Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>A-26>HA3201

General Background

In 1941 Douglas Aircraft Company began work on their twin-engine medium-bomber A-26 Invader. By the end of production there were 2,452 aircraft produced for all variants. The A- 26/B-26 was the only U.S. bomber to take part in three wars, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. The confusion with the use of the designation B-26 began when the Martin B-26 Marauder was retired and in 1948 the USAF dropped the “A” (Attack) designator so the Douglas A-26 Invader became the B-26 Invader. The A-26 made its first European appearance in late 1944.

The Aircraft

One variant of the Douglas A-26 Invader was the “B” series. Douglas built 1,560 A-26B’s. 205 were built in Tulsa Oklahoma with another 1,355 coming from Long Beach California. In July 1944 the 553rd Bombardment Squadron began mission testing the new A-26 but by September this had been suspended because of technical problems. The 386th Bombardment Group “The Crusaders” arrived in Beaumont-sur-Oise, France on Oct 2, 1944 with their Martin B-26 Marauders. Shortly after the Ardennes campaign the 386th BG received the much improved Douglas A-26 Invader.

Specifications :

First flight:	July 10, 1942
Crew:	3
Dimensions
Length:	50 ft 9 in
Wingspan:	70 ft 0 in
Height:	18 ft 6 in
Weight:
Empty:	22,370 lbs
Maximum take-off:	35,000 lbs
Performance
Engines:	2 x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-79 radial piston each producing 2,000 hp
Maximum speed @ 15,000 ft:	355 mph
Ceiling:	22,100 ft
Range:	1,400 miles
Armament:	6 x 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns in nose
	2 x 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns in ventral turret
	2 x 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns in dorsal turret
	6,000 lbs of bombs
	8 x 127 mm (5-inch) rockets