Strikeback! Modelling The B-24 Liberator In RAAF Service

The RAAF did not receive its first B-24s until February 1944 and these were theatre-transferred ex-combat aircraft from the 90th and 380th Heavy Bombardment Groups of the USAAF, fit only for training. It was not until 6 July 1944 that the first operational flight of a RAAF Liberator was made, meaning that the type had an operational history in the RAAF of just 13 months.  The RAAF was well aware of its unbalanced force without a four-engine bomber and had tried unsuccessfully for almost two years prior to this to obtain Liberators both direct from the USA and from RAF Lend-Lease stocks. At the same time the government was making every effort to get an equivalent RAF bomber design built in Australia.  Apart from the 13 camouflaged theatre transfers, the remaining 275 Liberators were brand new and all operated in natural metal finish (NMF), known within the modelling fraternity as ‘boring old silver’. This book examines the RAAF’s Liberators from the modeller’s perspective.  Full attention is paid to the myriad of differences between models, field conversions and production blocks. Numerous photographs and manual drawings guide the modeller through every stage of their Liberator project.

AUTHOR – Bob Livingstone
PUBLISHER – Red Roo Models
FORMAT – Softback
PAGES – 100
PUBLISHED – 2005
ISBN – N/A