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76-779: The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II . The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland , and Omaha, Nebraska , by the Glenn L. Martin Company . First used in the Pacific Theater of World War II in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe . After entering service with

152-702: A USAAF B-26. Comedian George Gobel famously joked about being an instructor for this aircraft at Frederick Army Airfield (now Frederick Regional Airport ) during the Pacific battles, boasting that "not one Japanese aircraft got past Tulsa". Three Bombardment Groups were allocated to support the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942. They were initially used to carry out low-level attacks against heavily defended targets, incurring heavy losses with poor results, before switching to medium level attacks. By

228-777: A consequence, aircraft with the same C L at takeoff under the same atmospheric conditions will have takeoff speeds proportional to W S {\displaystyle {\sqrt {W_{S}}}} . So if an aircraft's wing area is increased by 10% and nothing else is changed, the takeoff speed will fall by about 5%. Likewise, if an aircraft designed to take off at 150 mph grows in weight during development by 40%, its takeoff speed increases to 150 1.4 {\displaystyle 150{\sqrt {1.4}}} ≈ 177 mph. Some flyers rely on their muscle power to gain speed for takeoff over land or water. Ground nesting and water birds have to be able to run or paddle at their takeoff speed before they can take off. The same

304-439: A descent. To compensate, the lift force must be increased by increasing the angle of attack by use of up elevator deflection, which increases drag. Turning can be described as "climbing around a circle" (wing lift is diverted to turning the aircraft), so the increase in wing angle of attack creates even more drag. The tighter the turn radius attempted, the more drag induced; this requires that power (thrust) be added to overcome

380-594: A design the fuselage generates aerodynamic lift, thus improving wing loading while maintaining high performance. Aircraft like the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and the Panavia Tornado employ variable-sweep wings . As their wing area varies in flight so does the wing loading (although this is not the only benefit). When the wing is in the forward position takeoff and landing performance is greatly improved. Like all aircraft flaps, Fowler flaps increase

456-404: A greater rate. The lift force L on a wing of area A , traveling at true airspeed v is given by L = 1 2 ρ v 2 A C L , {\displaystyle L={\tfrac {1}{2}}\rho v^{2}AC_{L},} where ρ is the density of air, and C L is the lift coefficient . The lift coefficient is a dimensionless number that depends on

532-426: A gust can act, both of which serve to smooth the ride. For high-speed, low-level flight (such as a fast low-level bombing run in an attack aircraft ), a small, thin, highly loaded wing is preferable: aircraft with a low wing loading are often subject to a rough, punishing ride in this flight regime. The F-15E Strike Eagle has a wing loading of 650 kg/m (130 lb/sq ft) (excluding fuselage contributions to

608-496: A high landing speed of 120 to 135 mph (193 to 217 km/h) indicated airspeed depending on load. At least two of the earliest B-26s suffered hard landings and damage to the main landing gear, engine mounts, propellers, and fuselage. The type was grounded briefly in April 1941 to investigate the landing difficulties. Two causes were found: insufficient landing speed (producing a stall ) and improper weight distribution. The latter

684-417: A high lift device. Such options allow for higher wing loading in a design. This may result in beneficial features, such as higher cruise speeds or a reduction in bumpiness at high speed low altitude flight (the latter feature is very important for close air support aircraft roles). For instance, Lockheed's Starfighter uses internal Blown flaps to achieve a high wing loading design (723 kg/m²) which allows it

760-513: A higher wing loading, a given lift-to-drag ratio is achieved at a higher airspeed than with a lower wing loading, and this allows a faster average speed across country. The ballast can be ejected overboard when conditions weaken or prior to landing. A blended wing-fuselage design such as that found on the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon or Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum helps to reduce wing loading; in such

836-466: A low 269 kg/m (55 lb/sq ft) wing loading that could make it sustain tighter turns at high altitude than contemporary jet fighters, while the slightly later Hawker Hunter had a similar wing loading of 344 kg/m (70 lb/sq ft). The Boeing 367-80 airliner prototype could be rolled at low altitudes with a wing loading of 387 kg/m (79 lb/sq ft) at maximum weight. Like any body in circular motion , an aircraft that

