Warbird Information Exchange

hey there! ive just been enjoying a visit to the b24 page of the warbird registry and read a brief mention of a pb4y2 to be used in the restoration of a b24. now myself being of a mechanical mind and knowing a little bit about the b24 i cant help but notice the similarities between these two aircraft. while this may not be news to most of you out there, i would like to ask if the similarities are more than just skin deep?? are they basically the same airframe with a different tail assembly grafted on? are the systems on board compatable with eachother or is it a whole different bird all together? what im getting at is that i noticed that there are several examples of pb4y2 aircraft in airworthy or near airworthy condition on the same website. would a group interested in restoring a b24 be able to use the airframe from a pb4y2 to build a clone b24? of course it wouldnt be historically valuable but arent a lot of the components from newer restorations on warbirds replacement parts to the same effect? anyway it seemed an interesting avenue to explore on paper . anybody out there have any input on the feasability or practicality of this little pipe dream of mine???

Pipe Dream from want I'm told,the looks are jest skin deep.

Quite a few differences from the PB4Y2 to the B-24's. Consolidated did build the B-24N with a single tail, for testing, late 1944. The 4Y2 fuselage was about 8 Feet longer than a standard B-24 to accept the aft upper deck Martin 250 turret and the Erco side blister turrets. Not an easy swap-a-rue!!

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John Lane, Jr.

thanks for taking the time to respond guys! the more i look at the photos the more differences i notice, particularily the the wings being further forward on the b24. the outer wing panels appear to be a bit different also. im truly amazed that there arent more b24s flying today but i guess that they werent as useful after the war as the b17 and other planes were. they sure put out some effort to get rid of these warbirds didnt they!!