepted, it would have been the first aircraft to be used in presidential service, i.e. the first [[Air Force One]].  However, the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]], after a review of the {{nowrap|C-87's}} controversial safety record, flatly refused to approve the ''Guess Where II'' for presidential carriage.<ref name= "Dorr"/> The ''Guess Where II'' was used to transport senior members of the Roosevelt administration and in March 1944, flew [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] on a goodwill tour of several Latin American countries.<ref name= "Dorr">Dorr 2002, p. 134.</ref>

===XC-87B===
A [[Accidents and incidents involving the Consolidated B-24 Liberator#17 February 1943|damaged B-24D]], 42-40355, became what is referred to as the XC-87B with an extended fuselage and low-altitude engine packages. This transport, named ''Pinocchio'', was later converted to a single tailfin with [[Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer|PB4Y-2 Privateer]]-type engine packages. This should not be confused with the cancelled XC-87B, a proposed an armed transport version of the C-87.

==Operational history==
[[File:Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express.jpg|thumb|C-87 Liberator Express takes off from Fort Worth, Texas on a test flight in October 1942.]]

Most C-87s were operated by the [[Air Transport Command (United States Air Force)|U.S. Air Transport Command]] and flown by formerly civilian crews from U.S. civil transport carriers. The planes were initially used on transoceanic routes too long to be flown by the C-47. After the [[Japanese invasion of Burma]] in 1942, the C-87 was used for flying war material from India to American and [[China|Chinese]] forces over "[[The Hump]]", the treacherous air route that crossed the [[Himalayas]]. When the route was established, the C-87 was the only readily available American transport with high-altitude performance good enough to fly this route while carrying a large cargo load.

The C-87 was plagued by numerous problems and suffered from a poor reputation among its crews. Veteran airline pilot and author [[Ernest K. Gann]], in his 1961 memoir ''[[Fate is the Hunter]]'', wrote: "They were an evil bastard contraption, nothing like the relatively efficient B-24 except in appearance." Complaints centered around electrical and hydraulic system failures in extreme cold at high altitudes, a disconcertingly frequent loss of all cockpit illumination during takeoffs, and a flight deck heating system that either produced stifling heat or did not function at all.<ref>Gann, Ernest K. (1961), ''Fate is the Hunter'', Simon & Schuster. {{ISBN|0-671-63603-0}}, pp. 214–215</ref>

The C-87 did not climb well when heavily loaded, a dangerous characteristic when flying out of the unimproved, rain-soaked airfields of India and China; many were lost on takeoff with the loss of just a single engine. Gann's book recounts a near-collision with the [[Taj Mahal]] after takeoff in a heavily loaded C-87 when full flaps had to be hastily deployed to increase the aircraft's altitude to avoid the edifice. The aircraft's auxiliary long-range fuel tanks were linked by improvised and often leaky fuel lines that crisscrossed the crew compartment, choking flight crews with noxious [[gasoline]] fumes and creating an explosion hazard. The C-87 also had a tendency to enter an uncontrollable [[stall (flight)|stall]] or [[spin (flight)|spin]] when confronted with even mild [[icing conditions]], a frequent occurrence over the Himalayas. Gann said they "could not carry enough ice to chill a [[highball]]".<ref>Gann (1961), p. 214</ref>

The aircraft could also become unstable in flight if its [[center of gravity]] shifted due to improper cargo loading.  This longitudinal instability arose from the aircraft's hasty conversion from bomber to cargo transport.  Unlike a normal cargo transport, which was designed from the start with a contiguous cargo compartment with a safety margin for fore-and-aft loading variations, the bomb racks and bomb bays built into the B-24 design were fixed in position, greatly limiting the aircraft's ability to tolerate improper loading.  This problem was exacerbated by wartime exigencies and the failure of USAAF Air Transport Command to instruct [[loadmaster]]s in the C-87's peculiarities. The design's roots as a bomber are also considered culpable for frequently collapsing [[landing gear|nosegear]]; its strength was adequate for an aircraft that dropped its payload in flight before landing on a well-maintained runway, but it proved marginal for an aircraft making repeated hard landings on rugged unimproved airstrips while heavily loaded.

