The List of A-26 Invader operators lists the nations, their air force units, and civilian companies that have operated the Douglas A-26 Invader (re-designated B-26 Invader after 1947):
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Biafra acquired and used (at least) two provisionally armed B-26s during Nigerian Civil War. Former French Air Force (of the CEV test centre) B-26R, USAAF serial 41-39531, put up for sale, 11 July 1966. Registered to Pan Eurasian Trading Company, Luxembourg, 2 August 1966 (N64Y?) as "an investment," never operated; "resold to a Mr Ernest A. Koenig - a German-American residing in Luxembourg." It seems very likely that Mr Koenig acted as an agent for Eastern Nigeria, and one source claims that the real buyer was a "French company, which paid good money for the aircraft." It has been claimed that the Biafrans (who had purchasing agents in France) ended up paying as much as $320,000 for it. Although there is no direct evidence for contacts between Mr Koenig and the Eastern Nigerians at this stage, it should be mentioned that he was later also involved in the sale of C-47s to Biafra.[1]
In late October, Koenig had the Invader placed on the U.S. register as N12756, the airframe stored at Courtrai-Wevelghem in Belgium. Taken out of storage and prepped for delivery to Africa in early June 1967. Ferried to Lisbon by Belgian pilot in mid-June. Departed Lisbon 26 June, flown by former French CEV pilot and ex-Polish squadron co-pilot, arriving at Biafran capital Enugu on 29 June 1967. Known as "The Shark" with a crudely-applied shark's mouth and a single nose-mounted machine gun, it was abandoned at Enugu on 4 October 1967 in a damaged condition.[1]
A second former French Invader, RB-26P, USAAF 44-34312, registered F-BMJR, one of five sold to aerial survey company Société Carta by the Armée de l'Air in 1966, and last seen at Creil near Paris in June 1967, was flown to Biafra in August 1967 by two American pilots. "It was sold to Biafra through the French arms dealer Pierre Laureys, who had also been involved in the sale of the first Invader." (Some reports claim that an Invader carrying the bogus registration N1888T was delivered to Biafra. There might be possibly some connection with this RB-26P.) [2]
It was painted in a similar camouflage scheme to the first B-26, but with no shark's mouth. It commenced operations using locally produced ordinance until damaged in accident 2 December 1967 and grounded. Abandoned at Port Harcourt in damaged condition due to a lack of spares. Captured by Nigerian forces 18 May 1968, it damaged sufficiently by BAF commandos on 19 May 1968 to prevent operation.[2]
Neither Invader received a BAF serial.[3]
FAB Invaders were redesignated from B-26 to A-26 in 1970, FAB 5176 being the exception.
"The last Latin American air arm to acquire a B-26, and place the type in active combat-configured service, Honduras also holds the distinction of being the very last air arm to operate the type anywhere."[4]
The need for a replacement for the bomber and close air support fleet in Africa during the Colonial War, composed of the PV-2 Harpoon and of the F-84G Thunderjet, led to the procurement by the Portuguese Air Force of a new bomber in the mid-sixties. But it would prove difficult to acquire new aircraft because of the United Nations arms embargo then in force against Portugal, so special methods had to be used. In late 1964, with the decision made to acquire the B-26 Invader a contact was established with an arms broker in order to try to obtain 20 B-26 Invader aircraft.[5]
The arms dealer, Luber SA in Geneva, signed an agreement with Aero Associates of Arizona to supply 20 aircraft that would be refurbished by Hamilton Aircraft. The first B-26 would be delivered by 30 April 1965 and the last one by January 1966. Besides the aircraft, a lot of spare parts and accessories would also be included in the purchase.
It is not clear how the export licenses were obtained, but in May 1965 the first aircraft, piloted by John Hawke, was ferried from Tucson to Tancos, Portugal, through Rochester, Torbay, Canada, and Santa Maria, Azores. By August 1965, seven aircraft had already been delivered.
In September the U.S. Customs arrested Hawke and other people involved in the arms deal and prevented a C-46 transporting spare parts to Portugal from leaving the United States.
In December 1966, with only seven B-26 bombers and their provisions for armament, although without armament, the decision was made to equip the aircraft with the following: six .50 cal Browning M2 machine guns on the nose; two suspension points 50 or 200 kg bombs, and equipment for releasing 15 kg bombs, on the bomb-bay; and two suspension points per wing, allowing the alternate or combined use of two 200 kg bombs or six 50 kg bombs.
The installation of rocket launchers under the wings was also possible, thus allowing the use of four rockets of 2.5", 18 rockets of 37 mm, or 36 of 37 mm per point.
Until 1970 it was very difficult to start operating all the seven aircraft due to the lack of spare parts, however, at least it was possible to begin operational testing with three aircraft. That same year these three first B-26 were sent to Guinea-Bissau as a detachment to test the aircraft in a tropical climate.
Meanwhile, efforts to try to obtain the spare parts and armament continued. Many contacts and visits were made with other countries operating the B-26, including at least one visit to Brazil that was also operating the A-26 at the time. In September 1967, one of the first contacts took place with a visit to Chateaudun, France, during which 13 former-French Air Force were offered for sale, including seven aircraft equipped with radar. All of the aircraft had between 3,000 and 8,000 flight hours in total. The offer was rejected, probably due to the state of the aircraft.
Other spontaneous offers were also received; one of them was the proposal of six former-Guatemalan Air Force B-26 in January 1971, by 950,000 USD each. Mentioned was also the possibility of obtaining former-Nicaraguan B-26. These offers were also rejected.
In 1971 the complete refurbishment of the seven aircraft started at the OGMA workshops with spare parts obtained from France. The bombers were completely stripped down, the wing-spars reinforced and the armament installed. In addition the read windows were covered. By November 1971, all aircraft had been refurbished except for the 7104 that was scrapped due to heavy corrosion found when the stripping started.
The next year, 1972, many testing trips were made to Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands. In 1973 all the six aircraft were sent to Angola to replace F-84G fighters of 93 Squadron.
The aircraft operated until 1975, mainly for armed reconnaissance. After the war all six were left in Angola. Later one B-26 was taken to Cuba, reportedly 7101.
| Designation | USAAF Serial | PoAF Serial | Delivery | Retired | In Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B-26B-60/61-DL | 44-34535 | 7101 | May 1965 | 1975 | 26 April 1971 | Solid nose |
| B-26B-55/65-DL | 44-34328 | 7102 | 1965 | 1975 | January 1972 | Equipped with Plexiglas nose |
| B-26C-40-DT | 44-35631 | 7103 | 1965 | 1975 | November 1971 | Solid nose |
| B-26B-66-DL | 44-34726 | 7104 | 1965 | 1973 | 26 September 1967 | Scrapped by decision of March 1973. Some parts preserved for the Air Force Air Museum |
| B-26B-20-DT | 43-22427 | 7105 | 1965 | 1975 | September 1971 | |
| B-26B-40-DL | 41-39517 | 7106 | 1965 | 1975 | 28 July 1969 | |
| B-26C-35-DT | 44-35363 | 7107 | 1965 | 1975 | 9 September 1970 |
B-26 aircraft operated in Vietnamese markings were actually part of the US Air Force and crewed by Americans.
After military service, many B-26 aircraft were converted for use as "executive" personnel transports. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, a similar number of B-26s were converted for use as "airtankers" and used to fight forest fires in the United States and subsequently in Canada into the late 1990s.