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912-433: A nominal load of 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) or more, and light bombers carried up to 2,000 lb (907 kg). These distinctions were beginning to disappear by the middle of World War II, when the average fighter aircraft could now carry a 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombload. Advances in powerplants and designs eventually allowed light bombers , tactical bombers , and later jet fighter-bombers to take over

988-502: A small, highly loaded wing may have superior instantaneous turn performance, but poor sustained turn performance: it reacts quickly to control input, but its ability to sustain a tight turn is limited. A classic example is the F-104 Starfighter , which has a very small wing and high 723 kg/m (148 lb/sq ft) wing loading. At the opposite end of the spectrum was the large Convair B-36 : its large wings resulted in

1064-445: Is a useful measure of the stalling speed of an aircraft. Wings generate lift owing to the motion of air around the wing. Larger wings move more air, so an aircraft with a large wing area relative to its mass (i.e., low wing loading) will have a lower stalling speed. Therefore, an aircraft with lower wing loading will be able to take off and land at a lower speed (or be able to take off with a greater load). It will also be able to turn at

1140-451: Is added. Although engines can be replaced or upgraded for additional thrust, the effects on turning and takeoff performance resulting from higher wing loading are not so easily reconciled. Modern gliders often use water ballast carried in the wings to increase wing loading when soaring conditions are strong. By increasing the wing loading the average speed achieved across country can be increased to take advantage of strong thermals. With

1216-438: Is due to wing loading and maximum lift coefficient at a given altitude and speed, this limits the turning radius due to maximum load factor . At Mach 0.85 and 0.7 lift coefficient, a wing loading of 50 lb/sq ft (240 kg/m ) can reach a structural limit of 7.33 g up to 15,000 feet (4,600 m) and then decreases to 2.3 g at 40,000 feet (12,000 m). With a wing loading of 100 lb/sq ft (490 kg/m )

1292-422: Is fast and strong enough to maintain level flight at speed v in a circle of radius R accelerates towards the center at v 2 / R {\displaystyle v^{2}/R} . This acceleration is caused by the inward horizontal component of the lift, L s i n θ {\displaystyle Lsin\theta } , where θ {\displaystyle \theta }

1368-504: Is no longer used, development of aircraft that fulfil a 'medium bomber' mission in all but name continued and these have been employed in various post-World War II conflicts; examples include dedicated tactical bombers such as the Su-24 , Su-34 , F-111 , J-16 and F-15E which have greater payload and range capability than fighter-bombers, but less than heavier strategic bombers. Wing loading In aerodynamics , wing loading

1444-423: Is that it is difficult to substantially alter the wing area of an existing aircraft design (although modest improvements are possible). As aircraft are developed they are prone to " weight growth "—the addition of equipment and features that substantially increase the operating mass of the aircraft. An aircraft whose wing loading is moderate in its original design may end up with very high wing loading as new equipment

1520-589: Is the banking angle. Then from Newton's second law , M v 2 R = L sin ⁡ θ = 1 2 v 2 ρ C L A sin ⁡ θ . {\displaystyle {\frac {Mv^{2}}{R}}=L\sin \theta ={\frac {1}{2}}v^{2}\rho C_{L}A\sin \theta .} Solving for R gives R = 2 W s ρ C L sin ⁡ θ . {\displaystyle R={\frac {2Ws}{\rho C_{L}\sin \theta }}.} The lower

1596-634: Is the total weight of an aircraft or flying animal divided by the area of its wing. The stalling speed , takeoff speed and landing speed of an aircraft are partly determined by its wing loading. The faster an aircraft flies, the more its lift is changed by a change in angle of attack, so a smaller wing is less adversely affected by vertical gusts . Consequently, faster aircraft generally have higher wing loadings than slower aircraft in order to avoid excessive response to vertical gusts. A higher wing loading also decreases maneuverability. The same constraints apply to winged biological organisms. Wing loading

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1672-406: Is true for a hang-glider pilot, though they may get assistance from a downhill run. For all these, a low W S is critical, whereas passerines and cliff-dwelling birds can get airborne with higher wing loadings. To turn, an aircraft must roll in the direction of the turn, increasing the aircraft's bank angle . Turning flight lowers the wing's lift component against gravity and hence causes

1748-537: The 322nd Bombardment Group flying its first missions in May 1943. Operations were similar to those flown in North Africa with B-26s flying at low level and were unsuccessful. The second mission, an unescorted attack on a power station at IJmuiden , Netherlands , resulted in the loss of the entire attacking force of 11 B-26s to anti-aircraft fire and Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. Following this disaster,

1824-750: The Balkan Air Force supporting Tito 's Partisans in Yugoslavia . A Marauder of 25 Squadron SAAF, shot down on the unit's last mission of World War II on 4 May 1945, was the last Marauder lost in combat by any user. The British and South African aircraft were quickly scrapped following the end of the war, the United States not wanting the return of the Lend-Lease aircraft. Following Operation Torch , (the Allied invasion of North Africa),

1900-721: The English Electric Canberra (along with its derived U.S. counterpart, the Martin B-57 ) and the Soviet Ilyushin Il-28 "Beagle". Subsequent to World War II, only the U.S. Strategic Air Command ever used the term "medium bomber" in the 1950s to distinguish its Boeing B-47 Stratojets from somewhat larger contemporary Boeing B-52 Stratofortress "heavy bombers" in bombardment wings (older B-29 and B-50 heavy bombers were also redesignated as "medium" during this period). This nomenclature

1976-745: The Free French Air Force re-equipped three squadrons with Marauders for medium-bombing operations in Italy and the Allied invasion of southern France . These B-26s replaced Lioré et Olivier LeO 451s and Douglas DB-7s . Toward the end of the war, seven of the nine French Groupes de Bombardement used the Marauder, taking part in 270 missions with 4,884 aircraft sorties in combat. Free French B-26 groups were disbanded in June 1945. Replaced in squadron service by 1947, two lingered on as testbeds for

2052-634: The North American B-25 Mitchell . Nevertheless, the 19th Bombardment Squadron of the 22nd BG continued to fly missions in the B-26. The B-26 flew its last combat mission in the theater on 9 January 1944. Two more squadrons of torpedo armed B-26s equipped the 28th Composite Group and were used for anti-shipping operations in the Aleutian Islands Campaign , but there are no records of any successful torpedo attack by

2128-478: The Snecma Atar jet engine , one of these remaining in use until 1958. In the immediate post-war years, a small number of Marauders were converted as high-speed executive transports, accommodating up to fifteen passengers. The specifications of the individual conversions differed considerably. The example shown in the image was completed in 1948 and had streamlined nose and tail fairings and windows inserted in

2204-573: The South African Air Force , 12 and 24 Squadron to be equipped, these being used for bombing missions over the Aegean Sea , Crete and Italy. A further 350 B-26Fs and Gs were supplied in 1944, with two more South African squadrons ( 21 and 30 ) joining No 12 and 24 in Italy to form an all-Marauder equipped wing, while one further SAAF squadron ( 25 ) and a new RAF squadron ( 39 Squadron ), re-equipped with Marauders as part of

2280-470: The United States Army aviation units, the aircraft quickly received the reputation of a " widowmaker " due to the early models' high accident rate during takeoffs and landings. This was because the Marauder had to be flown at precise airspeeds , particularly on final runway approach or when one engine was out. The unusually high 150 mph (241 km/h) speed on short final runway approach

2356-404: The camber and hence the maximum value of lift coefficient ( C Lmax ) lowering the landing speed. They also increase wing area, decreasing the wing loading, which further lowers the landing speed. High lift devices such as certain flaps allow the option of smaller wings to be used in a design in order to achieve similar landing speeds compared to an alternate design using a larger wing without

Martin B-26 Marauder - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-413: The B-26 had problems. Martin responded that the wings were too short. Senator Truman curtly asked why the wings had not been changed. When Martin replied that the plans were too close to completion, and his company already had the contract, Truman's testy response was quick and to the point: In that case, the contract would be canceled. Martin corrected the wings. (By February 1943, the newest model aircraft,

2508-548: The B-26B-10, had an additional 6 feet (1.8 m) of wingspan, plus uprated engines, more armor, and larger guns.) Indeed, the regularity of crashes by pilots training at MacDill Field—up to 15 in one 30-day period—led to the exaggerated catchphrase, "One a day in Tampa Bay". Apart from accidents occurring over land, 13 Marauders ditched in Tampa Bay in the 14 months between 5 August 1942 and 8 October 1943. B-26 crews gave

