{"id":20784,"date":"2026-08-09T22:01:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/?page_id=20784"},"modified":"2026-08-09T22:01:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:01:38","slug":"b-26-marauder","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos &#038; Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"mfam\">\n<style>html{overflow-x:hidden}body.page-id-20784{overflow-x:hidden}body.page-id-20784 h1.entry-title.main_title{display:none}body.page-id-20784 #sidebar{display:none}body.page-id-20784 #left-area{width:100%!important;float:none;padding:0}body.page-id-20784 #main-content .container::before{display:none!important;background:none!important}body.page-id-20784 #main-content .container{padding-top:0}#mfam{width:100vw;margin-left:calc(50% - 50vw);overflow:hidden;font-family:'Gilroy regular',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;background:#fff;line-height:1.6}#mfam *{box-sizing:border-box}#mfam img{max-width:100%;display:block}#mfam a{color:#3568e0;text-decoration:none}#mfam a:hover{text-decoration:underline}#mfam h2,#mfam h3,#mfam h1{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:#0d1117;line-height:1.2}#mfam .wrap{max-width:1080px;margin:0 auto;padding:0 22px}#mfam .sec{padding:60px 0}#mfam .kicker{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:13px;letter-spacing:2px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5C91FF;margin:0 0 12px}#mfam .sec>.wrap>h2,#mfam .sec2h{font-size:32px;margin:0 0 22px}#mfam .lead{font-size:19px;color:#39424e;max-width:820px}#mfam .hero{position:relative;width:100%;min-height:78vh;display:flex;align-items:flex-end;overflow:hidden;background:#0d1117}#mfam .hero-img{position:absolute;inset:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;opacity:.72}#mfam .hero-shade{position:absolute;inset:0;background:linear-gradient(180deg,rgba(13,17,23,.15) 0%,rgba(13,17,23,.35) 45%,rgba(13,17,23,.92) 100%)}#mfam .hero-inner{position:relative;z-index:2;max-width:1080px;margin:0 auto;padding:0 22px 46px;width:100%;color:#fff}#mfam .crumb{font-size:14px;color:#c7d2e2;margin-bottom:16px}#mfam .crumb a{color:#c7d2e2}#mfam .hero h1{font-size:60px;color:#fff;margin:0 0 14px;letter-spacing:-.5px}#mfam .claim{font-size:21px;color:#e7edf6;max-width:760px;margin:0 0 26px}#mfam .stripe{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:14px;border-top:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.18);padding-top:22px}#mfam .stat{min-width:150px}#mfam .stat b{display:block;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:30px;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}#mfam .stat span{display:block;font-size:14px;color:#c7d2e2;margin-top:6px}#mfam .chips{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;padding:26px 0 0}#mfam .chip{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:7px;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;background:#f6f8fb;padding:9px 15px;font-size:14px;color:#39424e}#mfam .chip b{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';color:#0d1117;font-weight:600}#mfam .chip.fly{background:#5C91FF;border-color:#5C91FF;color:#fff;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold'}#mfam .chip.fly a{color:#fff}#mfam .story p{font-size:18px;margin:0 0 20px;color:#1f2731}#mfam .pull{border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;background:#f6f8fb;padding:22px 26px;margin:30px 0;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:22px;color:#0d1117;line-height:1.35}#mfam .pull span{display:block;font-family:'Gilroy regular';font-size:15px;color:#5a6472;margin-top:10px}#mfam .gd{border-top:1px solid #e2e7ee;margin-top:34px}#mfam .gd details{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}#mfam .gd summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;display:flex;align-items:flex-start;gap:18px;padding:22px 0}#mfam .gd summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}#mfam .gd .num{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:34px;color:#d5dbe6;line-height:1;min-width:52px}#mfam .gd .gt{flex:1;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:19px;color:#0d1117;padding-top:4px}#mfam .gd .pm{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:26px;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}#mfam .gd details[open] .pm{color:#0d1117}#mfam .gd-body{padding:0 0 26px 70px;font-size:17px;color:#28313c;max-width:860px}#mfam .gd-body p{margin:0 0 15px}#mfam .cards{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(3,1fr);gap:20px}#mfam .card{border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:26px 24px;background:#fff}#mfam .card .n{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:15px;letter-spacing:1px;color:#5C91FF}#mfam .card h3{font-size:20px;margin:12px 0 12px}#mfam .card p{font-size:15.5px;color:#39424e;margin:0}#mfam table.spec{width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;margin:0 0 10px}#mfam table.spec caption{text-align:left;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:18px;color:#0d1117;padding:0 