A-26 Gun Turrets: Two Kinds?

[MIflyer]

The old Monogram 1/67 B-26 Invader kit had the gun turrets with slots to enable the gun barrels to elevate. But I have read that the actual design of the turret used a gun mantlet, like you see on tanks, a fairing that moves with the gun barrels, similar to the turrets on B-29's and P-61's.

But look at the attached. One photo shows the mantlet style turret while the other, taken in Korea, shows the top fairing of a turret that blew off and became embedded in the vertical tail, revealing slots. Other photos in the book on B-26 operations in the Korea War show slots on the turrets as well, although not as clearly.

So it would appear that Douglas A/B-26 used BOTH designs! Both the old Monogram kit and the later 1/48 kits are correct, it seems. However the attached B-26 armament systems manual shows the mantlet type.

 

[ThomasP]

Hey MIflyer,

The slotted type gun 'shield' (my term - it is called a 'dome modification piece' in the TO) is a modification of the standard upper turret used on the A-26, the mantlet being replaced with the slotted shield in order to reduce air turbulence. If you can find a copy of TO 11-70-14 it describes the modification and shows the slotted type of gun shield. The TO lays out the modification process for the Martin 2CGD50URD1 upper turret and mentions that the 2CGD50URD1A turret comes from the factory with the modified shield. The TO is dated 6 July 1945 so that may give you an approximate cut-off time as to how early the slotted type gun shield was used.

 

[MIflyer]

Okay, so for WWII A-26's the mantlet is most correct and for the Korean War B-26's the slots are most correct.. Monogram was right for both kits!
Whoda thunk?

 

[ThomasP]

It is nice when they get it right, even if it is something that most people would think needlessly esoteric.

We, on the other hand, know that it is needfully esoteric.

 

[MIflyer]

And of course the other strange cool thing about the A-26 was that some left the factory in all over top and bottom Olive Drab. Finally, a paint scheme I can actually use!

 

[Maxrobot1]

The very old Monogram kit.

 

[MIflyer]

The very old Monogram kit.

Which is still in production by Atlantis Models.

 

[Sisu]

This airplane was doing the air show rounds back in the early 1980s. I think it ended up a museum...

 

[MIflyer]

Interesting! According to an article I saw on-line the underwing gun pods created so much drag that they were unpopular. The in-the-wing guns were better in that respect, but I've never found anything explaining why some have them and some do not. Even the glass-nosed B-26C models had them, it seems, but not all of them.

 

[EwenS]

Interesting! According to an article I saw on-line the underwing gun pods created so much drag that they were unpopular. The in-the-wing guns were better in that respect, but I've never found anything explaining why some have them and some do not. Even the glass-nosed B-26C models had them, it seems, but not all of them.

Firstly it depends when in the production run any particular A-26B or A-26C was produced.

Underwing gun pods added with A26B-15 with the 6 internal wing guns being even later on the production line in place of them. Then the 2 factories introduced mods at different times. All bar 5 of the A-26C were built at the Tulsa plant which only built 205 A-26B. Then you have the problem of field mods on individual aircraft. These removed the gun pods and in some added the wing guns. Then you have the various post war modification programmes.

Only solution is really to see a photo of the aircraft you are interested in.

 

[EwenS]

Interesting! According to an article I saw on-line the underwing gun pods created so much drag that they were unpopular. The in-the-wing guns were better in that respect, but I've never found anything explaining why some have them and some do not. Even the glass-nosed B-26C models had them, it seems, but not all of them.

Now found my research notes on this.

Internal wing guns were introduced at Long Beach on the A-26B production line in March 1945 with Block B-50. Tulsa followed in May on the A-26C production line from Block C-45.