World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe B-26 Marauder medium bombers were designed by a team led by Peyton M. Magruder as a response to United States Army Air Corps Circular Proposal 39-640 of 1939. The design was accepted even before the prototype flew due to the great demand for a medium bomber for the war in Europe, and that proved to be unwise. Major design flaws that resulted in tricky high-speed landings and the frequent power losses that led to fatal rolls contributed to the nicknames such as "Widowmaker", "Flying Coffin", and "B-Dash-Crash" for the first batch of these bombers. After a Senate inquiry led by Senator Harry Truman to help the Glenn L. Martin Company find the causes of the problems, a new design was devised with larger wingspan, among other changes. The new design entered production in Feb 1941. They were still difficult aircraft to pilot, but they nevertheless entered the war under the banners of the United States Army Air Corps, Royal Air Force, and the South African Air Force due to the great demand.

ww2dbaseMarauders could be categorized into two main roles. Some variants of Marauders were built for medium-altitude bombing, which is their originally intended role. Later models, however, were equipped with additional machine guns so that they could support ground troops in strafing missions; these models were also used for low-level bombing missions.

ww2dbaseThe last mission flown by Marauders was in May 1945. They were retired from service after WW2 ended. 5,288 were produced between Feb 1941 and Mar 1945.

SPECIFICATIONS

B-26G

Machinery	Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 radial engines rated at 1,900hp each
Armament	12x12.7mm Colt-Browning machine guns, 1,800kg of bombs
Crew	7
Span	21.65 m
Length	17.80 m
Height	6.55 m
Wing Area	61.10 m²
Weight, Empty	11,000 kg
Weight, Loaded	17,000 kg
Speed, Maximum	460 km/h
Speed, Cruising	358 km/h
Service Ceiling	6,400 m
Range, Normal	1,850 km

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

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1.  Hobilar says:
1 Sep 2007 10:51:30 AM

Under Lend-Lease, the Royal Air Force ordered a total of 522 Marauders and deployed them all in the Mediterranean theatre and with the South African Air Force. No 14 Squadron was the first RAF unit to be equipped and was operational within two months. RAF B-26s also supported Allied forces in Sicily, Sardinia and Italy, and by the end of March 1944 had dropped a total of 18,000 tons of bombs. In March 1943 six squadrons of Free French Air Force Marauders became operational, and these alongside other Allied B-26s supported the Allied invasion of Southern France in August 1944.

4.  David Stubblebine says:
19 Nov 2014 06:03:27 PM

Mike:

USAAF Station 466 was RAF Membury in Berkshire. B-26's were not based there but that does not mean there could not have been an accident there. Aviation Archeology lists no B-26 accidents at Membury, but their records are admittedly incomplete.

If you really want help finding out more about this accident, a little more information would be required - like approximate date, bombing squadron, pilot's name, aircraft serial number, or something like that.