0 12px}#mfam .spec th,#mfam .spec td{text-align:left;padding:13px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-size:16px;vertical-align:top}#mfam .spec th{font-family:'Gilroy regular';font-weight:normal;color:#5a6472;width:46%}#mfam .spec td{font-family:'Gilroy regular';font-weight:normal;color:#0d1117}#mfam .spec tr:nth-child(even){background:#f6f8fb}#mfam .twocol{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:34px}#mfam .tl{border-left:2px solid #e2e7ee;margin-left:8px}#mfam .tl .row{position:relative;padding:0 0 30px 30px}#mfam .tl .row::before{content:'';position:absolute;left:-8px;top:3px;width:14px;height:14px;background:#5C91FF}#mfam .tl .yr{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:19px;color:#0d1117}#mfam .tl .ev{font-size:16.5px;color:#39424e;margin-top:5px;max-width:760px}#mfam .carou{position:relative}#mfam .track{display:flex;gap:18px;overflow-x:auto;scroll-behavior:smooth;padding:4px 2px 18px;-webkit-overflow-scrolling:touch}#mfam .track::-webkit-scrollbar{height:8px}#mfam .track::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb{background:#cdd6e2}#mfam .scard{flex:0 0 340px;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;background:#fff;padding:24px 22px}#mfam .scard .st{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:13px;letter-spacing:1px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5C91FF;margin-bottom:9px}#mfam .scard h3{font-size:18px;margin:0 0 10px}#mfam .scard p{font-size:15.5px;color:#39424e;margin:0}#mfam .scard details{margin-top:10px}#mfam .scard summary{cursor:pointer;color:#3568e0;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:14px;list-style:none}#mfam .scard summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}#mfam .cbtns{display:flex;gap:10px;margin-top:16px}#mfam .cbtn{width:46px;height:46px;border:none;background:#5C91FF;color:#fff;font-size:20px;cursor:pointer;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold'}#mfam .cbtn:hover{background:#3568e0}#mfam .gtrack{display:flex;gap:16px;overflow-x:auto;scroll-behavior:smooth;padding-bottom:16px}#mfam .gtrack figure{flex:0 0 auto;width:520px;max-width:82vw;margin:0}#mfam .gtrack img{width:100%;height:340px;object-fit:cover;background:#eef1f5}#mfam .gtrack figcaption{font-size:13.5px;color:#5a6472;padding:9px 2px 0;line-height:1.5}#mfam .vidwrap{position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;background:#0d1117}#mfam .vidwrap iframe{position:absolute;inset:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0}#mfam .vcap{font-size:14px;color:#5a6472;margin-top:12px}#mfam .combat{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(4,1fr);gap:18px}#mfam .cstat{border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:22px 20px;background:#f6f8fb}#mfam .cstat b{display:block;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:30px;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}#mfam .cstat span{display:block;font-size:14.5px;color:#39424e;margin-top:8px}#mfam .faq details.qa{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}#mfam .faq summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:18px;color:#0d1117;padding:20px 40px 20px 0;position:relative}#mfam .faq summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}#mfam .faq summary::after{content:'+';position:absolute;right:6px;top:16px;font-size:26px;color:#5C91FF;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold'}#mfam .faq details[open] summary::after{content:'\\2013'}#mfam .faq .a{padding:0 0 22px;font-size:17px;color:#28313c;max-width:860px}#mfam .faq .a p{margin:0 0 14px}#mfam .cta{background:#0d1117;color:#fff;padding:60px 0}#mfam .cta h2{color:#fff;font-size:30px;max-width:820px;margin:0 0 10px}#mfam .cta p{color:#b8c2d1;font-size:17px;max-width:720px;margin:0 0 26px}#mfam .ctacar{display:flex;gap:18px;overflow-x:auto;scroll-behavior:smooth;padding-bottom:10px}#mfam .ctacard{flex:0 0 300px;background:#161c26;border:1px solid #232c39;padding:0}#mfam .ctacard img{width:100%;height:180px;object-fit:cover}#mfam .ctacard .cc{padding:18px 20px}#mfam .ctacard h3{color:#fff;font-size:19px;margin:0 0 6px}#mfam .ctacard p{color:#9fb0c4;font-size:14.5px;margin:0 0 14px}#mfam .ctabtn{display:inline-block;background:#5C91FF;color:#fff;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:14px;padding:11px 18px}#mfam .ctabtn:hover{background:#3568e0;text-decoration:none;color:#fff}#mfam .relgrid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(3,1fr);gap:20px}#mfam .relcard{border:1px solid #e2e7ee;background:#fff;color:#0d1117}#mfam .relcard img{width:100%;height:190px;object-fit:cover}#mfam .relcard .rc{padding:18px 20px;display:block}#mfam .relcard .rt{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:18px;color:#0d1117;display:block;margin-bottom:6px}#mfam .relcard .rd{font-size:14.5px;color:#5a6472;display:block}#mfam .relgrid>p,#mfam .track>p,#mfam .gtrack>p,#mfam .ctacar>p,#mfam .combat>p,#mfam .cards>p{display:contents}#mfam .srcgrid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:12px 34px}#mfam .srcitem{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f5;padding:11px 0;font-size:15.5px}#mfam .srcitem b{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-weight:600;color:#0d1117}#mfam .srcitem span{color:#5a6472}#mfam .fnote{font-size:13.5px;color:#8892a0;margin-top:26px}@media(max-width:880px){#mfam .cards,#mfam .combat,#mfam .relgrid,#mfam .twocol{grid-template-columns:1fr}#mfam .hero h1{font-size:40px}#mfam .hero{min-height:66vh}#mfam .sec2h,#mfam .sec>.wrap>h2{font-size:26px}#mfam .claim{font-size:18px}#mfam .gd-body{padding-left:0}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"hero\"><img data-opt-id=1497491731  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" class=\"hero-img\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber banking in flight\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"hero-shade\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"hero-inner\">\n<div class=\"crumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/\">Aircraft Museum<\/a> &rsaquo; Martin B-26 Marauder<\/div>\n<h1>Martin B-26 Marauder<\/h1>\n<p class=\"claim\">The fast, feared American medium bomber that began the war as the &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; and its crews learned to trust &mdash; then finished the fight with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber over Europe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"stripe\">\n<div class=\"stat\"><b>25 Nov 1940<\/b><span>First flight<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><b>~5,270<\/b><span>Built 1941&ndash;1945<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><b>7<\/b><span>Typical crew<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><b>~285 mph<\/b><span>Top speed (459 km\/h)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"chips\"><span class=\"chip\"><b>Role<\/b> Twin-engine medium bomber<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Era<\/b> WWII, 1941&ndash;1945<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Engines<\/b> 2&times; Pratt &amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Origin<\/b> United States (Glenn L. Martin Co.)<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Status<\/b> Retired &middot; museum survivors only<\/span><span class=\"chip fly\"><a href=\"#faq\">Can you fly a B-26 Marauder today?<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Martin B-26 Marauder by the numbers<\/p>\n<h2>The essential figures on the Martin B-26 Marauder<\/h2>\n<div class=\"combat\">\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>~5,270<\/b><span>Built by Martin at Baltimore and Omaha (sources cite 5,266&ndash;5,288)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>2&times;2,000 hp<\/b><span>Pratt &amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radials (later blocks)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>71 ft<\/b><span>Wingspan after enlargement (21.6 m); early aircraft spanned 65 ft \/ 19.8 m<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>4,000 lb<\/b><span>Typical bomb load (~1,800 kg)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>1,100 mi<\/b><span>Range (~1,770 km) with a useful bomb load<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>&lt;0.5%<\/b><span>Combat loss rate over Europe &mdash; the lowest of any USAAF bomber<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">The story<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder: from &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; to the safest bomber over Europe<\/h2>\n<div class=\"story\">\n<p>In January 1939 the U.S. Army Air Corps issued Circular Proposal 39-640 for a fast medium bomber. A young Glenn L. Martin Company engineer named Peyton M. Magruder answered it with the Model 179: a cigar-smooth fuselage, a shoulder-mounted wing of remarkably small area, and two of the biggest engines available bolted to the front. On paper it promised speeds no medium bomber had reached. The Army was so impressed it ordered 1,100 aircraft straight off the drawing board, before a single example had flown.<\/p>\n<p>That confidence cut both ways. The first B-26 flew on 25 November 1940, and the design that looked brilliant on paper turned out to be unforgiving in the air. To hit its speed targets the Marauder carried a wing of just over 600 square feet &mdash; tiny for a 30,000-pound aircraft. The result was very high wing loading, which meant high approach and landing speeds and little margin for error. A pilot stepping up from trainers or from the docile B-18 suddenly had to fly numbers he had never seen.<\/p>\n<p>The reputation formed fast and stuck hard. Crews called it the &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Martin Murderer.&rdquo; Because the stubby wing seemed far too small to hold the fuselage up, they joked it had &ldquo;no visible means of support&rdquo; and nicknamed it the &ldquo;Flying Prostitute&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Baltimore Whore.