eBay: Martin B-26 Marauder

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Thanks for these!

I might be wrong, but I think I can now identify this squadron hack as a B-26B-4. The tail turret means it is a B-26B-MA at the oldest and a B-26B/C-15 at the youngest. The old 47" main wheels identify it as predating the 31st B-26C-5. The large air intakes were introduced in the B-26B-3, but all MTO B-26Bs were retrofitted with these so they're not very useful for identification. I can't see detail on the wings but the tailfin seems to be the short kind, therefore it should be a short wing model. The only short wing model that had the nose landing gear and downlock "bump" visible in the photo was the B-26B-4.
 
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B-26B 41-17589, "Plenty Peed Off Patootie", 69th BS, later transferred to the 70th BS, the 22nd BG (depending on the source), and finally to the 342nd FS as a Fat Cat (Squadron Hack). Crashed in Queensland, Australia, 1942 Mentioned in the history of the 69th BS as "Peed Off Patootie". This aircraft also at some point carried the noseart "Deta 89". Notice torpedo and field modified nose gun installation in both combat photos, and faired over turret in the wreckage photo (this last one being part of the later Fat Cat conversion).

The nose gun installation is described in the link above, passage pasted below:
On the 17th a P-39K was assigned to the squadron, while from the 13th to the 21st the 69th was again on the alert, standing by with 1,000# bombs and torpedoes. It was at this time that General H.H. Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Forces, stopped at Plaines de Gaiac, where he personally commended the men of the 69th Bombardment Squadron for their unstinting labor, excellent morale, and hard work. Specifically he praised the ingenuity of the commanding officer, Captain Collins, and the armament officer, Lt. Rosar, for the construction of the improvised forward gun turret installation made of welded sections of an oil drum.
Click to expand...
These nose gun modifications were previously described by Greg Boeser Greg Boeser in his thread on B-26 armament.
B-26B 41-17589 3 ''Plenty Peed Off Patootie''.jpg
1662619258879.png
Photos are from Australian Aeronautical Heritage, which has more photos of the wreckage as well as several accounts of the crash. For some reason refers to it as 41-17598 and "number 598" despite listing it as 41-17589 in the tags and linking to PacificWrecks' entry on 41-17589.

Photo of it as "Deta 89", which I think I might have gotten from this forum:
B-26B 41-17589 1 ''Deta 89''.jpg

Update: Remembered where I got the photo of Deta 89 from, it's from the database on Asisbiz. This photo is also in some book I've read, but I don't recall if it's one I borrowed from my university library last year (JK Havener's book or the Warbird Tech issue on the B-26) or one of the ones I bought (Dennis Gaub's, Stan Walsh's or William Wolf's). I have a photo on my computer of part of the page, taken months ago. Will check the three books I still have access to. The caption reads "B-25 (41-17589) Deta 89 of the 22BG has a torpedo mounted for operational trials in Australia, but during later patrols enemy contacts were virtually nonexistent. (AAF)"

Update 2: Found out which book the photo was from, it's William Wolf's book, page 607. It also includes a 9 page section on torpedo trials and operations.
 
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42-107683 B-26C-45-MO ( Martin Co., The Glenn L. Omaha, Nebr. )

Seller Around D-Day, cristal clear photo showing a B-26 of the 344BG with nose art " Lil Audrey " Serial 42-107683. Fuselage code 7I identifies 497th Bomb Squadron

1668510435462.png



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B-26 Marauder 9th Air Force#15 - 344th Bomb Group | eBay

Fuselage code 7I identifies 497th Bomb Squadron.
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