The A-26 Invader was one of the most effective attack
bombers to see action late in the War, and the aircraft, when fitted
with eight .5 caliber machine guns in its nose, was an incredibly
effective ground or surface ship attack aircraft. Douglas Aircraft
developed the aircraft. The team of Edward Heinemann and Jack
Northrop worked on the initial design of what would become the A-20
Havoc. Northrop then left Douglas to form his own company. Heinemenn
and project engineer Robert Donovan began work on the A-26 project
in 1941. It would incorporate several of the A-20s features yet it
would be as advanced as possible with many state-of-the-art
concepts. A mid-mounted, laminar-flow airfoil wing was utilized with
double slotted electrically controlled flaps. Defensive armament was
limited to remotely controlled dorsal and ventral turrets both under
the control of a gunner located in the rear of the fuselage.
Approval to develop prototypes was received from the Army in June of
1941. Three were built at Douglas’ El Segundo, California plant and
were designated the XA-26. Heinemann’s design team had built in a
lot of flexibility into the A-26’s design. The aircraft could be
easily modified to vary its role. A three-man attack bomber version
with a Plexiglas nose could be modified into a two-man night fighter
version with radar in the nose and four ventral-mounted 20mm
cannons, or modified once again into a ground attack aircraft with a
variety of nose-mounted armaments. Work on the three prototypes was
slowed by the War, but the aircraft was ready to go into production
by mid-1942. Screw-ups within the Army and a lack of manufacturing
equipment delayed the start of production until 1943. The Army
decided to cancel the night fighter version of the A-26 and proceed
with production of both a bomber and ground attack versions of the
aircraft that would be named the “Invader.” The A-26B with the
nose-mounted armament generally was fitted with either six or eight
machine guns. The B variant could carry a 6,000-pound bomb load
powered by its twin 2000-HP Pratt and Whitney R-2800-27 engines.
With a maximum speed of 322-MPH the aircraft had a service ceiling
of 25,000 feet and a maximum range of approximately 3000 miles. The
A-26C variant was the glass nosed bomber version. In total 1,355 “B”
versions were built along with 1,336 “C” versions. After the War the
A-26’s designation changed to the B-26 – leading to some confusion
with the Martin-built B-26. In Stan Stokes’ painting entitled No
Trains Today, a pair of A-26Bs rips into an Axis freight train
behind enemy lines in 1945. The A-26 would go on to serve in the
Korean War and several of these splendid aircraft remain air-worthy
to this day.
|
Collector Sized Lithograph:
$40
16" x 11 1/2"
|
|
|
Giclee on Canvas:
$445
18'' x 27''
|
|
