Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer

{{Short description|Patrol bomber of the US Navy, 1943}} {{For|the earlier aircraft designated P4Y|Consolidated XP4Y Corregidor}} {{Use American English|date=October 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox aircraft |name= PB4Y-2/P4Y-2 Privateer |image= File:PB4Y-2 Privateer VP-23 in flight.jpg |image_border= yes |caption= U.S. Navy PB4Y-2 from VP-23 in flight. |type= Maritime patrol bomber |national_origin= United States |manufacturer= Consolidated Aircraft |designer= |first_flight= |introduction= 1943 |retired= 1954, U.S. Navy<br />1958, U.S. Coast Guard |status= |primary_user= United States Navy |more_users= United States Coast Guard |produced= 1943–1945 |number_built= 739 |unit cost= |developed_from= Consolidated B-24 Liberator |variants= }}

The '''Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer''' is an American World War II and Korean War era patrol bomber of the United States Navy derived from the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The Navy had been using B-24s with only minor modifications as the '''PB4Y-1 Liberator''', and along with maritime patrol Liberators used by RAF Coastal Command, this type of patrol plane was proven successful. A fully navalized 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.<ref name=NHHC1>{{cite web |title=PB4Y: Liberator and Privateer |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |date= |year= |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/aircraft-us/aircraft-usn-p/pb4y-1.html | accessdate=13 May 2025}}</ref> In 1951, the type was redesignated '''P4Y-2 Privateer'''. A further designation change occurred in September 1962, when the remaining US Navy Privateers (all having previously been converted to drone configuration as P4Y-2K) were redesignated QP-4B.

==Design and development== [[File:PB4Y-2 with bats NAN2-46.jpg|thumb|A PB4Y-2B carrying ASM-N-2 Bat glide bombs.]]

The Privateer was externally similar to the Liberator, but the fuselage was longer to accommodate a flight engineer's station, and it had a tall single vertical stabilizer rather than the B-24's twin tail configuration. The Navy wanted a flight engineer crewmember to reduce pilot fatigue on long duration over water patrols. The single vertical tail was adopted from the United States Army Air Forces' canceled '''B-24N''' design (and was slightly taller on the Privateer) because it would increase stability at low to medium altitudes for maritime patrol. The Ford Motor Company, which produced B-24s for the USAAF, had earlier built an experimental variant ('''B-24K''') using a single tail.<ref name='baugher'>Baugher, Joe. [http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b24_23.html "Consolidated B-24N Liberator."] ''American Military Aircraft.'' Retrieved: 13 November 2010.</ref> Aircraft handling was improved. The single tail design was used on the B-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 Browning machine guns in six power-operated turrets (two dorsal, two waist, nose and tail); the B-24's ventral, retractable Sperry ball 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's astrodome 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 in fairings at various locations on the fuselage of the Privateer, including a manually retractable AN/APS-2 radome behind the nose wheel well.

The Navy eventually took delivery of 739 Privateers, the majority after the end of the war. Several PB4Y-2 squadrons saw operational service in the Pacific theater through August 1945 in the reconnaissance, search and rescue, electronic countermeasures, communication relay, and anti-shipping roles (the latter with the ASM-N-2 "Bat" radar-guided bomb).

==Operational history== The Privateer entered U.S. Navy service during early 1944,<ref name=NHHC1/> Patrol Bomber Squadrons 118 and 119 (VPB-118 and VPB-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 the Marianas. On 2 March 1945 VPB-119 began "offensive search" missions out of Clark Field on Luzon in the Philippines, flying sectored searches of the seas and coastlines extending from the Gulf of Tonkin in the south, along the Chinese coast, and beyond Okinawa in the north.

Privateers were used as typhoon/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 near Batan Island in the Philippines. 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.<ref>Tannehill, Ivan Ray. ''The Hurricane Hunters.'' New York: Dodd Mead, 1955. {{ISBN|0-396-03789-5}}.</ref> 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.

thumb|right|U.S. Coast Guard P4Y-2G BuNo 66306

PB4Y-2s were also used during the Korean War to fly "Firefly" night illumination missions dropping parachute flares to detect North Korean and Chinese seaborne infiltrators. In addition, Privateers were used by the U.S. Navy for signals intelligence (SIGINT) flights off of the coast of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. On 8 April 1950, Soviet La-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,"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stanglin |first1=Doug |title=Missing in Action: US Flyers Sacrificed to Stem the Red Tide |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/irish-independent-us-navy-pb4y-2-priva/168477062/ |work=Irish Independent |date=March 8, 1993 |location=Dublin |page=8 |access-date=March 21, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> the aircraft was assigned to Patrol Squadron 26 (VP-26), Det A.<ref>[http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/res12e522/ColdWar.html "Intrusions, Overflights, Shootdowns and Defections During the Cold War and Thereafter."] ''ncnetwork.net.'' Retrieved: 25 July 2011.</ref>

The French ''Aéronavale'' was supplied with Privateers via the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, which they used as bombers during the Indochina War and later operated out of Bizerte, Tunisia and Algiers.

