Updated and packed with 20 new pages since Squadron’s last edition of the B-26 In Action! Probably no other aircraft type in the inventory of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) can rival the reputation of the Martin B-26 Marauder. The B-26 nicknamed Flak Bait was the only American bomber to accomplish more than 200 missions during World War II. In addition, Martin’s medium bomber had a loss rate of less than 1 percent – the lowest loss rate of any American bomber operated during the war. Over 60 percent of the Marauders that started bombing operations from English bases during the summer of 1943 were still operational a year later. Among B-17 and B-24 units this figure was less than 2 percent. On the other hand, the B-26 acquired quite a reputation as a widow maker, a reputation that was never fully corrected during its operational career and that was the main reason that most B-26s were scrapped shortly after the end of hostilities. A total of 129,943 Marauder sorties over Europe were recorded by the USAAF, this at the cost of 911 B-26s lost in combat. The Marauders belonging to the 9th and 12th Air Force dropped a total of 169,382 tons of bombs, mainly on tactical targets, such as bridges, enemy strong points, and marshalling yards, but also on V1 flying bomb sites in Northern France. Between November 1940 and March 1945, a total of 5,266 B-26s were built. Many senior pilots of the 22nd Bomb Group in Australia – the outfit that pioneered the Marauder – recalled the B-26 as “the best damn airplane the Air Force ever had.” And there is nothing more to add. Illustrated with 160 vintage photographs, colour profiles, and detailed line drawings. 80 pages.
Stapfer.
ISBN = 978-0-89747-549-5.