&rdquo; At MacDill Field near Tampa, where accidents piled up during conversion training, the grim phrase &ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay&rdquo; was born.<\/p>\n<p>The truth behind the slogans is more complicated than the legend. Many early losses came down to training rather than the airframe: engine-out procedures were mishandled, approaches were flown too slow, and props were feathered incorrectly. When the Truman Committee investigated whether to cancel the programme, the answer was not to scrap the Marauder but to fix how men were taught to fly it &mdash; and to fix the aeroplane where it genuinely needed help.<\/p>\n<p>Martin lengthened the wing from about 65 to 71 feet and raised the tail from the B-26B-10 block onward, easing the handling without throwing away the speed. Dedicated transition schools drilled crews on single-engine work until it became routine. The accident rate fell sharply. The type that had terrified trainees became an aircraft veteran crews spoke of with real affection.<\/p>\n<p>Combat told the same story. The Marauder first fought in the Pacific in 1942, flew a famous and costly torpedo attack at Midway, and then found its true home over the Mediterranean and Western Europe. Flying with the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces at medium altitude, tightly formed and heavily gunned, it hammered bridges, marshalling yards, airfields and coastal defences ahead of and during the Normandy landings.<\/p>\n<p>And it did so while being hit less often than any other American bomber in the theatre. By the end of the war the Army Air Forces recorded a combat loss rate for the Marauder of well under one half of one percent per sortie &mdash; the lowest of any USAAF bomber. The &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; had quietly become the survivor.<\/p>\n<p>Around 5,270 Marauders were built before production ended in 1945. The type was retired quickly after the war, and within three years its very designation was handed to a completely different aircraft &mdash; a twist of history that still causes confusion today, and one we untangle further down this page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pull\"><span>&ldquo;They said it had no visible means of support. The men who learned to fly it properly came home in it more often than in anything else the Army sent to Europe.&rdquo;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">01<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Why the B-26 Marauder earned the name &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; &mdash; and why it was unfair<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder&rsquo;s bad reputation was rooted in physics and timing. Its small wing gave it a high wing loading, so it stalled at a higher speed than the trainers young pilots came from. On one engine, at low speed, with the wrong technique, it could roll and drop before a crew could react &mdash; and in 1941&ndash;42 there simply were not enough experienced instructors or standard procedures to teach that technique safely.<\/p>\n<p>The concentration of training at MacDill Field near Tampa produced the crashes that gave rise to &ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay.&rdquo; The phrase was memorable, but the real figures were lower than the legend, and most accidents traced to pilot conversion rather than to a flaw that made the aircraft fundamentally unflyable.<\/p>\n<p>Once the wing and tail were enlarged and crews were properly schooled in single-engine handling, the Marauder&rsquo;s accident record fell into line with other types &mdash; and its combat survivability turned out to be exceptional. It is one of the clearest cases in aviation history of a reputation outliving the facts that created it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">02<\/span><span class=\"gt\">How the Martin B-26 Marauder finished the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Smithsonian&rsquo;s National Air and Space Museum puts it plainly: the Army Air Forces &ldquo;lost fewer Marauders than any Allied bomber it flew &mdash; less than one-half of one percent.&rdquo; That figure is usually quoted as a per-sortie loss rate in the European theatre, and it is worth treating carefully: it reflects the Marauder&rsquo;s later career as a medium-altitude tactical bomber, flown in tight, well-escorted formations, not its rocky early months.<\/p>\n<p>Several things drove the low losses. The Marauder was fast and structurally tough, it bristled with heavy .50-calibre guns, and it typically operated with fighter cover against targets inside the range of Allied escorts. Its crews, by 1944, were among the best-trained medium-bomber crews in the world. The combination made it a genuinely hard aircraft to shoot down.