Consolidated Pb4y-2 Privateer

Quad Piston

The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer was the U.S. Navy's purpose-built maritime patrol bomber of World War II and the early Cold War, derived from the famous B-24 Liberator but extensively redesigned for long-range anti-submarine and reconnaissance missions over the Pacific. Unlike its Army Air Forces cousin, the Privateer featured a distinctive single vertical stabilizer instead of the B-24's twin tails, along with a lengthened fuselage, more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines, and specialized radar equipment for hunting submarines and surface vessels across vast oceanic expanses. First flown in 1943, it arrived too late to see significant combat in WWII but became a workhorse during the Korean War and remained in Navy service until 1954, with some airframes continuing in civilian roles as fire bombers and cargo haulers well into the 1990s. Powered by four 1,350-horsepower radials driving the Privateer to a maximum speed around 237 knots and a range exceeding 2,800 nautical miles, the type could loiter for hours on patrol at economical cruise settings, making it ideal for the tedious work of ocean surveillance. Its robust construction and large payload capacity later made surviving examples popular with aerial firefighting operators, though the demanding nature of low-altitude fire suppression took a heavy toll on the aging airframes. Today, the PB4Y-2 is among the rarest of flyable WWII-era heavy aircraft, with only a handful of examples preserved in museums and perhaps one or two still maintained in airworthy condition by dedicated warbird enthusiasts. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.