“B-26s were at their best when used in medium-level attacks… [it] flew some of its most important missions in that role.”
By Marc Liebman
THE NORTH AMERICAN B-25 Mitchell is perhaps one of the most recognizable warplanes of the Second World War. The twin-engine, medium bomber was introduced in 1941 and flew in a range of roles in every theatre of war. It’s perhaps best known for carrying out the famous April 18, 1942 Doolittle Raid against the Japanese home islands. In fact, the B-25 is so widely celebrated, it’s all but overshadowed another great Allied medium bomber with nearly as impressive a combat record: the Martin B-26 Marauder. Here are 10 quick facts about this remarkable, yet often forgotten, warbird.
It was in production before the U.S. entered WW2
When the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft company submitted a design to compete for a U.S. Army Air Corps’ 1939 specification for a twin-engine medium bomber, the firm already had a full orderbook with production contracts for the twin engine Maryland (Model 167) light bomber and the PBM long-range seaplane. Three other manufacturers – North American Aviation, Douglas and Boeing-Stearman – also submitted bids for the plane that was supposed to have a maximum speed of 350 m.p.h., a range of 2,000 miles and payload capacity of 4,000 pounds of bombs. Based on the U.S. Army Air Corps procurement policies at the time, contracts for flying prototypes were awarded to the top two companies: Martin and North American. The contract for the prototype included an order for 201 airplanes. In September 1940, the Army Air Corps ordered an additional 930 planes before the first B-26 flew on Nov. 17, 1940.
It broke new ground in bomber design
The original A models were Powered by two 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-39 Double Wasp 18-cylinder, 1,850-hp engines for take-off and 1,450-hp at maximum continuous power. Top speed on the first plane built – S/N 40-1361 which was both the first production airplane and the “prototype,” demonstrated a 315 mph cruising speed at 10,000 feet. Peyton Magruder’s design was the first airplane with a perfectly cylindrical fuselage that tapered in the front and rear to reduce drag. The design maximum gross take-off weight of the first production models was 26,625 pounds
The B-26 was the only medium bomber with two bomb bays and theoretically, could carry 5,800 pounds of bombs, but most of the time, the aft bomb bay was not used and the bomb load was 4,000 lbs. or less. Range using just the wing tanks was about 1,100 nautical miles depending on the cruise speed, power setting and altitude. For ferrying, tanks could be mounted in the bomb-bays to extend the planes non-stop range to 1,400 nautical miles.
The crew varied based on the mission from five to seven. Typically, it consisted of two pilots, a bombardier/navigator, top turret gunner/flight engineer, tail gunner. On some missions, an extra gunner was carried for the ventral .50 caliber machine gun, as well as a radio operator.
The B-26 was the first to be equipped with electrically controlled propellers. Although revolutionary, the design proved problematic. The brushes and contact plates required careful maintenance to ensure the props were controllable. The airplane has two bomb bays. The aft bomb bay was rarely due to maximum takeoff weight restrictions.
It was more expensive than its famous cousin
The B-26 had a heftier price tag than its cousin, the B-25. The cost of the B-26 as per the first Army Air Corps production contract was $261,062 per plane versus $181,031 per plane for the first B-25s built; a 31.7 per cent difference. Even by 1944, a B-25 cost only $142,194 and a B-26 $192,427. B-26 production ended in 1944 while the last B-25 was built in 1945. Ultimately 9,816 B-25s were built compared to 5,288 B-26s.
It got a bum rap from aircrews
The B-26 had a reputation for being difficult to fly and accident prone. The core of the problem that caused the early accidents was not the design, but the dramatic increase in weight.
The maximum take-off weight increased from the first airplane’s 26,625 to 34,000 pounds for the B’s and ultimately 37,000 pounds for the C and G models. For an airplane designed from the beginning to have a high wing-loading, the increase in empty and maximum gross weights reduced the pilots margin of error in single-engine operations. Even with the wing extension, the landing speed of the B-26 remained at 130 m.p.h. (112 knots).
Most of the early accidents were caused by pilots trying to land or continue to climb below the airplane’s minimum single engine control airspeed that we now call VMC. Keep a B-26 above 160 m.p.h (140 knots) and the plane was “perfectly” controllable.
In five years of operations during the war, the B-26 was involved in 270 non-combat related accidents; the B-25 crashed 294 times. Despite this, the B-26’s dubious status as a pilot killer, particularly when flying on only one engine, began to solidify. Air crews dubbed it the “Widowmaker,” “Marin Murderer” and even “the Flying Coffin.”
The solution was simple – better pilot training and when approaching for a landing on one engine, stay above 150 m.p.h. (120 knots) until one had the runway made. Once this procedure was adapted, the accident rate dropped precipitously.
Remarkably, of all the medium bombers used during the Second World War, the B-26 had the lowest average loss rate at 0.5 per cent per mission. In fact, the first bomber in the Second World war to complete 50 missions was a B-26B (s/n 117858) named Coughin’ Coffin from the 34th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group. One B-26, model 41-31773, dubbed Flak Bait by her crew, survived a total of 207 operational missions over Europe, a record for any American combat plane of the war.
It flew everywhere America fought
The U.S. Army Air Corps’ 22nd Bombardment Group was the first unit to receive B-26s. The outfit retired its antiquated B-18 Bolos and began operating Marauders from Langley Field, Virginia in February 1941. The plane made its combat debut in an attack on Rabaul, New Guinea on April 5, 1942 – a day before the first B-25s saw action against the Japanese at Gasmata in New Guinea. As more B-26s entered service, they began operating in all theatres of the war, from the Pacific to North Africa and the Mediterranean to Western Europe. Eventually, they saw service with the air forces of Great Britain, South Africa and even Free France.
