R2Y Liberator Liner
A Consolidated R2Y-1 in Navy markings.
Role	Prototype military transport aircraft and Prototype cargo aircraft Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Consolidated Aircraft
First flight	15 April 1944
Status	Experimental
Primary users	United States Navy American Airlines
Number built	1
Developed from	Consolidated B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated R2Y "Liberator Liner" (Consolidated Model 39) was an airliner derivative of the B-24 Liberator built for the United States Navy by Consolidated Aircraft.

Development and service

The XR2Y-1, as the single prototype was known in Navy service, used the high-aspect wing and tricycle landing gear of the Liberator. The fuselage was an entirely new design, and the vertical stabilizer was taken from the PB4Y Privateer.^[1] The final design looked much like a smaller, high-wing Boeing B-29 Superfortress, but with windows for passengers.

The aircraft was meant to carry passengers or cargo to distant Navy bases, but after a brief evaluation the prototype was demilitarized in the mid-1940s, returned to Convair, and leased to American Airlines as a freighter with the name "City of Salinas".^[2]

Specifications (R2Y-1)

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: unknown
• Capacity:
  
  • 48 passengers
  • Their baggage
  • 1,200 lb (550 kg) of mail
  • 12,000 lb (5,500 kg) of cargo (after refit)
• Length: 90 ft 0 in (27.45 m)
• Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in (33.55 m)
• Airfoil: Davis (22% at root to 9.3% at wingtip)
• Gross weight: 56,000 lb (25,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 64,000 lb (29,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94 radial engines, 1,200 hp (900 kW) each

Performance

• Cruise speed: 240 mph (380 km/h, 210 kn)
• Range: 4,000 mi (6,400 km, 3,500 nmi) at 200 mph (322 km/h)