Glen Martin B-26 Marauder history

It is a few months before the Second World War that the U.S. Air Force wanted to equip its fleet of strategic bombers with a new medium, twin-engine aircraft. The study of such a plane began and once the prototype validated, the bomber called the B-26 entered service in 1939.

Deployed on December 8, 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the B-26 was committed on most fronts in World War II, primarily in Europe. It is nicknamed "The Widow Maker" because of the extraordinary effectiveness of its bombing.

This bomber, fast and maneuverable, could hit quickly and well: very often, during air raids led by the B-26 Marauder, the ennemy air defense did not have time to react. Thus, this bomber is the Ally device that was the least shot during the Second World War.

5,157 units of the B-26 were built in total. Many versions of the B-26 Marauder were manufactured between 1941 and 1945, anti-submarine (in the context of these missions, the B-26 were equipped with torpedoes, what was unique in the history of American bombers on that period), maritime patrol and weather information models.

Glen Martin B-26 Marauder sheet

Country creator/user: USA
Name: Glen Martin B-26 B Marauder

Lenght: 17,75 m
Wingspan: 19,81 m
Height: 6,05 m
Curb weight : 12,000 kg
Maximum speed: 510 km/h
Range: 1,850 kilometers
Ceiling: 7,200 m

Armament: six 12,7 mm Browning machine guns

Transport : 1,500 kg of bombs

Crew: 7 (a pilot and a co-pilot, a bomber, a navigator, an engineer, a radio operator and a gunners)

Engine: two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 of 1,920 hp each

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