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Aircraft Type: A-26B (VB), S/N 44-34665, Douglas
Mission: Medium attack bomber
Number built: 2, 451 (all models)
Powerplant: Two 2,000 horsepower Pratt and Whitney R-2800-79 radial air-cooled piston engines
Weight: Empty 22,370 pounds, Maximum takeoff weight 37,000 pounds
Dimensions: Wingspan 70′, Length 50′9″, Height 18′6″
Performance: Maximum speed 373 MPH, Cruising speed 284 MPH, Service Ceiling 30,000 feet,
Range 1,400 miles with 4,000 pounds of ordnance
Significance of Type: The A-26 (B-26) Invader was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, and production started in January 1941 at Long Beach, California. The Air Corps required a medium bomber which combined the characteristics of an attack bomber and a medium bomber and was fast, rugged, and dependable. Despite the excellent performance on the first trial flight, the Air Corps insisted on complete and thorough trials. Once the plane was in production, there would be no other piston-engine medium bomber contracts signed. By June 1942, the heavy attack model A-26B was delivered, followed in September by the A-26A night fighter and in January 1944 by the A-26 bomber.
The plane proved capable of handling every role it was assigned. As the A-26A night fighter, it was a great improvement over the A-20 Havoc. As the A-26B heavy attack bomber, it was more powerful and faster than the B-25 gunship. As the A-26 bomber it carried the same bomb load as either the B-25 Mitchell or the B-26 Marauder. The crew size was cut by 50%; while the speed was increased by 80 m.p.h. Range was increased over 500 miles.
Douglas built just under 2,500 A-26s between 1943 and 1945, most being used against the Japanese during 1945. In Europe, the Invader attacked German supply columns on D-Day and helped to destroy retreating tank columns. During the Korean War, the A-26s’ capabilities were fully tested. The plane was reclassified as the B-26 and became the Air Force’s most savage medium bomber. The B-26 was again returned to the Air Force inventory in the 1960s as a Counter-Insurgency (COIN) aircraft with the Air Commandos of the Tactical Air Command.
About our A-26B: Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force on August 30, 1945. Removed from inventory and delivered to the Museum on November 24, 1969.
