Home  Login 
Navigation: Home »
(N)B-26 MARAUDER IN ACTION

B-26 Marauder In Action

Item: SSP10210
Dimensions: (H x W x L) 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0
B-26 MARAUDER IN ACTION (Softcover)
SS10210

By Hans-Heiri Stapfer. 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 marshaling 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, color profiles, and
detailed line drawings. 80 pages.

ISBN = 978-0-89747-549-5.