<\/p>\n<p>The claim &ldquo;lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber&rdquo; is widely repeated and well supported, but exact percentages vary between sources and between theatres, so we present it as the strong consensus it is rather than a single fixed number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Design &amp; engineering<\/p>\n<h2>How the Martin B-26 Marauder was built for speed<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Everything about the Marauder was subordinated to one goal: go fast. That single-mindedness gave it its performance, its looks and its early reputation in equal measure.<\/p>\n<div class=\"cards\">\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">01<\/div>\n<h3>A wing built for speed, not forgiveness<\/h3>\n<p>To reach its target speeds the Marauder used a wing of only about 600 square feet. On an aircraft weighing some 30,000 pounds loaded, that meant very high wing loading, a fast approach and an unforgiving stall. Later blocks stretched the span from roughly 65 ft (19.8 m) to 71 ft (21.6 m) and enlarged the tail to tame it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">02<\/div>\n<h3>Two Double Wasps up front<\/h3>\n<p>The Marauder was hung on a pair of Pratt &amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp eighteen-cylinder radials &mdash; the same family that powered the P-47 and F4U. Early aircraft had about 1,850 hp per side; later B-26G blocks used 2,000 hp engines turning four-blade props, giving a top speed around 285 mph (459 km\/h).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">03<\/div>\n<h3>Heavily gunned, glass-nosed, hard to kill<\/h3>\n<p>A bombardier&rsquo;s glazed nose, a powered dorsal turret, tail and waist positions gave late Marauders as many as eleven .50-calibre machine guns. Combined with a rugged structure and real speed, that defensive weight is a large part of why so few were lost in combat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">03<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The bigger wing and taller tail: how Martin fixed the B-26 Marauder&rsquo;s handling<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The most important change in the Marauder&rsquo;s life was quiet and structural. From the B-26B-10 production block, Martin increased the wingspan by roughly six feet and raised the fin and rudder. The larger wing lowered stall and approach speeds a little and improved low-speed control; the taller tail improved directional stability, particularly with an engine out.<\/p>\n<p>The changes cost a few miles per hour of top speed but transformed the aircraft&rsquo;s manners. Combined with better training, they turned the Marauder from a machine that frightened rookies into one that seasoned crews flew with confidence. It is a textbook example of how a modest aerodynamic fix, applied at the right moment, can rescue an entire programme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">04<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Inside the Martin B-26 Marauder: the crew of seven and how they worked<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>A typical Marauder carried a crew of around seven: pilot and co-pilot side by side, a bombardier-navigator in the glazed nose, a radio operator, an engineer, and gunners manning the dorsal turret, tail and waist positions. Exact numbers varied by variant and mission &mdash; some sources quote five to seven &mdash; but seven was the common wartime figure.<\/p>\n<p>The cockpit sat high and well forward, giving good visibility for the fast approaches the aircraft demanded. Behind the flight deck ran the bomb bay, flanked by fuel, with the gun positions covering the rear hemisphere. It was a compact, densely packed aircraft &mdash; part of why it was strong, and part of why there was little room for error inside it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Full specifications<\/p>\n<h2>Martin B-26 Marauder specifications<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Figures below are for the late-war B-26G unless noted, drawn from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Early Marauders were smaller-winged and lighter; where a value changed over the production run, both are shown.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twocol\">\n<table class=\"spec\">\n<caption>Dimensions, weight &amp; crew<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Crew<\/th>\n<td>7 typical (sources cite 5&ndash;7 by variant\/mission) <em>estimate varies<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Length<\/th>\n<td>58 ft 6 in (17.8 m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Wingspan<\/th>\n<td>71 ft (21.6 m) late blocks &middot; 65 ft (19.8 m) early<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Height<\/th>\n<td>20 ft 3 in (6.2 m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Wing area<\/th>\n<td>~658 sq ft (61 m&sup2;) late &middot; ~602 sq ft early <em>approx<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Empty weight<\/th>\n<td>~24,000 lb (10,900 kg) <em>approx<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Loaded