Article 17177 of rec.aviation.military:
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From: jfb@usgp1.ih.att.com (Joe Baugher)
Subject: Bomber Series--Martin B-26 Marauder (4 of 18)
Message-ID: <D5p75p.54z@ssbunews.ih.att.com>
Summary: B-26B
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Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 17:27:25 GMT
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The B-26B was the version of the Marauder that was built in the 
greatest quantity.  It first appeared in May of 1942.  

The B-26B differed from earlier Marauder versions in having two 
0.50-inch machine guns with 1500 rpg installed in a stepped- down tail 
position, replacing the single hand-held gun of the earlier B-26 and 
B-26A.  The guns were operated manually by the gunner by means of a 
ring and bead sight.  The gunner had no seat, and usually knelt to 
track his targets and fire his weapons.  Ammunition was fed from 
cartridge belts held upright on a pair of roller tracks in the aft 
bomb bay.  Each gun was equipped with 800 rounds.  The new tail 
position increased the overall length to 58 feet 3 inches.  

The B version introduced a 24-volt electrical system, self-sealing 
fuel lines, and a rearrangement of various internal equipment items.  
The large propeller spinners were deleted.  A rack was introduced 
underneath the fuselage which could be attached to the belly to 
accommodate a 2000-pound torpedo.  Fuel supply included two 350-gallon 
main fuel tanks in the wings, two 121-gallon auxiliary tanks, and up 
to four 250-gallon bomb bay ferry tanks, for a total capacity of 1962 
gallons.  Normal bomb load consisted of two 2000 lb or 1600 lb bombs, 
eight 500-pound, sixteen 250 lb, or thirty 100-lb bombs.  Maximum 
short-range bombload was 5200 pounds, which was seldom carried.  This 
could be two 1600-lb bombs plus a 2000-pound torpedo on the external 
rack.  

Provisions were made for up to seven crew members.  The bombardier sat 
in the transparent nose cone and operated a flexible 0.50-inch machine 
gun with 270 rounds.  The pilot and copilot sat side by side in 
armored seats behind an armored front bulkhead.  The navigator/radio 
operator sat in a compartment behind the pilots.  In an emergency, 
these four crewmen could escape through the forward bomb bay, although 
the pilot and copilot had escape hatches in the upper cockpit that 
could be opened outward.  The beam gunner manned a single gun that 
fired through a hatch cut into the floor of the rear fuselage.  A 
Martin 250CE dorsal power turret was mounted on the top of the 
fuselage behind the bomb bay.  It was equipped with two guns and 400 
rpg.  The turret could turn through a full 360 degrees and the 
elevation could be as much as 70 degrees.  The tail gunner operated 
two 0.50-inch guns.  The main entrance to the fuselage was through the 
nose wheel well, but pilot's escape hatches were available in the roof 
of the canopy.  

The B-26B was powered by a pair of R-2800-5 engines on the first 307 
aircraft.  

In August, the production block system was introduced with the advent 
of the B-26B-2-MA.  Unlike most other aircraft, the production block 
numbers on the B-26B Marauder were not in multiples of five.  This 
model had the R-2800-41 engine, yielding 2000 hp for takeoff and 1600 
hp at 13,500 feet.  Maximum speed was up from 311 mph to 317 mph at 
14,500 feet.  However, weight was increased to 22,380 pounds empty, 
34,000 pounds gross.  

The B-26B-3-MA introduced the R-2800-43 engine of similar power.  This 
engine was retained throughout the remainder of the Marauder 
production run.  This model also had enlarged air intakes mounted on 
top of the engine cowling so that sand filters could be fitted when 
required in desert conditions.  These intakes were retrofitted to many 
earlier Marauders.  

The B-26B-4-MA which appeared in October 1942 had a longer nosewheel 
strut to increase the wing incidence and lift during takeoff.  Minor 
equipment changes such as a new starter, new navigation instruments 
and winterization gear were introduced.  The last 141 of the 211 B-4s 
built had the light tunnel gun replaced by a pair of 0.50-inch machine 
guns, one firing through each of two side hatches on the bottom of the 
rear fuselage.  This arrangement had previously been used on modified 
aircraft in the field, and was found suitable for introduction on the 
production line.  These guns were mounted on extending arms swiveling 
from positions on the fuselage floor and fired rearwards and 
downwards.  Each gun had 240 rounds of ammunition.  

