Ever present in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to VJ-Day during World War
II (1939-1945), the B-24 Liberator proved to be the staple heavy bomber
of the campaign. From its ignominious beginnings in the Allied rout in
the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, the bomber weathered the
Japanese storm with a handful of bomb groups, which played a crucial
role in checking the enemy's progress firstly in New Guinea, and then
actively participating in the 'island hopping' campaign through the
south-west Pacific.