The next release in Osprey's Air Vanguard series is this one on the Martin B-26 Marauder. The aircraft was designed around the need for a twin engine medium bomber that would be able to fly 2,000 miles with a 3,000 pound bomb load and be able to go 300 miles an hour. Not exactly an easy task, but the folks at Martin started by developing an aircraft that was as aerodynamically clean as they could make it. It would be powered by the newly designed R-2800 engine and have a hydraulically operated turret. The aircraft would have relatively short wings, which meant a rather high wing loading. This, in turn meant a high landing and take off speed. This short wing approach was to enable to plane to reach the high speeds required. It made the airplane fly more like a fighter than a bomber, but it also meant that crews had to be well trained to handle the aircraft.

There was no XB-26 or YB-26 as the plane was ordered into production straight off the drawing board. To hedge their bets, the more docile B-25 was also ordered at the same time. Before entering production, the B-26's hydraulic turret was replaced by an electric version.

Early use of the B-26 proved that it was a bit of a handful for the average pilot. Thanks to things like nose gear failures and other teething issues, there was a high loss rate of the early planes. In order to reduce these, the aircraft was given bigger flight surfaces and had the wing canted up a bit to increase the angle of attack. However, the plane was also loaded up with more equipment and armor plating, keeping the wing loading about the same as before.

Despite its early trials and tribulations, the B-26 went on to be the safest of all of the US's bomber fleet having the lowest loss rate of them all. A B-26 named 'Flak Bait' also survived more missions than any other US bomber, over 200, and is now preserved in the Smithsonian collection. Unlike other bombers, when the war was over the B-26 rapidly disappeared being cut up and melted down in a near lemming's rush to get the airplane out of service.

Martyn Chorlton does an epic job of telling the story of the Marauder, from its initial inception, through it early teething troubles to its initial use in combat. Though designed to also drop torpedoes, apparently the plane was just too fast for that and only used that weapon on three occasions, all early in the war and all in the Pacific. Replete with many quality period photos and some great drawings and art work, the book covers all B-26 ops by all the various nations and units that flew the plane, making it a great read for those interested in the plane and desiring to learn more about it. I very much enjoyed reading every page and can highly recommend it for you.

September 2013

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