All U.S. Navy PB4Y-2s were retired by 1954, though unarmed PB4Y-2G Privateers served until 1958 with the Coast Guard before being auctioned off for salvage.

The Navy dropped the patrol-bomber designation in 1951 and its remaining PB4Y-2s were redesignated '''P4Y-2 Privateer'''. (The earlier XP4Y-1 Corregidor was a completely different design, based on the Consolidated Model 31 twin-engine flying boat.) PB4Y-2s were still being used as drones in the 1950s/early 1960s, designated '''PB4Y-2K''', and '''P4Y-2K''' after 1951. They were then redesignated '''QP-4B''' under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, becoming part of the new patrol number series between the Lockheed P-3 Orion and the Martin P-5 Marlin.<ref>Gordon Swanborough, Peter M. Bowers: ''United States Navy aircraft since 1911.'' Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland (USA) 1990, p. 106. {{ISBN|0-87021-792-5}}</ref>

A number of PB4Ys were supplied to the Republic 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, near Xiamen, People's Republic of China. The crew of nine was killed. Another was shot down on 15 February 1961 by Burmese Hawker 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 Chinese Kuomintang forces fighting in northern Burma.<ref>Pocock, Chris. ''The Black Bats: CIA Spy Flights Over China From Taiwan, 1951–1969''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-7643-3513-6}}.</ref>

===Privateers in aerial firefighting=== [[File:P4Y.jpg|right|thumb|P4Y-2 Tanker '''123''' BuNo 66260 (N7620C), of Hawkins & Powers in service supporting the CDF, at Chester Air Attack Base in the late 1990s—crashed 18 July 2002.]] [[File:Consolidated PB4Y-2 Naval Aviation Museum.jpg|right|thumb|PB4Y-2 BuNo 66261 (marked as BuNo 66304) in the collection of the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida.]]

A limited number of refitted PB4Ys and P4Ys continued in civilian service as airtankers, dropping fire retardant on forest fires throughout the western United States. On 18 July 2002, one such refitted P4Y, BuNo 66260 operated by Hawkins and Powers Aviation of Greybull, Wyoming broke up in flight while flying over a wildfire near Rocky Mountain National Park. Both crew members were killed in the accident, and the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded all large air tankers in the region.<ref name=firehouse>[https://web.archive.org/web/20021006163015/http://firehouse.com/lodd/2002/co_jul19.html "Two Die in Crash Fighting Colorado Wildfire."] ''Firehouse.com.'' Retrieved: 13 November 2010.</ref> 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. (See 2002 United States airtanker crashes.)

==Variants== ;YPB4Y-2: prototypes, three built. ;PB4Y-2: main production version, 736 built. ;PB4Y-2B: PB4Y-2s equipped to launch ASM-N-2 ''Bat'' air-to-surface missiles. Redesignated P4Y-2B in 1951. ;PB4Y-2M: PB4Y-2s converted for weather reconnaissance. Redesignated P4Y-2M in 1951. ;PB4Y-2S: PB4Y-2s equipped with anti-submarine radar. Redesignated P4Y-2S in 1951. ;PB4Y-2G: PB4Y-2s converted for air-sea rescue and weather reconnaissance duties with the U.S. Coast Guard. Redesignated P4Y-2G in 1951. ;PB4Y-2K: PB4Y-2s converted to target drones. Redesignated P4Y-2K in 1951 and QP-4B in 1962.

==Operators== {{See also|List of Consolidated B-24 Liberator operators#PB4Y Privateer operators}}

{{unreferenced section|date=March 2024}} ;{{flag|Canada|1921}} ;{{ROC}} ;{{FRA}} ;{{HON}} ;{{flag|United States|1912}} * United States Navy * United States Coast Guard

