A-26 (Family)

Description

The Douglas A-26 Invader was a twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II. It also served in several Cold War conflicts, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It was a fast and versatile aircraft that could carry a large bomb load and a variety of guns. It had two configurations: the A-26B with a gun-nose and the A-26C with a glass nose for precision bombing. The A-26 was redesignated as B-26 in 1948, causing confusion with the Martin B-26 Marauder, a different aircraft that was retired in 1945.

Vehicles

Rank IV

• A-26B-10
• A-26B-50
• A-26C-45
• A-26C-45DT

History

Design & Development

The A-26 was designed as the successor to the highly successful A-20 Havoc. It was larger and had powerful engines, longer range, and heavier firepower. It could be built in 2 configurations, the A-26B with a "gun-nose" that could be fitted with a combination of .50 calibre machine guns, or 20 mm or 37 mm autocannons, and the A-26C with a "Bombardier nose" featuring a bombsight for medium-altitude precision bombing. It was also possible to replace one configuration with another in a few hours, allowing high versatility. The A-26 could carry up to 2 700 kg of bombs, 10 HVAR rockets in wing pylons, and 8 machine guns in wing pods. The testing of the initial XA-26 prototype showed excellent performance, but engine and landing gear issues led to some small redesigns.

After serial production was underway, the A-26 design was modified. First, 3 machine guns were installed in each wing, and a new "gun-nose" fitted with 8 machine guns was introduced, and later the heavily framed cockpit canopy was changed to a slightly raised all-Plexiglass canopy with much better visibility.

After the Second World War, the aircraft was redesignated B-26, and its frame was subject to various trials and upgrades. The most notable was a major overhaul program done by On Mark engineering during the Vietnam War, which rebuilt 43 into the B-26K Counter Invader (nicknamed "Special K"), whose changes include a rebuilt and strengthened structure, improved engines, increased ordnance load, of up 5 440 kg, and the removal of the turret armament. This variant was used in ground attack missions in the Vietnam War until 1969.

Military surplus A-26s were converted into various civilian roles, such as executive transports or firefighter tankers.

Service History

The A-26 first saw action in 1944, used by the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific theatre, attacking Japanese-held islands. It was discovered that the downward view was limited and inadequate for its role as a strike aircraft, with the commander of the Far East Air Forces even stating "We do not want the A-26 under any circumstances as a replacement for anything."

In Europe, the A-26 fared better, assigned to the Ninth Air Force, it flew 8 test missions with no losses and was generally well-liked by its crews. By 1945, it had flown 11 567 missions, dropped 18 054 tons of bombs, and recorded 7 kills and 67 losses.

In the post-war period, it saw action in East and Southeast Asia, Cuba, and Africa. In the Korean War, the B-26 was used as a night bomber, as other aircraft, like the F-80 and F-51, were considered inadequate for the role. It is credited with the destruction of 38 500 vehicles, 400 locomotives, 3 700 train cars, and 7 aircraft. Most famously Captain John S. Walmsley Jr. and his squadron attacked a supply train, all his guns simultaneously jammed, so instead, he used a searchlight to illuminate the target for his wingmen. He was shot down but the train was destroyed, and he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

In the Vietnam War, the B-26 was used for ground attack missions operating from Thailand until it was withdrawn after accidents due to aircraft fatigue. It wasn't until the B-26K conversion was completed that it saw service again, attacking supplies moving along the Ho Chi Minh trail until 1969 when it was retired from active service. As Thailand officially did not allow bomber aircraft to be stationed there, the B-26 was again redesignated as the A-26.

The CIA used B-26s crewed by Cuban exiles and painted in the markings of the Cuban Air Force during the Bay of Pigs invasion, attacking Cuban airfields and supporting the landings. 9 B-26s and 14 men were lost in the conflict.

The last combat mission was flown by the Honduran Air Force in 1977, 33 years after it was first put into service.

In the 1950s, A-26s were converted and used as air tankers to suppress and put out wildfires by the US, and later Canada.

Operators

Apart from the United States, the A-26 was used by a variety of nations and actors after WW2, notably:

• Biafra - Biafra acquired 2 B-26s during the Nigerian Civil War, they were provisionally armed with a few machine guns and were abandoned.
• Cuba - Purchased by the pre-revolution government, and used by both the CIA-backed exiles and Cuban government during the Bay of Pigs Invasion
• France - France was leant B-26s during the First Indochina War
• Honduras - The last nation to operate the A-26
• Portugal - Secretly bought 20 B-26s and used in the Portuguese Colonial War

Media

The Shooting Range #83 - Pages of History section at 10:29 discusses the Douglas A-26 Invader.

Douglas Aircraft Company
Strike Aircraft	A-20G-25 · A-26B-10 · A-26B-50 · AD-2 · AD-4 · A-1H
Bombers	TBD-1 · B-18A · SBD-3 · BTD-1 · A-26C-45 · A-26C-45DT
Turboprops	A2D-1
Jet Aircraft	F3D-1 · F4D-1
A-4 Skyhawk	A-4B · A-4E Early
Export	▄Havoc Mk I · ▄Boston Mk I · ▄DB-7 · ▂A-20G-30 · ▄AD-4 · ▄AD-4NA
A-4 Skyhawk	A-4H · A-4E Early (M) · Ayit · A-4E
	The Douglas Aircraft Company merged with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas.