Consolidated B-24 Liberator XC-109 / C-109

The C-109 was a dedicated fuel transport conceived as a support aircraft for Boeing B-29 Superfortress operations in central China. Unlike the C-87 it was not built on the assembly line but converted from existing B-24 bomber production.

To save weight the glass nose, armament, turret fairings and bombardment equipment were removed and several storage tanks installed. The converted aircraft carried fuel from India to Chinese bases across the Himalayas — the Hump route — to sustain the first B-29 raids against Japan.

It was hazardous work: an aircraft full of high-octane fuel, flying one of the worst-weather routes in the world with slim altitude margins. Together with the C-87 and the British Liberator transport conversions, the C-109 shows how far the Davis wing and the B-24's range made the type useful well beyond bombing.