Marauder takes punishment! (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> War In The Pacific - Struggle Against Japan 1941 - 1945



Message

m10bob -> Marauder takes punishment! (7/1/2007 5:56:19 PM)

According to the accounts of the 22nd Bomb Group flying the Martin B 26, the plane could take at least 2 times the damage the B 25 could take, and still bring its' crew home, even on one engine, (which some stateside wags claimed could not be done.)
Here is a B 26 making an emergency landing. Note how even when the wheels are tucked in, the plane will not damage itself too badly and can be flown again.
(This plane is in Pacific theatre markings.)

[image]local://upfiles/7909/7CD607C8C7324A4FAAD1EF75B7711754.jpg[/image]



m10bob -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/1/2007 5:59:27 PM)

Another shot showing a badly shot up plane.. Note the tailgunner is still manning his station.

[image]local://upfiles/7909/5E0ED4343F174B75B2F65D766A542AEA.jpg[/image]



niceguy2005 -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/1/2007 6:57:29 PM)

Great pictures m10bob. [&o]

I have read that the pilots that flew this plane learned to love it, despite its reputation as a widow maker...not altogether unjustified as I have read that the plane could be rather unforgiving to fly. However, I have read several accounts (mostly from the Italy campaign) from pilots saying that the 26 actually saved their lives because it was so durable.

I don't know that the durability of this plane is aptly captured in witp. I should go look up the stats. I often keep some of my BGs in B-26s as opposed to "upgrading" to 25s, just because I like this plane. The range being one hex shorter than the Mitchell though is a killer sometimes.



m10bob -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/1/2007 9:27:47 PM)

Type: Medium Bomber
Origin: Martin
Models: Model 179, B-26A to G, Marauder I to III
Crew: Five To Seven
First Flight: November 25, 1940
Service Delivery: February 25, 1941
Final Delivery: March 1945
Production: 5,157+
Powerplant:
B-26
Model: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-5 Double Wasp
Type: 18-cylinder two row radial
Number: Two Horsepower: 1,850

B-26A
Model: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-39 Double Wasp
Type: 18-cylinder two row radial
Number: Two Horsepower: 2,000

B-26B through G
Model: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 Double Wasp
Type: 18-cylinder two row radial
Number: Two Horsepower: 2,000

Dimensions:
Wing Span:
B-26A & first 641 B-26B: 65 ft. (19.8m)
Remainder: 71 ft. (21.64m)
Length:
B-26: 56 ft.
B-26A & B: 58 ft. 6 in.
B-26F & G: 56 ft. 6 in.
Height:
Up to B-26E: 19 ft. 10 in. (6.04m)
Remainder: 21 ft. 6 in. (6.55m)
Wing Area: N/A

Weights:
Empty:
Early, Typical: 23,000 lb. (10,433 kg.)
B-26F & G: 25,300 lb. (11,490 kg.)
Maximum Loaded:
B-26: 32,000 lb.
B-26A: 33,022 lb.
First 641 B-26B: 34,000 lb.
Remaining B-26B: 37,000 lb. (16,783 lb.)
B-26F: 38,000 lb.
B-26G: 38,200 lb. (17,340 kg.)
Performance:
Max. Speed:
Up To B-26E, Typical: 310 mph (500 km/h)
B-26F & G: 280 mph (451 km/h)
Initial Climb (Typical): 1,000 ft./min. (305 m/min.)
Service Ceiling:
Up To B-26E, Typical: 23,000 ft. (7000 m)
B-26F & G: 19,800 ft. (6040 m)
Range (All, Typical, with 3,000 lb. bombload):
1,150 miles (1850 km)

Armament:
B-26 & B-26A: Either .30 or .50 Browning M.G.
One or Two machine guns manually aimed in tail
Two machine guns in powered dorsal turret
One machine gun manually aimed in tail

B-26B to E:
One 0.5 in. Browning M.G. manually aimed in nose
Two 0.5 in. Browning M.G. in powered dorsal turret
Two 0.5 in. Browning M.G. in waist
One 0.5 in. Browning M.G. "tunnel gun"
Two 0.5 in. Browning M.G. in powered tail turret
Four 0.5 in. Browning M.G. fixed on sides of forward fuselage

B-26F & G:
One 0.5 in. Browning M.G. manually aimed in nose
Two 0.5 in. Browning M.G. in powered dorsal turret
Two 0.5 in. Browning M.G. in waist
Two 0.5 in. Browning M.G. in powered tail turret
Four 0.5 in. Browning M.G. fixed on sides of forward fuselage

Bomb Load:
Internal load of 5,200 lb. (2359 kg) up to 641st B-26B, after which rear bay was disused (eliminated in F, G) to give maximum load of 4,000 lb. (1814 kg.). Early versions could carry two torpedoes.
COMMENTS:

[image]local://upfiles/7909/790A0343D1034C85B95FA7B547E17A1E.jpg[/image]



m10bob -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/1/2007 9:29:30 PM)

B 26

[image]local://upfiles/7909/43ED6AD15B604974BAB37F3C7D02769F.jpg[/image]



m10bob -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/1/2007 9:53:42 PM)

B 26

Note the glass has been completely removed on the tail gunners' position!
The B 26's in the Pacific theatre flew low, under 10,000 feet and often less than 2000 to keep fighters from being under them, therefore, they did not get as cold in the air as a high flying plane.
Usually, only one man used the so-called waist guns, taking turns to fire to the left or right. Those guns were mounted low on the waist, a kind of ad hoc arrangement.

