The Martin B-26 Marauder

The Martin B-26 Marauder bomber (from here: B-26) was a twin-engine bomber, which was built by the Glenn L. Martin Company Martin B-26 Marauder). All the aircraft from this factory had names starting with an 'M': Martin 167 Maryland, Martin AM Mauler, Martin P4M Mercator and the Martin B-26 Marauder.

The B-26 was deployed in combat operations from the beginning of 1942. The first mission in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) was on May 14, 1943, of which more later.

A B-26 was manned by seven people: a pilot, copilot, navigator, radio operator, gunner, flight engineer and tail gunner. The pilot, copilot, navigator, radio operator and the gunner were officers; the flight engineer and tail gunner were NCOs. A B-26 capacity was up to 2,600 kg of bombs, although this was rarely used as the flying range was limited. The space in the rear was often used to carry an extra fuel tank.

A B-26 was close to 18 meters long and 6.5 meters in height and weighed 11.000 kg (dry weight). The maximum speed was 460 km p / h at 1,500 meters and the cruising speed was 358 km p / h. During missions the maximum flight range was 1,850 km.

The first flight of the B-26 was not very successful, with some fatal accidents. The B-26 was unsurprisingly nicknamed The Widowmaker.

The commission for the design of the aircraft was given in 1939 and the first aircraft was delivered to the military in 1940. So there was in fact no prototype and no test phase. Aviators from the US Air Force had to start working with the aircraft and to discover any hitches along the way.

The B-26 quickly proved to be no plane for beginners, which was difficult because a large number of the new pilots were fresh from the Flight Academy. An example of a something that could go wrong is that the plane had to land while at a reasonable speed, which for many pilots was nerve-racking and counter- intuitive and contrary to what was in the manual.

Gradually they learned how it could best be flown. Despite the bad start, at the end of the war the B-26 was the aircaft with the fewest losses. But in May 1942 they were not that far as preparations were made for their deployment in the war.