Despite its shortcomings and unpopularity among its crews, the C-87 was valued for the reliability of its Pratt & Whitney engines, superior speed that enabled it to mitigate significantly the effect of head and cross winds, a [[Ceiling (aeronautics)#service ceiling|service ceiling]] that allowed it to surmount most weather fronts, and range that permitted its crews to fly "pressure-front" patterns that chased favorable winds.<ref>Gann (1961), pp. 216–217</ref> The C-87 was never fully displaced on the air routes by the [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster]] and [[Curtiss C-46 Commando]], which offered similar performance combined with greater reliability and more benign flight characteristics. Some surviving C-87 aircraft were converted into VIP transports or flight crew trainers, and several others were sold to the Royal Air Force.

==Variants==
;C-87
:USAAF transport variant of the B-24D with seats for 25 passengers, 278 built.<ref name="Andrade">Andrade 1987, pp. 42, 82, 87.</ref>
;C-87A
:VIP version for 16 passengers, three for the USAAF and three to the United States Navy as RY-1.<ref name="Andrade" />
;C-87B
:Proposed armed variant, not built.<ref name="Andrade" />
;XC-87B
Conversions with stretched forward compartment and LB-30 type low altitude power packages. Later PB4Y-2 type power packages and single tail (see RY-3/C-87C). 42–40355. (Total: 1 conversion)
;C-87C
:Proposed USAAF variant of the RY-3, designation not used.<ref name="Andrade" />
;RY-1
:United States Navy designation for three former USAAF C-87As fitted for 16 passengers.<ref name="Andrade" />
;RY-2
:Five former USAAF C-87s fitted for 20 passengers, a further 15 were cancelled.<ref name="Andrade" />
;RY-3
:A C-87 with the single tail and seven foot fuselage stretch of the [[PB4Y-2 Privateer]].  39 were built, and were used by the RAF Transport Command No. 231 Squadron, U.S. Marine Corps, and one was used by the RCAF.
;AT-22
:Five C-87s used for flight engineer training, later designated TB-24D.<ref name="Andrade" />
; Liberator C.VII
:Royal Air Force designation for C-87s supplied under Lend Lease<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205126691 | title=American Aircraft in Royal Air Force Service 1939-1945: Consolidated Liberator | access-date=10 April 2024 | archive-date=10 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240410090339/https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205126691 | url-status=live }}</ref>
;Liberator C.IX
:Royal Air Force designation for 26 RY-3s supplied under Lend-Lease. The designation meaning "Cargo (aircraft) Mark 9"

==Accidents and incidents==
The [[Aviation Safety Network]], part of the [[Flight Safety Foundation]], records 150 [[hull loss]] accidents involving the C-87 or the C-109 occurring between 1942 and 1964.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/types/Consolidated-C-87-Liberator-Express/statistics |title=Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Aircraft type index > Consolidated C-87 > Consolidated C-87 Statistics |last=Ranter |first=Harro |website=aviation-safety.net |access-date=2019-10-13 |archive-date=13 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013121230/https://aviation-safety.net/database/types/Consolidated-C-87-Liberator-Express/statistics |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 30 November 1943, a C-87 with a crew of four plus a passenger ran out of fuel flying from [[Kunming]], China to [[Jorhat]], India, when it was blown off-course by strong wind. All five aboard the plane landed near [[Tsetang]], [[Tibet]], and became some of the first Americans to visit [[Lhasa]].<ref>{{Cite magazine | title = ''Lost in Tibet: The Untold Story of Five American Airmen, a Downed Plane, and the Will to Survive.'' | url = https://www.afhistory.org/airpowerhistory/Air_Power_History_2006_summer.pdf | magazine = Air Power History | date = Summer 2006 | page = 55 | access-date = 22 November 2022 | archive-date = 15 June 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220615043648/https://www.afhistory.org/airpowerhistory/Air_Power_History_2006_summer.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