The B-26B-5-MA introduced slotted flaps and mechanically-operated main 
undercarriage doors.  

In preparation for large-scale introduction of the Marauder into 
combat, the USAAF had set up B-26 Transition Training Fields at 
MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida and at Barksdale Field, Shreveport, 
Louisiana.  Nine new USAAF medium bomber groups had been activated in 
1942 as Marauder-equipped units.  Unfortunately, many of the pilots 
trying to master the Marauder at these fields had no previous 
twin-engined experience.  In 1942, a series of training accidents took 
place stateside which placed the future of the entire Marauder program 
in doubt.  Most of these accidents took place during takeoff or 
landing.  The increases in weight that had been gradually introduced 
on the production line had made the wing loading of the Marauder 
progressively higher and higher, resulting in higher stalling and 
landing speeds.  Veteran pilots in combat overseas had enough 
experience that they could handle these higher speeds, but new 
trainees at home had serious problems and there were numerous 
accidents, causing the Marauder to earn such such epithets as "The 
Flying Prostitute", "The Baltimore Whore", "The Flying Vagrant", or 
"The Wingless Wonder", these names being given because the B-26's 
small wing area appeared to give it no visible means of support.  
Other derisive names being given to the B-26 were "The Widow Maker", 
"One-Way Ticket", "Martin Murderer", "The Flying Coffin", "The Coffin 
Without Handles", and the "B-Dash Crash".  In particular, there were 
so many takeoff accidents at MacDill Field during early 1942 that the 
phrase "One a Day Into Tampa Bay" came to be a commonplace lament.  

The USAAF was concerned about the high accident rate and seriously 
considered withdrawing the Marauder from production and service.  The 
US Senate's Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense 
Program (better known as the Truman Committee, after its chairman, 
Sen.  Harry S Truman of Missouri), which had been charged with 
ferreting out corruption, waste, and mismanagement in the military 
procurement effort, also began looking into the Marauder's safety 
record.  In July the Committee recommended that B-26 production be 
stopped.  However, combat crews in the South Pacific were more 
experienced and were not having any problems with the airplane, and 
they went to bat for the Marauder.  They exerted pressure, and the 
USAAF decided to continue with production of the Marauder.  

However, by September of 1942, the situation had gotten even worse and 
training accidents had become even more frequent.  By that time, the 
reputation of the Marauder had gotten so bad that civilian crews 
contracted to ferry USAAF aircraft to their destinations were often 
quitting their jobs rather than having to ferry a B-26.  The Air 
Safety Board of the USAAF was forced to initiate an investigation into 
the cause.  In October, the Truman Committee was again on the warpath 
and once again recommended that production of the B-26 be 
discontinued.  

USAAF commanding General Henry. H. Arnold directed that Brig.  
General James H. Doolittle (fresh from his famous Tokyo raid) 
investigate the problem with the B-26 personally.  Doolittle had 
recently been given command of the B-26-equipped 4th Medium 
Bombardment Wing, which was scheduled to take part in the invasion of 
North Africa.  

Both General Doolittle and the Air Safety Board concluded that there 
was nothing intrinsically wrong with the B-26, and there was no reason 
why it should be discontinued.  They traced the problem to the 
inexperience of both aircrews and ground crews, and also to the 
overloading of the aircraft beyond the weight at which it could be 
safely flown on one engine only.  Almost immediately after the 
Marauder had entered service, it had been found necessary to add more 
and more equipment, armament, fuel, and armor, driving the gross 
weight steadily upwards.  By early 1942, the B-26 had risen in normal 
gross weight from its original 26,625 pounds to 31,527 pounds with no 
increase in power.  It had been found that many of the accidents had 
been caused by engine failures, which were in turn caused by a 
combination of poor maintenance by relatively green mechanics and a 
change from 100 octane fuel to 100 octane aromatic fuel, which damaged 
the diaphragm of the carburetors.  Many of the B-26 instructors were 
almost as green as the pilots they were trying to train, and did not 
know themselves how to fly the B-26 on one engine only, and so could 
not teach the technique to their students.  

