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B-24 LIBERATOR
British Commonwealth Variants

Liberator B Mk I
B-24A, direct purchase aircraft for the RAF. (Total: 20) Considered unsuitable for combat, some rebuilt as the GR.1 and used in British anti-submarine patrol squadrons.

Liberator B Mk II
The first combat-ready B-24. The modifications included a three-foot nose extension as well as a deeper aft fuselage and wider tailplane—there was no direct B-24 equivalent but similar to the B-24C, built to meet British specifications with British equipment and armament. A small series of B Mk IIs were reconstructed as unarmed transports, designated the LB-30 with the USAAF. (Total production: 165)

Royal Air Force LB-30 WRG#: 0027205
Royal Air Force LB-30
[Source: Unknown]

Liberator B Mk III
B-24D variant with single .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the nose, two in each waist position, and four in a Boulton Paul tail turret—similar to that on contemporary British heavy bombers such as the Halifax—as well as other British equipment. The Martin dorsal turret was retained. (Total: 156)

RAF Coastal Command Liberator GR.III of No. 120 Squadron. WRG#: 0027206
RAF Coastal Command Liberator GR.III of No. 120 Squadron.
[Source: Imperial War Museum]

Liberator B Mk IIIA: Lend-Lease B-24Ds with American equipment and weapons.

Liberator B Mk IV
Reserved for the B-24E, but there is no record of the RAF actually receiving any.

Liberator B Mk V
B-24D modified for extra fuel capacity at the cost or armor, with the same armament fit as the Liberator Mk III.

RAF Coastal Command  Liberator GR. V of 86 Squadron in 1943. WRG#: 0027207
RAF Coastal Command Liberator GR. V of 86 Squadron in 1943.
[Source: Imperial War Museum]

Liberator B Mk VI
B-24Hs in RAF service fitted with Boulton Paul tail turrets, but retaining the rest of their armament.

Liberator B Mk VIII
RAF designation for B-24Js.

Liberator GR Mk V
B-24D modified by RAF Coastal Command for the anti-submarine role with search radar and Leigh Light. Some were fitted with eight zero-length rocket launchers, four on each wing.

Liberator GR Mk VI
B-24G/H/J type used as a long-range general reconnaissance aircraft by RAF Coastal Command.

Liberator GR Mk VIII
B-24J modified by RAF Coastal Command for the anti-submarine role.

Liberator C Mk VI
Liberator B Mk VIII converted for use as a transport.

Liberator C Mk VII
British designation for C-87.

Liberator C Mk VIII
Liberator G Mk VIII converted for use as a transport.

Liberator C Mk IX
RAF designation for the RY-3/C-87C


Sources:
Gunston, Bill - The Encyclodepia of the Worlds Combat aircraft, 1976, Chartwell Books, Inc., New York
Wikipedia

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