A-26 INVADER

: ''See also B-26 Marauder''
First flown in 1942, the American 'Douglas A-26 Invader' (from 1948, the 'B-26', although the designation 'A-26' was also in use again from 1965) was a twin-engined light attack bomber aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II and seeing service during the Cold War's major conflicts. A limited number of highly modified aircraft served in combat until 1969. The last B-26 was retired from service in 1972 by the National Guard Bureau and donated to the National Air and Space Museum.

Contents

Design and development

Operational history

World War II

Postwar era

Korean War

First Indochina War

Vietnam War

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Africa in the 1960s

Variants

Operators

Survivors

Specifications (A-26B-60-DL Invader)

Popular culture

References

External links

Related content

Design and development

The A-26 was an unusual design for an attack bomber of that period, as it was designed as a single pilot airplane. The traditional copilot's seat did not have flight controls, instead, a crew member who served as a navigator and bombardier sat in that position. A gunner operated the defensive armament of remotely-controlled dorsal and ventral turrets. In the "C" model, the navigator also loaded the nose armament.
The Douglas XA-26 prototype (41-19504) first flew 10 July 1942 with famed test pilot Benny Howard at the controls. Flight tests revealed excellent performance and handling, but there were some problems with engine cooling which led to cowling changes and the removal of the propeller spinners on production aircraft as well as a modification of the nose gear after repeated collapses in testing.^[3] The prototype's "flat-topped" canopy was later changed to a clamshell type with greatly improved visibility.^[4] The A-26 was originally built in two different configurations: the 'A-26B' had a solid nose, which normally housed six or eight .50 caliber machine guns, while the 'A-26C'’s glass nose contained a Norden bombsight and was used for medium altitude precision bombing. Some aircraft were armed with additional guns in their wings, giving some configurations as many as fourteen .50 caliber machine guns fixed forward.

Operational history

World War II

The Douglas company began delivering the production model A-26B in August 1943. Invaders first saw action with the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific theater on 23 June 1944, when they bombed Japanese-held islands near Manokwari.^[5]
They began arriving in Europe in September 1944 for assignment to the Ninth Air Force, and entered combat two months later on 19 November.

Postwar era

The USAF Strategic Air Command had the B-26 (''RB-26'') in service from 1949 through 1950. The US Navy also used a small number of these aircraft in their utility squadrons for target towing and general utility use. The Navy designation was ''JD-1'' and ''JD-1D'' until 1962, when the JD-1 was redesignated ''UB-26J'' and the JD-1D was redesignated ''DB-26J''.

Korean War

Invaders carried out the first USAF bombing mission of the Korean War on 29 June 1950 when they bombed an airfield outside of Pyongyang. Invaders were credited with the destruction of 38,500 vehicles, 406 locomotives, 3,700 railway trucks, and seven enemy aircraft on the ground. On 14 September 1951, Captain John S. Walmsley Jr attacked a supply train. When his guns jammed he illuminated the target with his searchlight to enable his wingmen to destroy the target. Walmsley was shot down and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Invaders carried out the last USAF bombing mission of the war 24 minutes before the cease fire was signed on 27 June 1953.^[6]

First Indochina War

In the 1950s, the French Airforce's Bombing Groups (''Groupe de Bombardement'') including GB 1/19 Gascogne and GB 1/25 Tunisia used USAF-lent B-26 during the First Indochina War.
Cat Bi (Haiphong) based Douglas B-26 Invader operated over Dien Bien Phu in March and April 1954 during the siege of Dien Bien Phu. In this period a massive use of Philippines based USAF B-26 against the Viet Minh heavy artilley was planned by the U.S. and French Joint Chief of Staff as for Operation Vulture but it was eventually cancelled by the respective governments.

Vietnam War

During the early phase of the Vietnam War, the US Air Force used standard B-26s, but with Vietnamese markings. These aircraft were withdrawn from service in 1964 after two accidents related to wing spar fatigue. The On Mark Engineering Company of Van Nuys, California was selected by the Air Force to extensively upgrade the Invader for a counterinsurgency role. On Mark converted 40 Invaders to the new ''B-26K'' Counter Invader standard, which included upgraded engines, re-manufactured wings and wing tip fuel tanks for use by the 1st Air Commando Group. In May 1966, the B-26K was re-designated ''A-26A'' for political reasons and deployed in Thailand to help disrupt supplies moving along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

In April 1961, B-26s provided from US military stocks were flown by Cuban exiles during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

Africa in the 1960s

CIA mercenary pilots that may have been the same Cuban exiles flew them against "Simba" rebels in the Congo Crisis who were supported by Cubans, the Communist Chinese and the Soviets.
The Portuguese Air Force acquired Invaders for use in Angola.
Biafra used two provisionally armed B-26s in combat during Nigerian Civil War in 1967, flown among others by Jan Zumbach.