General Doolittle sent his technical adviser, Captain Vincent W.  
"Squeak" Burnett, to make a tour of OTU bases to demonstrate how the 
B-26 could be flown safely.  These demonstrations included 
single-engine operations, slow-flying characteristics, and recoveries 
from unusual flight attitudes.  Capt Burnett made numerous low 
altitude flights with one engine out, even turning into a dead engine 
(which aircrews were warned never to do), proving that the Marauder 
could be safely flown if you knew what you were doing.  Martin also 
sent engineers out into the field to show crews how to avoid problems 
caused by overloading, by paying proper attention to the plane's 
center of gravity.  

However, the decision was made to increase the wing area in order to 
lower the wing loading, reducing the takeoff and landing speeds and 
hopefully cutting down on the number of takeoff and landing accidents.  

The new wing was first introduced on the B-26C production block at 
Omaha, and did not appear on the B-26B line at Baltimore until the 
introduction of the B-26B-10-MA production block, which first appeared 
in January of 1943.  The wing span increased from 65 to 71 feet and 
area increased from 602 to 658 square feet.  A taller fin and rudder 
was introduced to maintain stability with the larger wing, increasing 
overall height from 19 feet 10 inches to 21 feet 6 inches.  

However, the advantages of the reduced wing loading were partially 
offset by an increase in gross weight to 38,200 pounds as the result 
of the fitting of additional armament.  A total of twelve 0.50-inch 
machine guns were now carried.  These comprised a flexible 0.50-inch 
nose gun with 270 rounds, a single fixed gun on the starboard side of 
the nose with 200 rounds, two "package" guns on each side of the 
fuselage below the cockpit with 200-250 rpg, two 0.50-inch guns in the 
rear dorsal turret, two 0.50-inch guns in the beam, and two 0.50 inch 
guns in the tail.  Nevertheless, at a takeoff weight of 36,000 pounds, 
the takeoff run was reduced from 3150 to 2850 feet.  However, the 
larger wing area resulted in a decrease in maximum speed from from 289 
to 282 mph.  

Even before all the design changes had been put on the production 
line, the efforts of the Army and Martin to improve training began to 
pay off, and accidents at training fields began to fall off, and 
within a month had reached a fairly low level.  The Truman Committee 
finally relented, and stopped its demands for the cessation of 
Marauder production.  Nevertheless, the derogatory nicknames still 
persisted, and word had not gotten down to the grass roots level that 
the problems with the B-26 had been corrected.  Pilot students still 
believed that the B-26 was a deathtrap, and very few graduates 
requested assignment to a B-26 group.  

On the B-26B-20-MA and later blocks, the hand-held twin tail guns were 
replaced by a power-operated Martin-Bell turret, also with two 
0.50-inch guns with 400 rpg.  The guns were positioned below the 
gunner and afforded a wider field of fire.  The blunt tail cone of 
this installation markedly altered the contours of the rear fuselage.  
The guns were operated by a remotely-controlled linkage, but gunners 
usually preferred to swing the guns manually.  Provisions were made 
for two more 250-US gallon tanks in the aft bomb bay, bringing total 
fuel capacity to 1964 US gallons.  

Early models of the B-26 had two separate bomb bays, but the rear one 
was only used infrequently for light loads in the South Pacific.  
Eventually, the rear bomb bay racks were discontinued altogether.  
Eventually the rear bomb bay doors and actuating mechanism were 
deleted as well.  The space and weight factors had become too 
critical, and the space was more valuable as a gunner's station after 
two flexible 0.50-inch machine guns were installed in the waist window 
area and ammunition storage boxes were installed for the tail and 
waist guns.  Provisions for the two rear bay tanks were deleted from 
the B-26B-25-MA and later blocks.  

