quote: What is a C-109?
‘But first, a short background and description of the C-109.
The need for a tanker came about when the only route into China from India was across the Himalayas, known colloquially as, “The Hump.”
A proposal to bomb the Japanese homeland from India would require refuelling stops on Chinese airfields to enable the tanks of the B-24 Liberators and B-29 Superforts to be topped up on the long missions. With all land routes effectively blocked, the gasoline have to be flown in. Development of a truly effective tanker to fuel for the B-24s and B-29s of 20th Bomber Command would have taken too long, so the USAAF decided the next best thing would be to convert an existing high-altitude bomber. A B-17F (serial # 42-30190) and a B-24E (serial # 42-7221) were duly modified for comparison. Both aircraft were redesignated, the B-17 becoming XC-108, and the B-24 the XC-109. The XC-109 showed a better range and payload, as well as a more capacious fuselage would be well suited to the installation of extra gas tanks.
Cargo fuel was carried in eight tanks within the airplane. Four each with a capacity of 400 U.S gallons, were fitted in the bomb and three tanks with a total capacity of 334 gallons were located on the deck above and behind the bomb bays. A further 102 gallons was situated in the nose position. In addition was the C-109’s gas in the wing tanks, of 2814 gallons, of which some 864 could be drained off as cargo on “Hump” flights, leaving enough for the tanker to return to India. This gave a total fuel cargo of 2900 U.S. gallons, the equivalent of one and a half of the largest semi-trailer tank trucks then in use by the U.S. Army. It was estimated that two C-109 deliveries would supply the fuel to “top-off’ just one B-29 in China for a raid on Japan. All armament was deleted from the C-109 and the turret and waist gun positions were faired over with light alloy.
Other than a few rare exceptions, all B-24 to C-109 conversions were J, L, and M models, and all but nine were built in the Ford Motor Company’s Willow Run plant.’
http://www.ninth-airforce.co.uk/c109story.htm
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