weight<\/th>\n<td>37,000 lb (16,780 kg)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>First flight<\/th>\n<td>25 November 1940<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Number built<\/th>\n<td>~5,270 (NMUSAF cites 5,266; other references 5,288)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"spec\">\n<caption>Powerplant &amp; performance<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Engines<\/th>\n<td>2&times; Pratt &amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radials, 2,000 hp each<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Maximum speed<\/th>\n<td>285 mph (459 km\/h)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cruising speed<\/th>\n<td>190 mph (306 km\/h)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Range<\/th>\n<td>1,100 miles (1,770 km)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Service ceiling<\/th>\n<td>19,800 ft (6,035 m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Bomb load<\/th>\n<td>Up to 4,000 lb (1,815 kg)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Defensive armament<\/th>\n<td>Up to 11&times; .50-calibre machine guns (late blocks)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Wing loading<\/th>\n<td>High &mdash; a defining trait; ~56 lb\/sq ft loaded <em>estimate<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">05<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Martin B-26 Marauder variants: from B-26 to B-26G explained<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The line began with the short-wing <b>B-26<\/b> and <b>B-26A<\/b> of 1941&ndash;42. The major change came with the <b>B-26B<\/b>: from the B-10 sub-block it gained the longer wing, taller tail and, in late aircraft, the full battery of guns. The <b>B-26C<\/b> was the same aircraft built at Martin&rsquo;s Omaha plant rather than Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>The final major service versions were the <b>B-26F<\/b> and <b>B-26G<\/b>, which raised the wing&rsquo;s incidence to improve take-off and low-speed behaviour. Trainer and target-tug conversions were designated <b>TB-26<\/b> and <b>AT-23<\/b>, and photo-reconnaissance machines <b>F-26\/RB-26<\/b>. The Royal Air Force and Commonwealth called their Lend-Lease aircraft <b>Marauder I, II and III<\/b> according to the block they received.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">06<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Martin B-26 Marauder&rsquo;s cost: what a wartime Marauder was worth<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Like most mass-produced wartime aircraft, the Marauder got cheaper as production matured. A unit cost of roughly <b>$260,000<\/b> is commonly cited for 1942, falling toward around <b>$190,000<\/b> for late B-26G aircraft as tooling and experience improved. Treat both figures as approximate: wartime accounting rolled airframe, engines and government-furnished equipment together in ways that are hard to compare with modern list prices.<\/p>\n<p>A meaningful modern &ldquo;cost per flight hour&rdquo; does not exist for the Marauder, because none is operated today. With no airworthy example flying, there is no ownership or charter market to price &mdash; unlike, say, a warbird Mustang or a jet trainer. The cost data below reflects that reality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Cost &amp; ownership data<\/p>\n<h2>What the Martin B-26 Marauder cost &mdash; then and now<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">A standard cost snapshot for the comparison tool. Wartime prices are approximate and hedged; present-day operating figures do not exist because no Marauder flies.<\/p>\n<table class=\"spec\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Unit cost (1942)<\/th>\n<td>~$260,000 (widely cited, approximate) <em>flagged estimate<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Unit cost (late B-26G)<\/th>\n<td>~$190,000 as production matured <em>approximate<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cost per flight hour (today)<\/th>\n<td>Not applicable &mdash; no airworthy example exists<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Approx. value in today&rsquo;s money<\/th>\n<td>Roughly $4&ndash;5 million equivalent per airframe <em>very rough, inflation only<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Production<\/th>\n<td>~5,270 built 1941&ndash;1945; production ended 1945<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Operating status<\/th>\n<td>Retired; museum survivors only, none in flying condition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p class=\"fnote\">Wartime unit costs are notoriously hard to compare: figures combine airframe, engines and government-furnished equipment differently between sources and years. The ~$260,000 (1942) figure is the most commonly cited and is presented as an approximation, not an audited price.