The last of 1883 B-26Bs was delivered at Baltimore in February of 
1944.  In addition, 208 B-26Bs were converted to AT-23A target tugs 
for the USAAF.  


Serials of Martin B-26B Marauder:

41-17544/17624		Martin B-26B Marauder
41-17625		Martin B-26B-3-MA Marauder
41-17626/17851		Martin B-26B Marauder
41-17852/17946		Martin B-26B-2-MA Marauder
41-17947/17973		Martin B-26B-3-MA Marauder
41-17974/18184		Martin B-26B-4-MA Marauder
41-18185/18334		Martin B-26B-4-MA Marauder
41-31573/31672		Martin B-26B-15-MA Marauder
41-31673/31772		Martin B-26B-20-MA Marauder
41-31773/31872		Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder 
				31773 was *Flak Bait*, the first Allied
				bomber in the ETO to complete 200 sorties.
				Nose section is on display at NASM.
41-31873/31972		Martin B-26B-30-MA Marauder
41-31973/32072		Martin B-26B-35-MA Marauder
42-43260/43357		Martin B-26B-40-MA Marauder
42-43358/43359		Martin AT-23A
				B-26B modified as unarmed target tug
42-43360/43361		Martin B-26B-40-MA Marauder
42-43362/43458		Martin AT-23A
				B-26B modified as unarmed target tug
42-43459		Martin B-26B-40-MA Marauder
42-95629/95737		Martin AT-23A
				B-26B modified as unarmed target tug
42-95738/95828		Martin B-26B-45-MA Marauder
42-95829/96028		Martin B-26B-50-MA Marauder
42-96029/96228		Martin B-26B-55-MA Marauder


Specification of Martin B-26B Marauder (B-10 to B-55):  

Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radial 
engines with two-speed superchargers, each rated at 1920 hp for 
takeoff and 1490 hp at 14,300 feet.  Driving Curtiss 13 foot 6 inch 
four-bladed propellers.  
Performance (at 37,000 pounds weight):  Maximum speed 270 mph at sea 
level, 282 mph at 15,000 feet.  Initial climb rate 1200 feet per 
minute.  Service ceiling 21,700 feet.  Range 1150 miles at 214 mph 
with 3000 lbs of bombs and 962 gallons of fuel.  Ferry range 2000 
miles at 195 mph with 1462 gallons or (early blocks only) 2850 miles 
with 1962 gallons.  Take off distance to 50 feet, 3500 feet.  Landing 
distance from 50 feet, 2900 feet.  
Weights:  24,000 pounds empty, 37,000 pounds combat.  
Fuel:  The main fuel tanks are carried in the wings.  Three main 
self-sealing tanks are installed in the wing inboard of the nacelles.  
Two auxiliary tanks are installed in the wings outboard of the 
nacelles.  Long-range ferry tanks can be carried in the bomb bay.  
Dimensions:  Wingspan 71 feet 0 inches, length 58 feet 3 inches, 
height 21 feet 6 inches, wing area 658 square feet.  
Armament:  Eleven 0.50-inch Colt-Browning machine guns.  One in 
flexible nose position, four in blister packs on sides of fuselage, 
two in dorsal turret, two in tail turret, two in waist positions (one 
on each side of the fuselage aft of the turret).  The internal bomb 
bay had maximum accommodation for two 2000-pound bombs or four 
2000-pound bombs, the latter being carried in pairs one above each 
other on each side of the central catwalk.  

Sources:

   Famous Bombers of the Second World War, William Green,
   Doubleday, 1959.

   The Martin B-26 Marauder, J. K. Havener, TAB Aero, 1988.

   Me & My Gal--The Stormy Combat Romance Between a WW II Bomber
   Pilot and His Martin B-26, Charles O'Mahony, Wings, 
   December 1994.

   The Martin B-26B and C Marauder, Ray Wagner, Aircraft in
   Profile, Doubleday, 1965.

   Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century,
   Michael J.H. Taylor, Mallard Press.

   American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner,
   Doubleday, 1982.


Joe Baugher			  **************************************
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