==Surviving aircraft== thumb|P4Y-2G Super Privateer BuNo 66302. ;Airworthy ;;P4Y-2G * 66302 – based in Casa Grande, Arizona.<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=2871G "FAA Registry: N2871G"] ''FAA.gov'' Retrieved: 29 July 2021.</ref><ref>[http://www.gosshawkunlimited.com/restoration/consolidated-pb4y-2-privateer/ "PB4Y-2 Privateer/66302"] ''GossHawk Unlimited'' Retrieved: 2 November 2018.</ref> ;On display ;;PB4Y-2 * 59701 – Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting in Greybull, Wyoming.<ref>[https://goodall.com.au/warbirds-directory-v6/consolidated.pdf "PB4Y-2 Privateer/59701"] ''Warbird Directory: Consolidated Page 7'' Retrieved: 21 September 2022.</ref> * 59819 – Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.<ref>[https://pimaair.org/museum-aircraft/consolidated-pb4y-2/ "PB4Y-2 Privateer/59819"] ''Pima Air and Space Museum'' Retrieved: 2 November 2018.</ref> * 59876 – Michigan Flight Museum in Belleville, Michigan.<ref>[https://yankeeairmuseum.org/aircraft-collection/ "PB4Y-2 Privateer/59876"] ''Yankee Air Force'' Retrieved: 13 November 2020.</ref> * 59882 – Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting in Greybull, Wyoming.<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=7962C "FAA Registry: N7962C"] ''FAA.gov'' Retrieved: 29 July 2021.</ref><ref>[https://goodall.com.au/warbirds-directory-v6/consolidated.pdf "PB4Y-2 Privateer/59882"] ''Warbird Directory: Consolidated Page 7'' Retrieved: 21 September 2022.</ref> * 59932 (nose only) ''Over Exposed'' – The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. Displayed as a B-24D.<ref>[http://www.nationalww2museum.org/us-freedom-pavilion-the-boeing-center/consolidated-b-24-liberator.html "PB4Y-2 Privateer/59932"] ''National World War II Museum'' Retrieved: 16 July 2014.</ref> * 66261 – National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.<ref>[https://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/aircraft/pb4y-2-privateer/ "PB4Y-2 Privateer/66261"] ''National Naval Aviation Museum'' Retrieved: 13 November 2020.</ref> * 66300 – Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=2872G "FAA Registry: N2872G"] ''FAA.gov'' Retrieved: 29 July 2021.</ref><ref>[https://yanksair.org/exhibition/consolidated-pb4y-2-privateer/ "PB4Y-2 Privateer/66300"] ''Yanks Air Museum'' Retrieved: 21 September 2023.</ref>

==Specifications (PB4Y-2)== thumb|3-view line drawing of the Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer {{Aircraft specs |prime units?=imp

|ref=''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II'',<ref>Bridgeman 1946, pp. 217–218.</ref> ''Historic Naval Aircraft''<ref>Polmer 2004, p. 77.</ref> & ''General Dynamics Aircraft''<ref>Wegg 1990, p. 101.</ref> |crew=11: two pilots, navigator, bombardier, five gunners, two radio operators |length ft=74 |length in=7 |length m=22.73 |span ft=110 |span in=0 |span m=33.53 |height ft=30 |height in=1 |height m= |wing area sqft=1,048 |wing area sqm= |empty weight lb=27,485 |empty weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb=65,000 |max takeoff weight kg= |fuel capacity={{cvt|3964|usgal|l impgal}} |eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94 |eng1 type=radial engines |eng1 number=4 |eng1 hp=1,350 |eng1 kw= |max speed mph=247 |max speed note=at {{cvt|14000|ft|m}}<br/>{{cvt|238|mph|km/h kn}} at sea level |cruise speed mph=175 |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed kmh= |range miles=2,630 |range note=combat range with {{cvt|2000|lb|kg}} bomb load |ceiling ft=21,000 |wing loading lb/sqft=62 |power/mass= |guns=12 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in six turrets |bombs=Up to {{cvt|8000|lb|kg}} of bombs, mines, or torpedoes }}

}}

==References== ;Notes {{Reflist}} ;Bibliography {{Refbegin}} * Bridgeman, Leonard. "The Consolidated Vultee Privateer." ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II.'' London: Studio, 1946. {{ISBN|1-85170-493-0}}. * Polmar, Norman. ''Historic Naval Aircraft: From the pages of Naval History Magazine''. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's Inc, 2004. {{ISBN|1-57488-572-3}}. * Wegg, John. ''General Dynamics Aircraft: And their Predecessors''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990. {{ISBN|0-87021-233-8}}. {{Refend}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer}} * [http://www.avialogs.com/en/aircraft/usa/consolidated/pb4yprivateer/flight-manual-pb4y-2-airplane.html Manual: (1945) Flight Manual PB4Y-2 Airplane] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424225051/http://www.avialogs.com/en/aircraft/usa/consolidated/pb4yprivateer/flight-manual-pb4y-2-airplane.html |date=2018-04-24 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311130920/http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/consolid/pb4y-2.htm Consolidated PB4Y-2 'Privateer'] – Aviation Enthusiast Corner * [http://www.warbirdalley.com/pb4y2.htm Warbird Alley] * [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/pb4y-2.htm Globalsecurity.org] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193039/http://www.aero-web.org/locator/manufact/consolid/pb4y.htm Aeroweb's PB4Y Location List] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211112/http://www.aero-web.org/database/museums/gallery.htm?airmast=pb4y%20con Aeroweb's PB4Y at Lone Star Flight Museum] – Lone Star Flight Museum

{{Consolidated B-24 Liberator family}} {{Consolidated aircraft}} {{USN patrol aircraft}} {{US patrol aircraft}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Consolidated Pb4y-2 Privateer}} PB4Y Category:1940s United States patrol aircraft Category:Four-engined tractor aircraft Category:High-wing aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1943 Category:Four-engined piston aircraft Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear