US Consolidated PBY4 ''Privateer'' Patrol Plane

By Crusader1307

The Consolidated PBY4 ''Privateer'' was a US Navy Patrol Aircraft derived from the B-24 ''Liberator'' Bomber. A shorter aircraft fuselage, The PBY4 was first deployed in 1943 to detect Enemy surface and sub-surface Vessels primarily in The Pacific Theater of World War II. Crewed by (11), The ''Privater'' was 75-feet long with a 110-foot wingspan. It was powered (4) Pratt & Whitney Radial Engines capable of 1,350-HP. The craft could achieve 300-mph. The PBY4 could range over 2,800-miles with an operational ceiling of 21,000-feet. Armament for The ''Privateer'' included (12) M2 .50 Caliber Machine Guns positioned throughout the fuselage. The munitions package included the ability to deploy over 12,000 Bombs, Mines or Torpedoes. Well over 12 dozen variants were produced until 1959. Although replaced by The US Military, The ''Privateer'' Class would be used throughout the 1970s as a Firefighting Aircraft in The US and in many other Nations.