A-26 Invader
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| Douglas A-26 Invader | |
|---|---|
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| USAAF A-26B-35-DL | |
| Type | Light bomber/attack aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Maiden flight | 1942 |
| Retired | 1972 |
| Primary users | United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
| Unit cost | US$242,595[1] |
First flown in 1942, the American Douglas A-26 Invader (after 1948, the B-26, and after 1966, the A-26A) was a twin-engined light attack bomber aircraft built during World War II and seeing service in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. A limited number of highly modified aircraft served in combat until 1969. The last A-26 was retired from service in 1972 by the National Guard Bureau and donated to the National Air and Space Museum.
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[edit] Design and development
The A-26 was an unusual design for an attack bomber of that period, as it was designed as a single pilot airplane. The traditional co-pilot's seat did not have flight controls. Instead, a crew person who served as a navigator and bombardier sat in that position.
The Douglas XA-26 prototype first flew July 10, 1942. The A-26 was originally built in two different configurations: the A-26B had a solid nose, which normally housed six or eight .50 caliber machine guns, while the A-26C’s glass nose contained a Norden bombsight and was used for medium altitude precision bombing. Some aircraft were armed with additional guns in their wings, giving some configurations as many as fourteen .50 caliber machine guns fixed forward.
[edit] Operational service
The Douglas company began delivering the production model A-26B in August 1943. Douglas Invaders began arriving in England in September 1944 for assignment to the 9th Air Force and entered combat two months later on Nov. 19. Invaders appeared in the Pacific Theater in January 1945 and proved to be highly effective during the remaining months of the war. It proved to be one of the finest aircraft developed in World War II.
The USAF Strategic Air Command had the B-26 (RB-26) in service from 1949 through 1950. The US Navy also used a small number of these aircraft in their utility squadrons for target towing and general utility use. The Navy designation was JD-1 and JD-1D until 1962, when the JD-1 was redesignated UB-26J and the JD-1D was redesignated DB-26J.
In the 1960s, Invaders provided by Intermountain Airlines were flown by Cuban exiles during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. CIA mercenary pilots in the Congo also flew them against "Simba" rebels who were supported by the Chinese and Soviets.
During the early phase of the Vietnam War, the On Mark Engineering Company from Van Nuys, California was selected by the Air Force to extensively upgrade the Invader for a Counter Insurgency role. On Mark converted 40 Invaders to the new B-26K Counter Invader standard, which included upgraded engines, re-manufactured wings and wing tip fuel tanks. In May 1966, the B-26K was re-designated A-26A and deployed in Thailand to help disrupt supplies moving along the Ho Chi Minh trail.
[edit] Civilian use
After military service, many A-26 aircraft were converted to "water bombers" and used to fight forest fires in the United States and Canada. Still other A-26 aircraft were converted to executive transport aircraft and were used into the 1990s.
Two A-26s were used in the 1989 Steven Spielberg film, Always, as fire bombers. The flying for the movie was performed by well-known movie pilot Steve Hinton and Dennis Lynch, the owner of the A-26s.
[edit] Military operators
- Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Indonesia, Laos, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom (two aircraft only), United States (US Army Air Force, US Air Force, US Navy)
[edit] Specifications (A-26B-60-DL Invader)
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
- Wingspan: 70 ft 0 in (21.34 m)
- Height: 18 ft 3 in (5.64 m)
- Wing area: 540 ft² (50 m²)
- Empty weight: 22,850 lb (10,365 kg)
- Loaded weight: 27,600 lb (12,519 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 35,000 lb (15,900 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 "Double Wasp" radials, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 355 mph (308 knots, 570 km/h)
- Range: 1,400 mi (1,200 nm, 2,300 km)
- Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,700 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,250 ft/min (6.4 m/s)
- Wing loading: 51 lb/ft² (250 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.145 hp/lb (108 W/kg)
Armament
- Guns:
- 8× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in the nose
- 6× 0.50 in M2 machine guns in the wings
- 2× 0.50 in M2 machine guns in remote-controlled dorsal turret
- 2× 0.50 in M2 machine guns in remote-controlled ventral turret
- Bombs: 6,000 lb (2,700 kg)-4,000 lb in the bomb bay and 2,000 lb external on the wings
[edit] Survivors
- A-26B (B-26C) 41-34972, displayed as 44-35648, Castle Air Museum, Castle Airport, Atwater, California [1]
- A-26B (B-26B) 41-39288 Museu Aerospacial da FAB, Rio de Janiero, Brazil [2]
- A-26C (B-26C) 41-39359/N-26RP Planes of Fame Air Museum, Eden Prairie, Minnesota
- A-26B (B-26B) 41-39303 Pacific Coast Air Museum, Santa Rosa, California
- Conair 322 43-22357(B-26 Invader conversion to a water bomber) The British Columbia Aviation Museum, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada [3]
- A-26C (B-26C) 43-22494 Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona
- A-26C (B-26C) 43-22499New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, Connecticut
- A-26C (B-26C) 43-22652 Travis Air Force Museum, Travis AFB, California
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34134 Museu de Armas e Velculos Motorizadas Antigos, Bebedouro, Sao Paulo Brazil
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34156 Vance AFB Vance AFB, Oklahoma
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34165 Air Force Flight Test Center Museum, Edwards AFB, California
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-34313/C-GHLK Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Mount Hope, Ontario
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34504 Chateaudun AB, gate guard, Chateaudun, France
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34535 Reported static, Havana, Cuba
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34559 Mississippi ANG - 172nd AG, Jackson Jackson, Mississippi
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34665 Strategic Air Command Museum, Ashland, Nebraska
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34659 "under restoration," Bradford, Canada, ON
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34741 Gate guard, static display, El Bosque, Chile
- A-26B (B-26B) 44-34765 Musee Royal de l'Armee, Belgium, Brussels
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35204 Laughlin AFB, Laughlin AFB, Texas
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35224 March Field Air Museum, Riverside, California
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35493 Grand Forks AFB, Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota
- RB-26C 44-35323 Planes of Fame, Grand Canyon Valle, Arizona
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35523 North Dakota ANG- 119th FG, Fargo Fargo, North Dakota
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35724 Edward F. Beale Museum, Beale AFB, California
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35617 Travis Air Force Museum, Travis AFB, California
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35732 Museum of Aviation, Warner Robins AFB, Georgia
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35733 United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson, Ohio
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35752 "Rude Invader," Carolinas Aviation Museum, Charlotte, NC [4]
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35753 Cerro Moreno AB gate guard static display, Antofagasta, Chile
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35859 Conservatoir de l'air et de l'ESpace d'Aquitaine, Bordeaux/Merignac, France
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35913 Dyess Linear Air Park, Dyess AFB, Texas
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35918 USAF History and Traditions Museum, San Antonio, Texas
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35986 Selfridge Military Air Museum, Selfridge ANG Bas, Michigan
- A-26C (B-26C) 44-35224 March Field Air Museum, Riverside, California
- B-26K 64-17640 South Dakota Air and Space Museum, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota
- B-26K 64-17653 Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona
- B-26K 64-17676 United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson, Ohio
- B-26K, display, FAS Museum, Ilopango Air base, El Salvador.
- RB-26C The Air Museum "Planes of Fame", Chino, California
- Scandinavian Historic Flight [5]
Note: This list is incomplete - please help us
[edit] References
- ^ Knaack, Marcelle Size. Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
