Editing Consolidated B-24 Liberator (section)

====C-87 Liberator Express====
{{Main|Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express}}
In early 1942, with the need for a purpose-built transport with better high-altitude performance and longer range than the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, the San Diego plant began sending B-24D models to Fort Worth for conversion into the C-87 transport. The conversion had a hinged cargo door at the nose eliminating transparent nose and large cargo doors installed in the waist area. The C-87 had a large cargo floor, less powerful supercharged engines, no gun turrets, a floor in the bomb bay for freight, and some side windows. The navigator's position was relocated behind the pilot. Indigenous Fort Worth C-87 and AT-22 production began with the FY 1943 order for 80 serial-numbered airframes 43-30548 through 43–30627.

The C-87A was a dedicated VIP series built in small quantity. Early versions were fitted with a single .50 caliber (12.7&nbsp;mm) Browning machine gun in their tails, and a XC-87B version proposed two .50 caliber (12.7&nbsp;mm) fixed machine guns for the nose, operable by the pilot, though these were eventually removed. The XC-87B also designated a resurrected crash victim B-24D (42-40355) fitted with low altitude power packages and a forward fuselage extension. The extended nose earned it the name Pinocchio. Later modifications gave it a single tail and yet another type of engine packages bring it to near C-87C configuration. Other C-87 designations were the [[1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system|U.S. Navy designation]] '''RY''' and Lend Lease Liberator Cargo VII.

Although only 287 C-87 and eight U.S. Navy RY variants were produced, they were still important in the Army Air Forces' airlift operations early in the war when aircraft with high-altitude, long-range heavy hauling abilities were in short supply. The C-87 flew in many theaters of war, including much hazardous duty in flights from Labrador to Greenland and Iceland in the North Atlantic. In the [[China Burma India Theater of World War II|China Burma India Theater]] (CBI), the C-87 was used to airlift cargo and fuel over [[the Hump]] (the [[Himalayas]]) from [[India]] to [[China]]. Early in the campaign, the C-87 was the only readily available American transport that could fly over the Himalayas while heavily loaded, rather than relying on circuitous and highly dangerous routes through valleys and mountain passes, but the type was not very popular with crews: they complained of various hazards including the fuel system, engines and cockpit accessories, while the type was notorious for leaking fuel tanks and mid-air fires a constant danger.<ref name=":1" /> The C-87 also shared the Liberator's dangerous sensitivity to icing, particularly prevalent over Himalayan routes.<ref name=":0" /> With these difficulties in mind it is little wonder the ATC India China Division was the only unit in the Command to be combat decorated during WWII, having been awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation.

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The C-87 was not always popular with the aircrews assigned to fly it. The aircraft had the distressing habit of losing all cockpit electrical power on takeoff or at landings, its engine power and reliability with the less-powerful superchargers also often left much to be desired. It proved to be quite vulnerable to icing conditions, and was prone to fall into a spin with even small amounts of ice accumulated onto its Davis wing. Since the aircraft had been designed to be a bomber that dropped its loads while airborne, the C-87's nose [[landing gear]] was not designed for landing with a heavy load, and frequently it collapsed from the stress. Fuel leaks inside the crew compartment from the hastily modified long-range fuel system were an all-too-common occurrence. Lastly, unlike a typical purpose-designed transport, the B-24 was not designed to tolerate large loading variations because most of its load was held on fixed bomb racks. Consequently, it was relatively easy for a poorly trained ground crew to load a C-87 with its [[center of gravity]] too far forward or aft, rendering the aircraft difficult to control due to inadequate or excessive longitudinal stability. In his autobiography, ''[[Fate is the Hunter]]'', the writer [[Ernest K. Gann]] reported that, while flying air cargo in India, he barely avoided crashing an improperly loaded C-87 into the [[Taj Mahal]]. As soon as more dependable [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster]] and [[Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando]] transports became available in large numbers, C-87s were rapidly phased out of combat zone service, with some later used as VIP transports or B-24 flight crew trainers.