Nice shots!
eBay: Douglas A-26 Invader
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MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
Nice factory shot. Note the paint job, OD all over top and bottom.
michael rauls
Tech Sergeant
- 1,679
- Jul 15, 2016
Between its speed, heavy armament, and I read it was quite maneuverable for a bomber seems like it would have been a tough customer for intercepting fighters to deal with.
- Thread starter
- #44
Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 42,972
- Mar 26, 2007
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- Thread starter
- #45
Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 42,972
- Mar 26, 2007
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
I recall reading that the A-26 was just about the first US aircraft to have armor designed in as part of the structure rather than added on atop it.
And several (Korea and later) pilots I've talked with said it was a very intuitive airplane; light, well balanced controls, lightning quick response, and trimmed up easily and flew on trim alone like it was on autopilot. Steady as a rock. One guy said that returning home after a particularly exhausting series of exercises, the entire crew nodded off with the plane trimmed up in cruise flight. He said he woke up an hour or so later, 300 miles further along, with the plane droning steadily onward, AND STILL ON COURSE!
Another guy said his outfit was sometimes tasked with being a target for Air Guard Mustang and Thunderbolt pilots to practice simulated gunnery runs on. He said it was a lot of fun to wait until the fighter was just approaching firing range, then pull an immelmann straight into him and stare at him over that 8 gun nose, or, alternatively, chop throttle and split S out of sight.
Cheers,
Wes
michael rauls
Tech Sergeant
- 1,679
- Jul 15, 2016
Very cool. I really enjoy reading pilots impressions of types of aircraft.
And if I might add .........another fine Douglas product.
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
A friend of mine said that the B-26K modded by On Mark he flew was not quite like that. It was very sensitive to power changes in getting it trimmed up properly. He did not know if the originals were like that but he suspected the mods had an impact.
The OnMarks were hotrods with more power, aerodynamic mods for drag reduction, additional fuel, and in some cases, executive interiors, in others, counterinsurgency weaponry. Rumor has it that some of the latter were shot down by MiGs over the Bay of Pigs.
Cheers,
Wes
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
The Operation Pluto Bay of Pigs were mostly B-26C's, not K's and were from storage at DMAFB after which they were converted to the B-26B hard nose.. The Cuban AF was equipped with B-26's, Sea Furies, and T-33's, not Migs at the time.
The B-26K was redesignated the A-26A after it was found that Thailand objected to bombers on its soil but was Okay with attack aircraft.
The B-26K was redesignated the A-26A after it was found that Thailand objected to bombers on its soil but was Okay with attack aircraft.
manta22
Banned
When I came to Tucson in about 1971, there were many A-26s parked along the Old Nogales Road by the Tucson Aviation Center hangers. They were for sale by Allied Aircraft- $14,000 or for $19,000 in fly-away condition. All were painted black and there were many different nose configurations to choose from.
michael rauls
Tech Sergeant
- 1,679
- Jul 15, 2016
Dang, for that price I'll take two. Not sure where I'd park em' though............hey wait a minute. I could finally get back at my neighbor who's always parking his stupid motor home in front of my house..........Just park my A26 in front of his house
fubar57
General
.....and turn the nose towards his living room
GreenKnight121
Senior Airman
- 738
- Mar 16, 2014
Only fifteen A-26B-5s left the factory with the 75mm cannon in the nose and two 0.50-inch machine guns on the left side.
Several more were used in testing with one 75-mm cannon to starboard and two 0.50-inch machine guns to port, one 75-mm cannon to starboard and one 37-mm cannon to port, two 37-mm cannon with one on each side of the nose, or one 37 mm cannon to starboard and two 0.50-inch machine guns to port; four 0.50-inch guns starboard and one 37-mm cannon to port; or four 0.50-inch guns to starboard and two 0.50-in guns to port.
Eventually at the end of 1944, the USAAF finally made up its mind and decided that the solid-nosed A-26B would have eight machine guns, with 400 rounds per gun.