Variants

The large majority of the A-26/B-26 Invader's production run of 2452 were early A-26Bs and A-26Cs.
;XA-26
:Serial no. 41-19504 served as the prototype for the series; initially flown wih dummy armament
;XA-26A
:Serial no. 41-19505 served as a prototype night fighter with a crew of two-pilot and radar-operator/gunner
;XA-26B
:Serial no. 41-19588 was a prototype "solid-nosed" attack variant with crew of three: pilot, gun loader/navigator (in front cockpit) and gunner in rear.
;A-26B
:Attack bomber. Production totals: 1150 A-26Bs were built at Long Beach (A-26B-1-DL to A-26B-66-DL) and an additional 205 were built at Tulsa (A-26B-5-DT to A-26B-25-DT).^[7]
;A-26C
:Attack bomber with transparent nose housing the navigator/bombardier, crew includied pilot and co-pilot (dual-controls provided) and the provision for a flight engineer/gunner in a "jump seat" behind the cockpit. Armament included two forward-firing 0.50-inch machine guns on the starboard fuselage. A total of 1,091 A-26Cs were built. 1,086 of them were built by Tulsa (A-26C-16-DT to A-26B-55-DT) and only five by Long Beach (A-26C-1-DL and A-26C-2-DL).^[7]
;XA-26D
:Serial no. 44-34776 prototype for the proposed A-26D attack bomber a nose with eight 0.50-inch machine guns and a wing with six 0.50-inch guns; series of 750 A-26Ds was cancelled after V-J Day.
;XA-26E
:Serial no. 44-25563 prototype for the A-26E attack bomber; a contract for 2,150 A-26E-DTs was cancelled following V-J Day.
;XA-26F
:Serial no. 44-34586 prototype for a high-speed A-26F powered by two 2100 hp R-2800-83 engines driving four-bladed propellors with a 1,600 lb.s.t. General Electric J31 turbojet installed in the rear fuselage. The prototype reached a top speed of 435 mph but the series was cancelled as performance gains were not sufficient.
;A-26Z
:Unofficial designation for a proposed postwar production version of the A-26. It was to have a more powerful version of the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine and was to be fitted with such features as a raised pilot's cockpit canopy, an improved cockpit arrangement and wingtip drop tanks. If produced, the unglazed nose version would have been designated 'A-26G' and the glazed nose version 'A-26H'. However, in October 1945, the USAAF concluded that there were enough A-26 aircraft to meet postwar needs, consequently, the "A-26Z" version was not produced.
;JD-1
:US Navy version with one A-26B (44-34217) and one A-26C (44-35467) redesignated during World War II, postwar, 150 surplus A-26s for use by land-based utility squadrons as target tugs and later, drone directors and general utility aircraft.
;RB-26C
:Unarmed photo reconnaissance variant converted from B-26C; it carried cameras and flash flares for night photography. Redesignated from 'FA-26' reconnaissance aircraft.
;YB-26K
:On Mark Engineering prototype for refurbished attack bomber; modifications included rebuilt, strengthened wings, enlarged tail assembly, new R-2800-103 engines with reversible propellers/propeller spinners, dual controls, wingtip tanks, newer avionics and increased hardpoint/armament enhancements. During operations in Vietnam, in May 1966, the aircraft were reassigned the old attack designation of 'A-26A'. According to a "Wings" (Discovery Channel) documentary, the B-26 was redesignated the A-26, because Thailand would not allow bombers to fly from their airfields, but, they would allow attack aircraft to do so. The A-26A was retired when it had reached the safe limits of alloted flying time.
;B-26K
:On Mark Engineering conversions of 40 B-26Bs or TB-26Bs with two B-26Cs and a single JB-26C; changes included fitting of 2500 hp R-2800-52W engines with no propeller spinners and the six wing guns deleted.
;RB-26L
:Two RB-26Cs (44-34718 and 44-35782) modified for night photography missions.

Operators

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Survivors

Specifications (A-26B-60-DL Invader)

Popular culture

★ Two A-26 fire bombers (No. 57- N9425Z and No. 59 - N4818Z) were prominently featured in the 1989 Steven Spielberg film, ''Always''.^[9] The flying for the movie was performed by well-known movie pilot Steve Hinton^[10] and Dennis Lynch,^[11] the owner of the A-26s.

★ In the 1973 Terrence Malick film ''Badlands'', a civilian A-26 was used as a VIP transport.

References

1. Winchester 2004, p.74.
2. Knaack, Marcelle Size. ''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945-1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
3. Mesko 1980, p.5.
4. Winchester 2004, p. 75.
5. 1999 kensmen.com, "June, 1944" (43rd Bomb Group Association website) Access date: 2 August 2007
6. Military.CZ A-26
7. Baugher
8. Baugher
9. Farmer, James H. "The Making of Always." ''Air Classics, Volume 26, No. 2, February 1990''.
10. ''Filmography - Steve Hinton''. IMDB [1] Access date: 13 March 2007.
11. ''Filmography - Dennis Lynch''. IMDB. [2] Access date: 13 March 2007.


★ Baugher, Joe.''Douglas A-26/B-26 Invader''. [3]. Access date: 13 August 2007.

★ Mesko, Jim. ''A-26 Invader in action''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1980. ISBN 0-89747-093-1.

★ Winchester, Jim. "Douglas A-26 Invader." ''Aircraft of World War II''. London: Grange Books, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-639-1.

External links

★ Hill Aerospace Museum Douglas A-26 "Invader" Information

★ B-26 Bomber, Martin or Douglas?

★ A Date with Danger, ''Airman'', May 2001

★ U.S. Air Force Fact Sheets: A-26 Counter-Invader

★ Hulbert AFB A-26 Counter-Invader

★ A-26 Lady Liberty - Confederate Air Force

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