The worst accident took place 25 July 1944. All 27 on board USAAF C.87 ''41-11706'' were killed when it crashed on [[Nggela Islands|Florida Island]] in the south-west Pacific;<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19440725-1 |title=ASN Aircraft accident Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express 41-11706 Gaeta Village, Florida Island |last=Ranter |first=Harro |website=aviation-safety.net |access-date=2019-10-13 |archive-date=13 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013121238/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19440725-1 |url-status=live }}</ref> the crew were civilian employees of [[Consairway]] and the passengers were high-ranking British and American officers, including Royal Air Force [[Air Commodore]] [[I. J. Fitch|Isaac John Fitch]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-24/41-11706.html |title=Pacific Wrecks – C-87-CF Liberator Express Serial Number 41-11706 |last=PacificWrecks.com |website=pacificwrecks.com |language=en |access-date=2019-10-13 |archive-date=13 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013121234/https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-24/41-11706.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The next year, in July 1945 a Liberator C.VII (the British designation for the C-87) operated by the [[Royal Air Force]] bound for [[Manus Island]] failed to gain altitude after taking off from Sydney's now non-existent runway 22, struck trees and crashed into the ground in [[Brighton-Le-Sands, New South Wales|Brighton-Le-Sands]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Pearcy|first=Arthur|title=Lend lease aircraft in World War II|year=1996|publisher=Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers|location=United States|isbn=9780760302590|page=105|edition=1. publ.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Livingstone|first=Bob|title=Under the Southern Cross: the B-24 Liberator in the South Pacific|year=1998|publisher=Turner Publishing Company|location=Paducah, KY|isbn=9781563114328|page=122|edition=Limited}}</ref> The aircraft exploded on impact, killing all 12 passengers and crew on board. The victims were from the British, Australian and New Zealand armed forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/nsw173.htm|title=Crash of a C-87 Liberator Express 1 mile west of Mascot Airfield on 19 July 1945|access-date=24 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421021100/http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/nsw173.htm|archive-date=21 April 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another notable accident took place on 15 April 1957 when C-87 ''XA-KUN'', operated by TAMSA (Transportes Aéreos Mexicanos SA), crashed after take-off from [[Mérida International Airport|Mérida-Rejon Airport]], killing all on board, including the famous Mexican actor and singer [[Pedro Infante]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570415-0 |title=ASN Aircraft accident Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express XA-KUN Mérida-Rejon Airport (MID) |last=Ranter |first=Harro |website=aviation-safety.net |access-date=2019-10-13 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126062757/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570415-0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Operators==
;{{BOL}}

*Compañia Boliviana de Aviacion

;{{ROC}}

*[[Republic of China Air Force]] Three C-87 aircraft were attached to the 8th Bomber Group as transports.

;{{IND}}

*[[Indian Air Force]] Two C-87 aircraft recovered from an aircraft dump in [[Kanpur]] formed No.102 Survey Flight.<ref>[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Aircraft/Liberator.html "Liberator."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212001649/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Aircraft/Liberator.html |date=2009-12-12 }} ''bharat-rakshak.com.'' Retrieved: 9 December 2010.</ref>

;{{MEX}}

*TAMSA (Transportes Aéreos Mexicanos SA)

;{{UK}}

*[[Royal Air Force]]
**[[No. 231 Squadron RAF]]
;{{USA}}
*[[United States Army Air Forces]]
*[[United States Navy]]
*[[United States Marine Corps]]

==Specifications (C-87)==
[[File:Consolidated RY 3-view line drawing.png|thumb|3-view line drawing of the Consolidated RY]]

{{Aircraft specs
|ref=<ref name=joebaugher>{{cite web|last1=Baugher|first1=Joe|title=Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express|url=http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b24_26.html|website=joebaugher.com|access-date=16 September 2015|date=13 June 2004|archive-date=19 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019080551/http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b24_26.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|prime units?=imp
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|genhide=

|crew=four (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator)
|capacity=~25 passengers or {{convert|6000|lb|abbr=on}} of cargo for transatlantic flights and {{convert|10000|lb|abbr=on}} max for shorter flights
|length m=
|length ft=66
|length in=4
|length note=
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|span ft=110
|span in=0
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|height ft=17
|height in=11
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|wing area sqft=1048
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|empty weight lb=30645
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=56000
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
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|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity={{convert|2910|USgal|l impgal|abbr=on}}
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=4
|eng1 name=[[Pratt & Whitney R-1830-43]]
|eng1 type=14-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engines with [[General Electric]] turbo-superchargers
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 hp=1200
|eng1 note=at 2,700 rpm for take-off

