Consolidated B-24J Liberator, N7866 / 1470, Pima Air & Space Museum
This picture is © Martin Laycock and may not be used or published without permission.
Registration: N7866
Construction Number: 1470
Code Number: 20 / 'Shoot You're Covered'
Model Consolidated B-24J Liberator
Operator: Pima Air & Space Museum
Airport: Tucson - Pima Air and Space Museum, USA - Arizona
Photographer: Martin Laycock
Date Taken: 10/1992
Date Submitted: 14/07/2009
This B-24J was built by the Convair plant at Fort Worth, Texas in 1944, she was transferred to the Royal Air force as part of the Lend-Lease programme and was allocated the serial KH304. She was delivered to Cuttack in Eastern India where she served with 354 Squadron. On 5 May 1945 she was taken on charge by 203 Squadron based at Kankesanterai. After the war ended she was struck of RAF charge and was transferred to the Indian Air Force, she was refurbished by the IAF and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and was allocated the serial HE-877. She served with No 6 Squadron, the specialist Maritime Reconnaissance squadron of the Indian Air Force who became the world's last frontline operator of the B-24 Liberator. She was one of the more intensively used Indian B-24s, accumulating a total of 39,000 hours flying time in IAF service. This figure does not include her time in RAF service. Of particular interest, HE-877 provided photographic survey support to the first successful conquest of Everest, by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Several of the spectacular publicity photographs of Mount Everest released to the media at that time were taken by this aircraft. In late 1967 Rhodes F. Arnold, chairman of what was then the Tucson Air Museum Foundation's acquisition committee wrote to the Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force asking for the donation of a retiring B-24. The IAF agreed and on 28 March 1969 HE-877 now carrying the US civil registration N7866 left Pune. Her route took her to Karachi then on to Tehran-Athens-Naples-Madrid-Lajes-Newfoundland-Forestville-Washington DC-Fort Worth finally arriving in Tucson on the 27 April 1969. When this photograph was taken she was still displayed outside and wore the markings of the USAAF's 9th Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Group on her port side and Indian Air Force markings on her starboard side including the Flying Dragons badge of No 6 Squadron IAF. She is now on display inside Hangar 3 and wears 446th Bomb Group markings on her port side.
Picture ID:1182295