The consolidated B-24 Liberator, first flown in 1939, began active service in 1941 and was the most produced American aircraft of World War II, with 18,482 built. The Liberator was used in every theater of the war and for a variety of missions from long-range bombing and submarine patrol, to transporting high priority cargo and VIPs.

DIAMOND LIL was the 18th production B-24 built. Today Diamond Lil is one of two airworthy B-24s.

Starting with the records of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was formed in 1915 to study problems of flight and to conduct research in aeronautics, the National Archives holds in trust the records of NASA and other records related to aeronautics, including the Wright brothers' patent for their flying machine.