Maiden Flight of B-24 Bomber Marked

A commemorative envelope to mark the 50th anniversary of the flight of the first Liberator B-24 Bomber was issued Friday at the San Diego Aerospace Museum.

The twin-tailed, World War II bomber built in San Diego by Consolidated Aircraft Corp. took its maiden flight from Lindbergh Field on Dec. 29, 1939.

More than 18,000 of the four-engine planes were built in the United States, and flown by the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marines, said Bob McGuire, founder of the B-24 Liberator Club. The backbone of Allied air raids in Europe and the Pacific from 1942-1945, the Liberators were also flown by England, Australia and Canada, he said.

The 50th anniversary envelope, issued by the Liberator Club and canceled by the U.S. Post Office, bears an illustration of two of the bombers in formation with a Privateer, a single-tailed bomber flown by the U.S Navy in the Pacific.

The first 500 envelopes will also include a 3-cent 1942 Win the War stamp and a 22-cent, contemporary flag stamp, McGuire said.

The commemorative birthday envelopes will be sold for $2 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 pm. in the rotunda of the museum at 2001 Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park. Proceeds benefit the museum.