Beginning with the A-26B-50-DL production block, a new eight-gun nose was fitted, and six internally-mounted 0.50-inch guns were mounted in the outer wing panels so that bombs or rockets could be carried underneath the wings. However, the eight-gun nose and the internal wing guns were often retrofitted to earlier A-26B versions.
Thus, the 75mm-armed A-26s were a definite rarity.
johnbr
2nd Lieutenant
Douglas A-26B Airplane in Ames 40x80 Wind Tunnel.
fubar57
General
johnbr
2nd Lieutenant
Nose-sections of the Martin B-26's "Marauder" await the turn on the final assembly floor of the Glenn L. Martin Company. By the production tooling and technique, the big sections meet in the splicing jibs and invariably fit to within a few thousands of an inch, Glenn L. Martin Company, 1941-45.
Photograph Curator
Photograph Curator
johnbr
2nd Lieutenant
Douglas XA-26A Night Fighter Prototype
WWII planes
The initial contract for the construction of prototypes indicated that one of them should be created as a night fighter. This version of the aircraft received the designation XA-26A-DE and serial number 41-19505.
The crew of the XA-26A night fighter consisted of two people: a pilot and a radar operator (aka shooter). The armament of the prototype was completely different from that installed on bombers and attack aircraft. A block of four 20-mm guns was located under the front bomb bay. The rear bomb bay could hold up to 2,000 pounds of bombs. The lower turret was absent, and four machine guns of the 12.7 mm caliber were placed in the upper one. The nose of the fuselage was lengthened by more than 46 cm to accommodate a radar developed by MIT.Arms tests were conducted at the Mines Field base in July 1943. Although the tests were successful, the mass production of the XA-26A decided not to start. By this time, the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter, which had similar characteristics, was already launched into production.
Prototype serial number: 41-19505
· Built at Douglas' El Segundo, Calif., plant under contract number AC-17946
· Accepted by the Army Air Force on Sept. 27, 1943
SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 70 ft. 0 in.
Length: 52 ft. 5 in.
Height: 18 ft. 6 in.
Weight: Approx. 28,900 lbs. gross take off weight
Armament: Designed for four 20mm cannons in a ventral tub aft of the nose landing gear and four .50-cal. machine guns in a remote-controlled dorsal barbette plus provisions for 2,000 lbs. of bombs.
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 radials of 2,000 hp each
Crew: Two (pilot, radar operator/navigator/gunner)
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 365 mph
Cruising speed: 264 mph
Range: 2500 miles maximum ferry range
Service ceiling: 25,900 ft.
WWII planes
The initial contract for the construction of prototypes indicated that one of them should be created as a night fighter. This version of the aircraft received the designation XA-26A-DE and serial number 41-19505.
The crew of the XA-26A night fighter consisted of two people: a pilot and a radar operator (aka shooter). The armament of the prototype was completely different from that installed on bombers and attack aircraft. A block of four 20-mm guns was located under the front bomb bay. The rear bomb bay could hold up to 2,000 pounds of bombs. The lower turret was absent, and four machine guns of the 12.7 mm caliber were placed in the upper one. The nose of the fuselage was lengthened by more than 46 cm to accommodate a radar developed by MIT.Arms tests were conducted at the Mines Field base in July 1943. Although the tests were successful, the mass production of the XA-26A decided not to start. By this time, the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter, which had similar characteristics, was already launched into production.
Prototype serial number: 41-19505
· Built at Douglas' El Segundo, Calif., plant under contract number AC-17946
· Accepted by the Army Air Force on Sept. 27, 1943
SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 70 ft. 0 in.
Length: 52 ft. 5 in.
Height: 18 ft. 6 in.
Weight: Approx. 28,900 lbs. gross take off weight
Armament: Designed for four 20mm cannons in a ventral tub aft of the nose landing gear and four .50-cal. machine guns in a remote-controlled dorsal barbette plus provisions for 2,000 lbs. of bombs.
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 radials of 2,000 hp each
Crew: Two (pilot, radar operator/navigator/gunner)
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 365 mph
Cruising speed: 264 mph
Range: 2500 miles maximum ferry range
Service ceiling: 25,900 ft.
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