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B-26B Marauder: American Bomber in World War II
Flak-Bait, the ultimate survivor of the air war over Europe, completed 207 WWII missions.
By David F. Crosby
Employees of the Glenn L. Martin Company rolled the B-26B Marauder that would soon be dubbed Flak-Bait off the Baltimore production line on April 26, 1943. Identified as B-26B-25 MA Bureau No. 41-31173, the twin-engine medium bomber then took its place in a long line of identical aircraft on the Martin Company's airfield awaiting transfer into the U.S. Army Air Forces.
Its olive-drab fuselage was 58 feet 3 inches long and stood 21 feet 6 inches off the concrete. The wings spanned 71 feet and provided a wing area of 658 square feet. From the wings hung two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 18-cylinder, air-cooled radial engines with two-speed superchargers that produced 1,920 hp at takeoff and 1,490 hp at 14,300 feet. Each engine turned a Curtiss 13-foot 6-inch four-blade propeller.
After a 3,500-foot takeoff run, the bomber could lift from the runway and climb at 1,200 feet per minute to a service ceiling of 21,700 feet. At 15,000 feet, the Pratt & Whitney engines could take the aircraft to a maximum speed of 282 mph.
The B-26B carried a crew of seven. The pilot and co-pilot sat side by side in armored seats behind an armored bulkhead. The navigator, who also served as the radio operator, worked out of a small compartment behind the pilots. The bombardier sat behind a plexiglass nose cone and -- when not preparing to drop the B-26's bombload -- operated a .50-caliber machine gun. Three gunners stationed in the rear of the bomber rounded out the crew.
Despite the fact that war raged on two fronts as B-26B-25 MA 41-31173 sat on the Martin airfield, the Army Air Forces had little love for the Marauder. The brass considered the medium bomber an operational dog.
The genesis of the B-26 had grown out of an exchange of letters between aviation pioneer Charles A. Lindbergh and General Henry "Hap" Arnold, chief of what was then the U.S. Army Air Corps. While touring Europe in 1938, Lindbergh pointed out Germany's aeronautical developments in medium bombers and expressed concern over the United States' lethargy in aircraft development. Lindbergh emphasized the need to increase the top speed of U.S. combat aircraft. Arnold shared Lindbergh's concerns.
In 1939 the Army Air Corps called on the U.S. aircraft industry to design a medium bomber able to operate at high speed and carry a large bombload -- essentially a bomber with the speed of a fighter. The Glenn L. Martin Company, which won the contract, delivered the first aircraft in record time. The B-26 first flew on November 29, 1940, and the Army Air Corps accepted it into operational service on February 8, 1941 -- a feat that led Time magazine to declare the B-26 "Martin's Miracle."
But the pilots who first flew the B-26 gave the twin-engine, shoulder-wing bomber less flattering names. The high wing loading of the early short-wing model required the pilot to execute immediate and proper responses to an engine loss when flying low, slow and heavy -- a situation that often arose during landing or takeoff. The resulting crashes led to the nicknames the Widow-Maker and the Incredible Prostitute (a reference to its wings, which supposedly provided it with no visible means of support).
After the united states entered World War II on December 7, 1941, the 22nd Bombardment Group flew the B-26 against the Japanese in New Guinea and Rabaul in 1942. Both the Japanese and Army Air Forces pilots quickly learned that the rugged B-26 could take anti-aircraft fire and stay aloft. It could defend itself as well. The 60 Marauders of the 22nd Group claimed 94 enemy aircraft in the air in their first 10 months of combat. Due to logistical considerations, however, the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific chose the North American B-25 Mitchell as its sole medium bomber because it needed less maintenance, could operate from unimproved airfields and enjoyed favorable press following the April 18, 1942, Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
Meanwhile, in the European and North African theaters, heavy German anti-aircraft fire had taken a grievous toll on American bombers. Recognizing the B-26's ability to withstand punishment, the Army Air Forces began transferring B-26s and aircrews to North Africa toward the end of 1942.
Even before the B-26 entered combat in North Africa, Material Command personnel began a campaign against the aircraft. The bomber had already survived a special investigation board appointed by General Arnold in March 1942 to determine whether production of the B-26 should continue. Headed by Maj. Gen. Carl Spaatz, the board recommended several changes to the bomber's design -- mainly a larger wing -- but stressed continued use of the B-26. Despite the findings of the board, on October 7, 1942, Maj. Gen. Muir S. Fairchild, the director of military requirements, ordered Maj. Gen. O.P. Echols, the commanding general of Material Command, to create plans for "pinching out B-26 production and replacing it with some other type which would be of greater utility."
After the North African campaign, the Twelfth Air Force reported on May 13, 1943, that the B-25 had once again flown more sorties than the B-26, seemingly supporting a decision to terminate B-26 production. War correspondent Lee McCardell came to a different conclusion. He pointed out that the B-26 had a better record of destroying the targets it attacked than any other bomber in the North African theater.
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