85 years of the American B-26 Marauder bomber

November 25 marked the 85th anniversary of the American medium bomber B-26 Marauder, created by Glenn L. Martin. On that day in 1940, its first prototype took to the skies.

During the development of the aircraft, several aircraft manufacturers engaged in fierce competition for large government orders. At the same time, they all focused on using air-cooled engines from the Wright Twin Cyclone family. Eager to outperform their rivals, Martin's designers paid special attention to the high speed of their machine. As a result, thanks to its excellent aerodynamics, early versions of the B-26 flew almost 70 km/h (more than 15%) faster than its main competitor, the B-25. However, this success came at the cost of an increase in landing speed. In combat units, this led to a significant number of crashes, and the Marauder even began to be called “the widow maker.”

The aircraft had to be urgently redesigned. The stream of complaints about the B-26 almost dried up, and what's more, even combat losses were the lowest among American bombers. However, the Marauder's maximum speed also decreased significantly—now it flew only slightly faster than the B-25 (we have a separate article about it). Although the reputation of the B-26 improved significantly, crews still preferred the B-25. It is not surprising that almost 46% fewer Marauders were built than their competitor.

A total of 5,288 B-26s were produced in ten main variants. One of the most advanced was the B-26G with two Wright Twin Cyclone R-2800-43 engines, each with a power of 2,000 hp. It had a length of 17.8 m, a wingspan of 21.64 m, a maximum take-off weight of 17,327 kg, a maximum speed of 455 km/h, and a range of almost 4,600 km. Its defensive armament consisted of 11 12.7 mm machine guns. The aircraft could carry up to 1,800 kg of bombs.

In the United States, Marauders were adopted by the Army Air Forces, the Navy Air Corps, and the Marine Corps. In addition, they were received by Great Britain, South Africa, and the Free French Forces, from which France inherited them after liberation from Nazi occupation.

The Americans first used their B-26s in the Pacific Theater in June 1942. Later, they began to fight over Europe as well. In the post-war period, the Marauders served for a very short time – in fact, by the beginning of 1948, they were no longer in service. Only a few demilitarized aircraft continued to be used by civilian operators, in particular for transporting business passengers