[image]local://upfiles/7909/5869EF6A27DE4418BEE23CEF84A715EE.jpg[/image]



Yamato hugger -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/2/2007 12:13:26 AM)

I should have suspected that Doolittle knew
more about the B-26 than he admitted when he said,
"It's just another airplane. Let's start it up and play
with it."

That is exactly what we did. We got in the air and
circled to 6,000 feet, remaining close enough
to the field to reach the runway if we had trouble.
But everything went smoothly.

Doolittle then shut down one of the engines,
feathered the propeller. He got the plane trimmed and
we did some flying on one engine, turning in both
directions, climbing, making steep banks. The
Marauder was a tame bird with Doolittle at the
controls.

Suddenly he put the plane into a dive, built up
excess speed, and put it into a perfect loop—all with
one engine dead. As we came to the bottom of the
loop, he took the dead propeller out of feather and it
started windmilling. When it was turning fast enough,
he flipped on the magnetos and restarted the engine
as we made a low pass over the airfield. We came
around in a normal manner, dropped the gear and the
flaps, and set the B-26 down smoothly on the runway.

The pilots and operations people who had been
watching us were impressed. The flight was an important
start toward convincing them that the B-26 was just
another airplane.

http://personal.trxinc.com/dpixler/



wdolson -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/2/2007 2:26:26 AM)

The B-26 was built to a USAAF requirement for a very fast bomber.  The only way Martin could meet the spec was by putting the largest engines available in it (P&W 2800) which was a brand new engine, and  making the wings very short.  One of the nicknames of the early B-26 was "The Incredible Prostitute" because it had no visible means of support.  The short wings meant a high stall speed and high landing speed.  When introduced it was the fastest landing speed production plane in the world.  The P&W 2800 produced a lot more torque than any previous engine, so losing an engine caused tremendous yaw problems. 

Pilots who were among the first to convert to the P-47 from smaller engine fighters found the torque on take off to be a tough battle to fight.  I read one account of a pilot's first take off in the Jug.  He was warned that it had more torque than anything ever seen, but he didn't quite believe it until he lifted off and found himself flying 90 degrees to the runway before he got the landing gear up.  Taking off in a P-47 usually involved standing on the rudder pedal to counteract the torque.

Later models of the B-26 had the wing tips extended, which reduced wing loading and made it handle better at low speeds.  After a rocky start, it went on to have the lowest loss per sortie of any Allied bomber than flew any significant number of missions.

Early in the war it was determined that the B-26 was not suited to the conditions found in the Pacific.  The B-26 had very little ground clearance for the props, so operating from rough runways, the propeller tips would sometimes catch rocks and debris.  The B-25 had better ground clearance.  The early B-26's high landing speed also made landing on rough airfields pretty dicey.

The B-26 was considered for the Doolittle Raid, but it's shorter range and high take off speed eliminated it from the running.  The B-18 was also considered, but that idea was quickly scrapped too.

Bill



m10bob -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/2/2007 2:16:39 PM)

The pilots who used the plane said it could take twice the damage of the B 25.. This is certainly not reflected in the game, if durability is an indication?



niceguy2005 -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/2/2007 6:21:27 PM)

Indeed. I checked the AC stats in witp yesterday. A B-26 has Dur=67. The B-25C has 70, IIRC and it improves from there. The A-26, which one would think would be heavily armored still has a durability of 67.

Given all that I would still have most of my BGs in witp flying B-25s. That one extra hex of range can make a big difference.



panda124c -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/2/2007 8:18:51 PM)

Another trick Doolittle pulled was to take a B-26 Pilot up and on take off kill one engine then circle the field and make a perfect one engine landing. The biggest fear of the B-26 pilots was to lose an engine on take off.

IIRC after dropping their bomb load over Rabaul the B-26's would clean up and put the nose down just a little because the B-26 going downhill was just as fast as a Zero. This meant that the Zero's could only attack from behind with a very slow closing rate, giving the tail gunner lots of time, particularly with the .50 Cal. having a longer range than the Zero's 20mm cannon and the B-26 being a very stable gun platform.

With all this said the B-25 was a much more flexable weapons platform. But the B-26 Marauder looks much better, more like a FAST bomber.[:D]



niceguy2005 -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/2/2007 9:21:55 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: pbear
With all this said the B-25 was a much more flexable weapons platform. But the B-26 Marauder looks much better, more like a FAST bomber.[:D]

Agreed. Anyone ever compare the 26 and 25. The 26 actaully looks considerably smaller to me.



m10bob -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/3/2007 1:07:03 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005


quote:

ORIGINAL: pbear
With all this said the B-25 was a much more flexable weapons platform. But the B-26 Marauder looks much better, more like a FAST bomber.[:D]

Agreed. Anyone ever compare the 26 and 25. The 26 actaully looks considerably smaller to me.


I have stood near both, pretty much the same size..WPAFB is a MUST!



wdolson -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/3/2007 3:58:31 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005
Agreed. Anyone ever compare the 26 and 25. The 26 actaully looks considerably smaller to me.


quote:

ORIGINAL: m10bob
I have stood near both, pretty much the same size..WPAFB is a MUST!


The A-26 is a bit smaller than a B-25, but the B-25 and B-26 are very close in size. The B-26 is a more compact shape though.

One of these days I would like to get to the USAF Museum. They have some planes that are hard to find, or only one is left.

Bill



MineSweeper -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/3/2007 4:39:27 AM)


quote:



One of these days I would like to get to the USAF Museum. They have some planes that are hard to find, or only one is left.

Bill

The XB-70 would be on the top of my list.....[:)]



m10bob -> RE: Marauder takes punishment! (7/3/2007 11:11:57 AM)

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/


http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/exhibits/



Page: [1]

Valid CSS!




Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI
3.640625