PB4Y-2 'Privateer' by junge1
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Description
This aircraft is one of the 740 PB4Y-2 'Privateers'.built during WWII by Consolidated-Vultee in San Diego, CA. The Privateers were an adaption of the B-24 'Liberator' for use as a long-range patrol and surface attack bomber by the Navy. The changes included a single 16 foot tall tail, a 7-foot longer fuselage to house a surface radar, and engines that performed better at low altitudes.
Wingspan - 110-ft Engine - Pratt & Whitney R 1830-94 (1350 hp)
Length - 74-ft 7 inches Range - up to 3,800 miles
Height - 29-ft Bomb Load - 4,000 pounds
The late 1950's saw the Privateers being phased out of Navy and Coast Guard service. A number were acquired by aerial fire fighting companies who removed the guns and other military equipment and installed tanks to drop retardants on forest fires. In 1970, Hawkins and Powers, the aerial fire fighting company based here in Greybull, changed the engines on their Privateers to Wright R 2600's taken from B-25 bombers. The R 2600s were more readily available and while their extra 350 hp could not be directly used because the aircraft was limited to it's original horsepower rating, these engines could be run at lower outputs to prolong their service life. Hawkins and Powers also replaced the original cockpit canopies with one-piece canopies of better visibility in the smokey and crowded airspace around a forest fire. These 'Superprivateers' carried a total of 2,400 gallons of retardant in four tanks that could be dropped simultaneously or in a sequence to form an extended fire line.
A series of air tanker crashes in 2002 led to the retirement of all WWII aircraft from Federal fire fighting. A total of 12 Privateers served during a period of 43 years in fighting fires throughout the continental US and Alaska.
This picture was taken at the Greybull, Wyoming airport on 11 August 2015, Sig...
Comments (19)
so cool to see this type of aircraft and its history is amazing thanks for sharing
Very interesting....thanks
Neat ! I remember seeing a Privateer on a forest fire in 1967. (not one in this mod). Our crew was on a rim and the airplane was making runs below us.
Nice find. There are a heap of Liberator shots in my gallery if you are interested. Andrew. https://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/?uid=448556&page_number=3
Glad to see another one of these fine planes still around.
great relic of WWII and capture
Fantastic picture of this old warbird.
cool
Great plane, thank you for the info!
Stunning capture my friend. God bless.
Funny plane !
Great photo and interesting summary of this aircraft. Learned something today, thanks!
Great shot angle! You've really shown off the shape and functionality of this aircraft.
wonderful capture
It has an insect face!
nice shot
Marvelous photo of this big workhorse!
Very cool mate, not often I see one of these.. Sorry am not on here much now, trying to assemble life once mlore. Rob
Refreshing to see this variant of the Liberator. When I was at the Liberator Museum in the mid-1990's in Pueblo, Colorado where the crews were trained they had no actual Liberator. I checked yesterday while describing it to a friend who lives near Barksdale. Still no Liberator there. Yours is doubly interesting, therefore.