2584-628: The European Theater of Operations at less than 0.5%. On 9 August 1944, Captain Darrell R. Lindsey of the 394th Bombardment Group led a formation of B-26 bombers to destroy the L'Isle Adam bridge in German occupied France . Despite his B-26 being heavily damaged by ground fire and engulfed in flames, he completed the bombing run. Lindsey ordered his crew to parachute to safety but refused to escape himself, ensuring their survival. Moments after

2660-618: The Glenn L. Martin Company submitted its design, produced by a team led by Peyton M. Magruder , to meet the requirement, the Martin Model 179. Martin's design was evaluated as superior to the other proposals and was awarded a contract for 201 aircraft, to be designated B-26. The B-26 went from paper concept to an operational bomber in approximately two years. Additional orders for a further 930 B-26s followed in September 1940, still prior to

2736-537: The Japanese Fleet on 4 June 1942. Two were shot down and the other two were so badly damaged that they were written off after the mission. Their torpedoes failed to hit any Japanese ships, although they did shoot down one Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter and killed two seamen aboard the aircraft carrier Akagi with machine-gun fire. The crew of one B-26, Susie Q , after dropping their torpedo were pursued by fighters; seeking an escape route, they flew directly along

2812-483: The Marauder had a tendency to "hunt" in yaw. This instability is similar to " Dutch roll ". This would make for a very uncomfortable ride, especially for the tail gunner. The B-26 is stated by the 9th Air Force to have had the lowest combat loss rate of any US aircraft used during the war. Nevertheless, it remained a challenging aircraft to fly and continued to be disliked by some of its pilots throughout its military career. In 1944, in answer to many pilots complaining to

2888-531: The Marauder was retired, the unrelated Douglas A-26 Invader then assumed the "B-26" designation, which led to confusion between the two aircraft. In March 1939, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) issued Circular Proposal 39-640, a specification for a twin-engined medium bomber with a maximum speed of 350 mph (560 km/h), a range of 3,000 mi (4,800 km), and a bomb load of 2,000 lb (910 kg). On 5 July 1939,

2964-899: The Mediterranean and the Pacific. In early combat, the aircraft took heavy losses, but was still one of the most successful medium-range bombers used by the US Army Air Forces. The B-26 was initially deployed on combat missions in the South West Pacific in early 1942, but most of the B-26s subsequently assigned to operational theaters were sent to England and the Mediterranean area. By the end of World War II, it had flown more than 110,000 sorties, dropped 150,000 tons (136,078 tonnes) of bombs and had been used in combat by British, Free French and South African forces in addition to US units. In 1945, when B-26 production

3040-531: The UK-based B-26 force was switched to medium altitude operations, and transferred to the Ninth Air Force , set up to support the planned invasion of France. Bombing from medium altitudes of 10,000 to 15,000 feet (3,000 to 4,600 m) and with appropriate fighter escort, the Marauder proved far more successful, striking against a variety of targets, including bridges and V-1 launching sites in

3116-556: The aft bomb bay was usually fitted with additional fuel tanks instead of bombs. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines in nacelles slung under the wing, driving four-bladed propellers. The engines were manufactured at the Ford Dearborn Engine plant in Dearborn, Michigan . The wings were of low aspect ratio and relatively small in area for an aircraft of its weight, giving

Martin B-26 Marauder - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-583: The air. In 1942, aviation pioneer and company founder Glenn L. Martin was called before the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, (or also known as the " Truman Committee "), which was investigating defense contracting abuses. Senator Harry S Truman of Missouri , the committee chairman (and future Vice President and 33rd President of the United States in 1945–1953), asked Martin why

3268-413: The aircraft at altitude (cause unknown, but the accident report discussed the possibility that a canopy hatch broke off and struck the vertical stabilizer). As pilots were trained quickly for the war, relatively inexperienced pilots entered the cockpit and the accident rate increased. This occurred at the same time as more experienced B-26 pilots of the 22nd, 38th, and 42nd Bombardment Groups were proving

3344-481: The aircraft the nickname "Widowmaker". Other colorful nicknames included "Martin Murderer", "Flying Coffin", "B-Dash-Crash", "Flying Prostitute" (so-named because it was so fast and had "no visible means of support", referring to its small wings) and "Baltimore Whore" (a reference to the city where Martin was based). According to an article in the April 2009 edition of AOPA Pilot on Kermit Weeks' "Fantasy of Flight",

