81R7203 MMS-D
By: Craddick H.C.R. No. 52
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Commemorative Air Force, whose mission is to
preserve the military aviation history of the United States, owns
the oldest and only flight-worthy B-24A Liberator in existence; and
WHEREAS, A heavy bomber, the B-24A was the first production
model of a plane built by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation and
used by every branch of the U.S. armed forces during World War II,
as well as by a number of Allied forces; because of its long range,
the plane was suited not only for bombing missions, but also for
reconnaissance, cargo and personnel transport, and marine and
antisubmarine patrol; by the end of the war, nearly 18,500 B-24s had
been manufactured, more than any other American combat aircraft of
the period; and
WHEREAS, The B-24 had its genesis in 1938, when the army
approached Consolidated Aircraft about the possibility of its
becoming a second supplier of the B-17; Consolidated responded,
however, with a proposal for a different design, and the army
subsequently asked the company to develop a plane that would exceed
the B-17 in speed, ceiling capacity, and range; later designated
the B-24, the aircraft that Consolidated outlined in response to
the request was the first American heavy bomber to use retractable
landing gear; the new plane also incorporated such distinctive
features as two rudders and vertical fins, hydraulically operated
wing flaps, bomb bay doors, and power brakes; and
WHEREAS, The army subsequently requested several prototypes
from Consolidated, and in 1939 it placed an order for 38 B-24As,
before any version of the plane had actually flown; in the end, only
nine planes were built to A model specifications; another nine were
converted on the assembly line to the C model design, and the
remaining 20 were converted for use by the British Royal Air Force,
which was the first to dub the plane the "Liberator"; and
WHEREAS, The United States Army Air Forces received their
first B-24As in 1941 and, like the British, used them initially as
transport planes; one of the U.S. craft carried presidential
advisor Averell Harriman and Britain's Lord Beaverbrook to Moscow
in the fall of 1941, to assess the Soviet need for aid after the Nazi
invasion of that country; a later model of the B-24 was modified for
use by Winston Churchill as his personal aircraft; and
WHEREAS, American B-24s first saw combat in June 1942, and
over the next three years they served in every theater of the war;
in the Pacific, they eventually replaced the B-17, owing to their
longer range, and in Europe, they performed yeoman service as
strategic bombers for the U.S. 8th, 9th, and 15th Air Forces; they
were also instrumental in subduing the German U-boat threat in the
Atlantic; following the war, the B-24 was employed extensively in
the Pacific as a transport plane to aid in the rebuilding of Japan,
China, and the Philippines; and
WHEREAS, The rare B-24A owned by the Commemorative Air Force
is based at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison; known as "Ol'
927," the plane is flown in air shows during the spring, summer, and
fall, and it will soon be embarking on its Land of Liberty Tour,
during which it will make appearances throughout Texas; the tour is
intended to encourage a renewed appreciation for patriotism and
freedom among children and adults alike, and informative
programming will be provided by the American Airpower Heritage
Museum, the educational complement to the CAF; and
WHEREAS, The B-24 played a critical role in the Allied
victory in World War II, and it is fitting that its importance to
the Allied effort in that global conflict be appropriately
recognized; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby designate "Ol' 927," the B-24A Liberator owned and
maintained by the Commemorative Air Force, as the official World
War II Aircraft of Texas.