|prop blade number=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop name=
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|perfhide=

|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=300
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=at {{convert|25000|ft|abbr=on}}
|max speed mach=<!-- supersonic aircraft -->
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=
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|never exceed speed kmh=
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|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed kts=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=1400
|range nmi=
|range note=at 60% power, {{convert|215|mph|kn kph|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10,000|ft|abbr=on}}
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=3300
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=at {{convert|215|mph|kn kph|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10,000|ft|abbr=on}}
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=28000
|ceiling note= at {{convert|56000|lb|abbr=on}} take-off weight
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude={{convert|20,000|ft|abbr=on}} in 60 minutes
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=

|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|armament=<!-- add bulletted list here or if you want to use the following 
specific parameters, remove this parameter-->
|guns= 
|bombs= 
|rockets= 
|missiles= 
|hardpoints=
|hardpoint capacity=
|hardpoint rockets=
|hardpoint missiles=
|hardpoint bombs=
|hardpoint other=

|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation}}
{{aircontent
|see also=
* [[1943 Liberator crash at Whenuapai]]
* [[Consairway]]
|related=
* [[Commando (aircraft)]]
* [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]]
* [[Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer]]
* [[Consolidated R2Y|R2Y Liberator Liner]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[Avro Lancastrian]]
* [[Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress]]
|lists=
* [[List of aircraft of World War II]]
* [[List of military aircraft of the United States]]
* [[List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)]]
}}

==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
* Andrade, John. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Hinckley, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. {{ISBN|0-904597-22-9}}.
* Baugher, Joe. [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b24_26.htm "Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express".]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''Joe Baugher's Encyclopedia of American Military Aircraft''. Retrieved: 25 April 2006.
* Baugher, Joe. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090304014706/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b24_27.html "Consolidated C-109".] ''Joe Baugher's Encyclopedia of American Military Aircraft''. Retrieved: 5 September 2008.
* Dorr, Robert F. ''Air Force One''. New York: Zenith Imprint, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7603-1055-6}}.
*[[Ernest K. Gann|Gann, Ernest K.]] ''[[Fate is the Hunter]]''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1961. {{ISBN|0-671-63603-0}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=PNcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9 ''Popular Mechanics,'' November 1943, "Cutaway Drawing C-87"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160412015917/http://images.google.com/hosted/life/6dda52bca6206e48.html Wendell Willkie arriving in Cairo 1942 on C-87 "Gulliver"... note double cargo door of genuine C-87]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140105195529/http://images.google.com/hosted/life/d91aefa1b8614612.html C-87 photo: on unknown remote field from Thomas McAvoy's 1944 ''Life'' essay, "Fireball Express to India"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140105195528/http://images.google.com/hosted/life/31653f8f008c0cf6.html C-87 photo: cockpit view from Thomas McAvoy's 1944 ''Life'' essay, "Fireball Express to India"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140105195536/http://images.google.com/hosted/life/2f26d7cb908d7ec5.html C-87 photo: nose loading hatch from Thomas McAvoy's 1944 ''Life'' essay, "Fireball Express to India"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160415232618/http://images.google.com/hosted/life/43a2d229e97cfb40.html C-87 photo with vintage truck from Thomas McAvoy's 1944 ''Life'' essay, "Fireball Express to India"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160411213338/http://images.google.com/hosted/life/2321b345b9a5842a.html C-87 pilot's view of Taj Mahal as mentioned in Ernest K. Gann reference, McAvoy/''Life'']

{{Consolidated B-24 Liberator family}}
{{Consolidated aircraft}}
{{USAF transports}}
{{USN transports}}

[[Category:Consolidated aircraft|C-087]]
[[Category:1940s United States military transport aircraft|Consolidated C-087 Liberator Express]]
[[Category:Four-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:High-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1942]]
[[Category:Four-engined piston aircraft]]
[[Category:Twin-tail aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]