It performed best at medium-level
The 34th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group was the first to fly their B-26s on missions in the European Theater from North Africa. Their first mission was in mid-November, 1942 from Telergma Airfield in Algeria. The 34th’s as well as the other medium bomb groups missions were split between level bombing missions of supply depots and airfields in Tunisia from eight to 12,000 feet and skip bombing attacks against convoys. Due to the casualty rate, low level bombing missions against land targets were abandoned. This was an ugly lesson that the Eighth Air Support Command in Britain would learn later in 1943 when it lost 11 Marauders on a low level attack on a target in The Netherlands.
B-26s were at their best when used in medium-level attacks, particularly when escorted by fighters and hitting targets from above 10,000 feet. The B-26 flew some of its most important missions in that role: in the lead up to Operation Overlord, supporting ground forces during the Normandy campaign and even knocking out V-1 rocket sites. One British commander, Air Marshal Sir John Slessor praised “the astonishing accuracy of the experienced medium bomber groups – particularly the Marauders,” and called one of his B-26-equipped units, the 42nd Bombardment Group “probably the best day-bomber unit in the world.” The B-26 also performed well in long-range reconnaissance roles, as an anti-shipping and even minelaying. It was even put to work hunting down and destroying enemy transport planes in Italy and North Africa. It even chalked up an air-to-air victory in the Pacific after downing a Japanese Kawanishi H6K flying boat.
It flew some interesting missions
Early in the war, the B-26 originally had a shackle on the belly to drop torpedoes. Four B-26As from the 69th Bomb Squadron, 38th Bomb Group that were supposed to fly to Australia were sent to Midway to help defend the island. On the first day of the battle, they found the Japanese carriers, and dropped their torpedoes; none hit their targets. Two returned but were so shot up that they were junk. After the invasion of North Africa, the 34th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group flew several anti-shipping missions with torpedoes before switching to skip-bombing. RAF No. 14 Torpedo Squadron used the B-26 as a torpedo bomber successfully throughout the war in the Mediterranean.
It inspired a four-engine heavy bomber
B-26 variants included models “A” through “G,” and included some modified for use as target tugs, trainers and reconnaissance variants. A pressurized heavy bomber version of the B-26 designated the XB-33A was designed using four R-3350 engines. Named the Super Marauder, the airplane was designed to carry 10,000 pounds of bombs for 2,000 miles at 30,000 feet. Due to the demand for the R-3350 for the B-29, the XB-33A was re-designed for four R-2600s. Designated the B-33A, the Army Air Force ordered 400 B-33As in November 1942 and but cancelled the order so the Martin Plant in Omaha could concentrate on building B-29s.
It’s often mixed up with another plane
The B-26 is often confused with another twin-engine warplane: the Douglas A-26 Invader light bomber. Designed as a replacement to the A-20 Havoc, the A-26 first entered service in 1943 and used the same engine as the Martin bomber, the Pratt & Whitney R-2800s. In 1948, the U.S. Air Force changed the designation of the A-26 Invader to the B-26, after the Marauder was retired from service. The B-26 and A-26 are the only aircraft of the Second World War to share the same numeric designation.
Only a handful survive
Obsolete as a warplane by the 1945, the B-26s were pulled from service. Several were sold off to private buyers who converted them to small passenger planes for corporate executives. United Airlines operated one. Only seven B-26s are left in the world today while there are more than 100 B-25s. Polk City, Florida’s Fantasy of Flight collection maintains an airworthy B-26. Two B-26s are are currently being restored., one by the Hill Air force Base Museum in Utah and the other by the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. Another B-26 appears in the collection of the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright Paterson Air Force Base in Dayton Ohio. Another is currently on display at the Utah Beach Museum in Normandy France.
Marc Liebman is a retired U.S. Navy Captain and Naval Aviator and the award-winning author of 14 novels, five of which were Amazon #1 Best Sellers. His latest is the counterterrorism thriller The Red Star of Death. Some of his best-known books are Big Mother 40, Forgotten, Moscow Airlift, Flight of the Pawnee, Insidious Dragon and Raider of the Scottish Coast. All are available on Amazon here.
A Vietnam and Desert Shield/Storm combat veteran, Liebman is a military historian and speaks on military history and current events.
Visit his website, marcliebman.com, for: past interviews, articles about helicopters, general aviation, weekly blog posts about the Revolutionary War era, as well as signed copies of his books.
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My cousin flew B-26s in Europe.
Of 16 b26 at Guatemala, 2 used for P R. 2 shot 1 lost to sea. Of the 5 (donated in central america?). The other 8 not flown?
My father’s cousin was a member of the 441st Bomber Squadron, 320th Bomber Group Medium. I believe they flew B-26s. He was killed Jan. 21, 1944 and buried outside of Florence, Italy. We don’t know the circumstances of his death. We only know that at least one other crew member died the same day. If anyone knows how to research the event of his death I would appreciate any help.
I don’t know how to research your father’s cousin’s death other than through the military files.
My father, Richard Henry Meyer, was the chief test pilot for Glenn Martin in Baltimore during WWll. On March 21, 1945 he was killed testing a B-26. His co-pilot was able to bail out. My father attempted a belly landing. The FAA determined a part had been installed backwards in one of the engines so that when he put the plane into a spin, it couldn’t be pulled out. My father was 37, my mother 26, my half-brother 8, half-sister 5, and I was 3. (Their mother had died of cancer very young.)
Jean Meyer Aloe
What was the “putt-putt” motor I saw in a B-26 documentary/training film? It was located towards the rear of the fuselage and started prior to main engine start-up. Was it a generator? I inherited an old generator from an AAF mechanic who worked stateside on B’s heading to England. It looks like the machine in the documentary.
There is also a B-26 in the MAPS Air Museum near the Akron Canton airport.