3420-516: The buildup to D-Day, and moving to bases in France as they became available. The Marauder, operating from medium altitude, proved to be a highly accurate aircraft, with the 9th Air Force rating it the most accurate bomber available in the final month of the war in Europe. Loss rates were far lower than in the early, low-level days, with the B-26 stated by the 9th Air Force as having the lowest loss rate in

3496-492: The commanding officer of the 22nd Bombardment Group , Colonel Mark Lewis. The Martin B-26 suffered only two fatal accidents during its first year of flight, from November 1940 to November 1941—a crash shortly after takeoff near Martin's Middle River plant in Maryland (cause unknown, but engine malfunction strongly suggested) and the loss of a 38th Bombardment Group B-26 when its vertical stabilizer and rudder separated from

3572-458: The drag. The maximum rate of turn possible for a given aircraft design is limited by its wing size and available engine power: the maximum turn the aircraft can achieve and hold is its sustained turn performance . As the bank angle increases, so does the g-force applied to the aircraft, this having the effect of increasing the wing loading and also the stalling speed . This effect is also experienced during level pitching maneuvers. As stalling

3648-950: The earlier Martin Maryland and Baltimore , these aircraft were sent to the Mediterranean, replacing the Bristol Blenheims of No. 14 Squadron in Egypt. The Squadron flew its first operational mission on 6 November 1942, being used for long range reconnaissance, mine -laying and anti-shipping strikes. Unlike the USAAF, 14 Squadron made productive use of the equipment for carrying torpedoes, sinking several merchant ships with this weapon. The Marauder also proved useful in disrupting enemy air transport, shooting down considerable numbers of German and Italian transport aircraft flying between Italy and North Africa. In 1943, deliveries of 100 long-wingspan B-26C-30s (Marauder II) allowed two squadrons of

3724-706: The effective area), whereas most delta-wing aircraft (such as the Dassault Mirage ;III , for which W S = 387 kg/m ) tend to have large wings and low wing loadings. Quantitatively, if a gust produces an upward pressure of G (in N/m , say) on an aircraft of mass M , the upward acceleration a will, by Newton's second law be given by a = G A M = G W S , {\displaystyle a={\frac {GA}{M}}={\frac {G}{W_{S}}},} decreasing with wing loading. A further complication with wing loading

3800-678: The end of the North African Campaign , the three B-26 groups had flown 1,587 sorties, losing 80 aircraft. This was double the loss rate of the B-25, which also flew 70% more sorties with fewer aircraft. Despite this, the B-26 continued in service with the Twelfth Air Force , supporting the Allied advance through Sicily , Italy and southern France . Air Marshal Sir John Slessor , Deputy Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, wrote of "the astonishing accuracy of

3876-560: The entry of the United States into World War II, plans were tentatively developed to send the 38th BG to the South West Pacific and to equip it with B-26Bs fitted with more auxiliary fuel tanks and provisions for carrying aerial torpedoes . Three 38th BG B-26Bs were detached to Midway Island in the buildup to the Battle of Midway , and two of them, along with two B-26s detached from the 22nd BG, carried out torpedo attacks against

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3952-635: The experienced medium bomber groups—particularly the Marauders; I think that the 42nd Bombardment Group in Sardinia is probably the best day-bomber unit in the world." Slessor in fact meant the 42nd Bomb Wing—17th, 319th and 320th Bomb Groups—but a US 'wing' equated roughly to a British 'group', and vice versa. The B-26 entered service with the Eighth Air Force in England in early 1943, with

4028-407: The first flight of the type. The B-26 was a shoulder-winged monoplane of all-metal construction, fitted with a tricycle landing gear . It had a streamlined, circular-section fuselage housing the crew, consisting of a bombardier in the nose, armed with a .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun , a pilot and co-pilot sitting side by side, with positions for the radio operator and navigator behind

4104-636: The last crew member jumped, the plane exploded, killing Lindsey. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. The B-26 flew its last combat missions against the German garrison at the Île d'Oléron on 1 May 1945, with the last units disbanding in early 1946. In 1942, a batch of 52 B-26A Marauders (designated Marauder I by the RAF) were offered to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease . Like

4180-484: The length of the Akagi , braving anti-aircraft fire – to the point the pursuing Japanese fighters had to hold fire temporarily, to avoid hitting the flagship. Another B-26, seriously damaged by anti-aircraft fire, did not pull out of its run, and instead flew directly at Akagi ' s bridge . Either attempting a suicide ramming , or out of control, the plane narrowly missed striking the carrier's bridge, and crashed into

4256-408: The load factor is twice smaller and barely reaches 1 g at 40,000 ft (12,000 m). Aircraft with low wing loadings tend to have superior sustained turn performance because they can generate more lift for a given quantity of engine thrust. The immediate bank angle an aircraft can achieve before drag seriously bleeds off airspeed is known as its instantaneous turn performance . An aircraft with

4332-545: The lowest loss rate of any U.S. Army Air Forces bomber. In total, 5,288 were produced between February 1941 and March 1945; 522 of these were flown by the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force . By the time the United States Air Force was created as an independent military service separate from the United States Army in 1947, all Martin B-26s had been retired from U.S. service. After

4408-450: The merits of the bomber. For a time in 1942, pilots in training believed that the B-26 could not be flown on one engine. This was disproved by several experienced pilots, including Colonel Jimmy Doolittle , who flew demonstration flights at MacDill Army Air Field , which featured takeoffs and landings with only one engine. Also, 17 Women Airforce Service Pilots were trained to demonstrate the B-26, in an attempt to "shame" male pilots into

4484-612: The ocean. From approximately June 1942, B-26 squadrons of the 38th BG were based in New Caledonia and Fiji. From New Caledonia, missions were flown against Japanese bases in the Solomon Islands. On one occasion, a B-26 was credited with shooting down a Kawanishi H6K flying boat . In 1943, it was decided that the B-26 would be phased out of operations in the South West Pacific Theater in favor of

4560-413: The pilots. A gunner manned a dorsal turret armed with two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (the first powered dorsal turret to be fitted to a U.S. bomber), and an additional .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun was fitted in the tail. Two bomb bays were fitted midfuselage, capable of carrying 5,800 lb (2,600 kg) of bombs, although in practice such a bomb load reduced range too much, and

4636-414: The planes to Australia. The 22nd BG flew its first combat mission, an attack on Rabaul which required an intermediate stop at Port Moresby , New Guinea , on 5 April 1942. A second group, the 38th , began receiving B-26s in November 1941 and began transitioning into them at Patterson Field, Ohio. There, the 38th continued the testing of the B-26, including its range and fuel efficiency. Immediately after

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4712-422: The press and their relatives back home, the USAAF and Martin took the unusual step during war of commissioning large articles to be placed in various popular publications to educate the public and defend the flying/accident record of the B-26 against "slanders". One of the longest of these articles was in the May 1944 issue of Popular Mechanics . The B-26 Marauder was used mostly in Europe, but also saw action in

4788-407: The propeller blades in flat pitch, resulting in an overspeeding propeller, sometimes known as a "runaway prop". Due to its sound and the possibility that the propeller blades could disintegrate, this situation was particularly frightening for aircrews. More challenging was a loss of power in one engine during takeoff. These and other malfunctions, as well as human error, claimed a number of aircraft and

4864-941: The rear fuselage. It served United Airlines before being sold to Mexico. It was purchased by the Confederate Air Force and restored to wartime markings for air display purposes before being lost in a fatal crash in 1995. With the exception of the B-26C, all models and variants of the B-26 were produced at Martin's Middle River, Maryland manufacturing plant. The B-26C was built at the Martin plant in Omaha, Nebraska Data from Quest for Performance and Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Medium bomber The term

4940-548: The required high performance, but also resulting in a wing loading of 53 lb/sq ft (260 kg/m) for the initial versions, which at the time was the highest of any aircraft accepted for service by the USAAC, until the introduction of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress , with the then-astonishing wing loading of 69.12 lb/sq ft (337.5 kg/m) (although both would be considered lightly loaded by

