Designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the late 1930s to outperform the popular B-17, the B-24 Liberator could pack more payload, fly faster and go farther than its Flying Fortress contemporary. The all-metal airplane experienced reduced drag during combat, thanks to its unique roller shutter bomb-bay doors, and came equipped with the first tricycle landing gear outfitted on a heavy aircraft. While the B-24 never attained the kind of fame known by the B-17, it should have. The Liberator participated in all combat theaters and was produced in greater number than any other American aircraft during World War II.