The story
The Navy wanted a dedicated long-range patrol bomber, so Consolidated reworked the B-24 Liberator into the Privateer: a longer fuselage with room for a flight engineer, a single tall fin in place of the twin tails, and no ball turret or turbosuperchargers. It first flew in September 1943, and the Navy took delivery of 739, most of them after the war ended. Privateers flew maritime patrol, electronic intelligence, weather reconnaissance and, over Korea, night flare missions, and many later became air tankers until a fatal in-flight breakup in 2002 ended that work. One flies today: N2871G, BuNo 66302, a former Coast Guard P4Y-2G based at Casa Grande, Arizona.
Privateers carried the Bat, a radar-homing glide bomb, one under each wing. It saw combat off Borneo in April 1945 and is considered the first fully automated guided missile used in combat.
Quick answers
How do you identify a PB4Y-2 Privateer?
A Liberator's long, slender high wing with four radials, but a longer fuselage and one very tall fin instead of the B-24's twin tails. Large oval waist windows on the rear fuselage. N2871G flies in bare metal.
What does a PB4Y-2 Privateer sound like?
Four big Wright Cyclone radials, fitted when N2871G became a tanker: a deep, heavy drone.
How fast is the PB4Y-2 Privateer?
Top speed is 215 kts.
How many people does the PB4Y-2 Privateer carry?
Typical configuration: Crew of 11 on patrol.
How far can the PB4Y-2 Privateer fly?
Range is about 2,285 nmi.
How big is the PB4Y-2 Privateer?
It is 74 ft 7 in long and 110 ft 0 in across the wings.
When did the PB4Y-2 Privateer first fly?
Its first flight was in 1943.
How many PB4Y-2 Privateers have been built?
739 built.
How rare is a PB4Y-2 Privateer in Bogey?
RARE. A good day. Most spotters go weeks between sightings of something this rare. Your first PB4Y-2 Privateer catch is worth 250 points.