5016-501: The roles performed by mediums. After the war, use of the term generally vanished; some of this was due to mass demobilization of the participant air forces' existing equipment, and the fact that several of the most-produced medium bomber types were now technologically obsolescent. Although a number of later aircraft were designed in this performance and load-carrying range, they were henceforth referred to as tactical bombers or strike aircraft instead. Examples of post-war mediums include

5092-531: The standard of combat aircraft of the next decade). The first B-26, with Martin test pilot William K. "Ken" Ebel at the controls, flew on 25 November 1940 and was effectively the prototype. Deliveries to the USAAC began in February 1941 with the second aircraft, 40-1362 . In March 1941, the USAAC started accelerated service testing of the B-26 at Patterson Field , near Dayton, Ohio . The B-26's relatively small wing area and resulting high wing loading required

5168-568: The time. Some of these bombers, such as the Heinkel He 111 , Junkers Ju 86 , Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 , Douglas B-18 , and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley were developed from or in conjunction with existing airliners or transport aircraft. The World War II-era medium bomber was generally considered to be any level bomber design that delivered about 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of ordnance over ranges of about 1,500 to 2,000 mi (2,400 to 3,200 km). Typical heavy bombers were those with

5244-579: The wing cross-sectional profile and the angle of attack . At steady flight, neither climbing nor diving, the lift force and the weight are equal. With L / A = Mg / A = W S g , where M is the aircraft mass, W S = M / A the wing loading (in mass/area units, i.e. lb/ft or kg/m , not force/area) and g the acceleration due to gravity, this equation gives the speed v through v 2 = 2 g W S ρ C L . {\displaystyle v^{2}={\frac {2gW_{S}}{\rho C_{L}}}.} As

5320-490: The wing loading, the tighter the turn. Gliders designed to exploit thermals need a small turning circle in order to stay within the rising air column, and the same is true for soaring birds. Other birds, for example, those that catch insects on the wing, also need high maneuverability. All need low wing loadings. Wing loading also affects gust response , the degree to which the aircraft is affected by turbulence and variations in air density. A small wing has less area on which

5396-415: Was due to the lack of a dorsal turret; the Martin power turret was not yet ready. Some of the very earliest B-26s suffered collapses of the nose landing gear, said to be caused by improper weight distribution, but that is not likely to have been the only reason. The incidents occurred during low-speed taxiing, takeoffs and landings, and occasionally the strut unlocked. Later, the Martin electric dorsal turret

5472-570: Was halted, 5,266 had been built. The B-26 began to equip the 22nd Bombardment Group at Langley Field , Virginia , in February 1941, replacing the Douglas B-18 Bolo , with a further two groups, the 38th and 28th, beginning to equip with the B-26 by December 1941. Immediately following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor , the 22nd BG was deployed to the South West Pacific , first by ship to Hawaii , then its air echelon flew

5548-463: Was intimidating to many pilots who were used to much slower approach speeds, and when they slowed to speeds below those stipulated in the manual, the aircraft would often stall and crash. The B-26 became a safer aircraft once crews were retrained, and after aerodynamics modifications (an increase of wingspan and wing angle-of-incidence to give better takeoff performance, and a larger vertical stabilizer and rudder). The Marauder ended World War II with

5624-524: Was purely semantic and bureaucratic, however as both the B-47 and B-52 strategic bombers were much larger and had far greater performance and load-carrying ability than any of the World War II-era heavy or medium bombers. Similarly, the Royal Air Force referred at times to its V bomber force as medium bombers, but this was in terms of range rather than load-carrying capacity. Although the term

5700-461: Was retrofitted to some of the first B-26s. Martin also began testing a taller vertical stabilizer and revised tail gunner's position in 1941. The Pratt & Whitney R-2800-5 engines were reliable, but the Curtiss electric pitch change mechanism in the propellers required impeccable maintenance, not always attainable in the field. Human error and some failures of the mechanism occasionally placed

5776-617: Was used prior to and during World War II , based on available parameters of engine and aeronautical technology for bomber aircraft designs at that time. After the war, medium bombers were replaced in world air forces by more advanced and capable aircraft. In the early 1930s many air forces were looking to modernize their existing bomber aircraft fleets, which frequently consisted of older biplanes . The new designs were typically twin-engined monoplanes , often of all-metal construction, and optimized for high enough performance and speed to help evade rapidly evolving fighter aircraft designs of

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