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">How it compares<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder against its contemporaries<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">A rough side-by-side with the other twin-engine medium bombers of the era. Figures are representative late-war values and vary by variant.<\/p>\n<table class=\"spec\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Aircraft<\/th>\n<th>Top speed<\/th>\n<th>Bomb load<\/th>\n<th>Crew<\/th>\n<th>Notes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Martin B-26 Marauder<\/b><\/td>\n<td>~285 mph (459 km\/h)<\/td>\n<td>~4,000 lb<\/td>\n<td>~7<\/td>\n<td>Lowest USAAF bomber loss rate in Europe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>North American B-25 Mitchell<\/b><\/td>\n<td>~275 mph (443 km\/h)<\/td>\n<td>~3,000&ndash;4,000 lb<\/td>\n<td>~6<\/td>\n<td>More forgiving; served in every theatre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Douglas A-26 Invader<\/b><\/td>\n<td>~355 mph (571 km\/h)<\/td>\n<td>~6,000 lb<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>Later, faster; confusingly re-designated B-26 in 1948<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Junkers Ju 88<\/b><\/td>\n<td>~280 mph (450 km\/h)<\/td>\n<td>~4,000&ndash;6,600 lb<\/td>\n<td>4<\/td>\n<td>German multi-role equivalent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Vickers Wellington<\/b><\/td>\n<td>~235 mph (378 km\/h)<\/td>\n<td>~4,500 lb<\/td>\n<td>~6<\/td>\n<td>Slower RAF medium; geodetic structure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p class=\"fnote\">Comparative figures are indicative only, drawn from museum and reference sources; each type spanned many variants with different engines and equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Family tree<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder marks at a glance<\/h2>\n<div class=\"cards\">\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">B-26 \/ B-26A<\/div>\n<h3>The short-wing originals<\/h3>\n<p>The first 1941&ndash;42 aircraft, with the small 65 ft wing that made the type so fast and so demanding. Fought at Midway and in the early Pacific campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">B-26B<\/div>\n<h3>The definitive version<\/h3>\n<p>From the B-10 sub-block, the longer 71 ft wing, taller tail and heavier gun battery arrived. The B-26B is the Marauder that made the type&rsquo;s combat reputation over Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">B-26C<\/div>\n<h3>Omaha-built B<\/h3>\n<p>Mechanically the same aircraft as the late B-26B, but produced at Martin&rsquo;s Omaha, Nebraska plant. B and C together were the mainstay of the fleet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">B-26F<\/div>\n<h3>Raised incidence<\/h3>\n<p>The wing&rsquo;s angle of incidence was increased to shorten the take-off run and improve low-speed handling &mdash; a further step in taming the early reputation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">B-26G<\/div>\n<h3>Final production mark<\/h3>\n<p>The last major service version, standardised for Allied use with 2,000 hp engines. Surviving examples at Dayton and elsewhere are G-model aircraft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">TB-26 \/ AT-23<\/div>\n<h3>Trainers &amp; tugs<\/h3>\n<p>Gun-less conversions used for crew training and as high-speed target tugs, helping turn out the well-drilled crews behind the type&rsquo;s low losses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">Marauder I&ndash;III<\/div>\n<h3>RAF &amp; Commonwealth<\/h3>\n<p>Lend-Lease designations for aircraft supplied to the Royal Air Force, South African Air Force and others, used mainly in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">F-26 \/ RB-26<\/div>\n<h3>Reconnaissance<\/h3>\n<p>Camera-equipped photo-reconnaissance conversions. Note: the post-war &ldquo;RB-26&rdquo; most people picture is actually the Douglas A-26 Invader &mdash; see the disambiguation section below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Timeline<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder: a wartime timeline<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">January 1939<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">The U.S. Army Air Corps issues Circular Proposal 39-640 for a fast medium bomber.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">1939<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">Peyton M. Magruder&rsquo;s Martin Model 179 wins the competition; 1,100 are ordered off the drawing board before any prototype flies.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">25 November 1940<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">The first B-26 makes its maiden flight at Baltimore.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">1941<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">Deliveries begin. Conversion training at MacDill Field near Tampa produces the accidents behind &ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay.&rdquo;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">April 1942<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">The 22nd Bomb Group flies the Marauder&rsquo;s first combat missions in the South-West Pacific, operating over New Guinea from Australia.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">4 June 1942<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">Four Marauders make a costly torpedo attack on the Japanese fleet at Midway; two are lost, and Lt. James Muri brings his battle-riddled aircraft home.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">1942&ndash;43<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">The wing and tail are enlarged and dedicated transition schools are set up; the accident rate falls sharply.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">Late 1942&ndash;1943<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">Marauders deploy to North Africa and the Mediterranean with the Twelfth Air Force, joined by RAF, SAAF and Free French units.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">1943&ndash;44<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">The Ninth Air Force builds a large Marauder force in England for the tactical air war over occupied Europe.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">6 June 1944<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">Marauders strike coastal batteries and communications on and around D-Day, ranging deep into France and the Low Countries.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">1945<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">Production ends after about 5,270 aircraft; the Marauder finishes the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"yr\">1948<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\">With the Martin B-26 retired, the U.S. Air Force re-assigns the &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; designation to the Douglas A-26 Invader &mdash; a different aircraft entirely.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Stories &amp; eyewitnesses<\/p>\n<h2>Martin B-26 Marauder stories: the men, the myths and the missions<\/h2>\n<div class=\"carou\">\n<div class=\"track\" id=\"b26track\">\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Off the drawing board<\/div>\n<h3>1,100 ordered before it flew<\/h3>\n<p>The Army was so sure of Magruder&rsquo;s design that it ordered eleven hundred Marauders before the prototype had left the ground.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>It was an extraordinary act of faith in 1939 &mdash; and it meant that when the aircraft turned out to be a handful, there was no going back. Thousands of crews would have to be taught to fly a demanding machine that was already in mass production.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">The legend<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay&rdquo;<\/h3>\n<p>Conversion training at MacDill Field near Tampa produced enough crashes to spawn one of aviation&rsquo;s darkest slogans.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>The phrase was memorable rather than literal &mdash; the real accident numbers were lower &mdash; but it captured how frightening the early Marauder was to inexperienced pilots. Most losses came from mishandled engine-out approaches, not from an unflyable aircraft.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">The reprieve<\/div>\n<h3>Should the Marauder be cancelled?<\/h3>\n<p>Wartime investigators, including the Truman Committee, weighed scrapping the whole programme.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>The conclusion was not to cancel the aircraft but to fix how crews were trained and to enlarge the wing and tail. It was one of the better decisions of the American air war: the aircraft they nearly cancelled became the safest bomber over Europe.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Restoring confidence<\/div>\n<h3>Flying it on one engine<\/h3>\n<p>To prove the Marauder was safe, senior pilots demonstrated calm single-engine flying to nervous trainees.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Accounts credit figures such as Jimmy Doolittle with flying single-engine passes to restore confidence in the type. The details vary between tellings, so we present it as the well-known story it is: the message was that the aircraft was trustworthy in trained hands.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Midway<\/div>\n<h3>Four Marauders and a torpedo run<\/h3>\n<p>On 4 June 1942, four Army B-26s made a low torpedo attack on the Japanese carriers at Midway.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>It was not the aircraft&rsquo;s intended role, and it was brutally costly &mdash; two of the four were lost. But it showed the Marauder could absorb punishment: Lt. James Muri flew his aircraft through withering fire and brought it home riddled with holes.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Susie-Q<\/div>\n<h3>Muri&rsquo;s battered survivor<\/h3>\n<p>Lt. James Muri&rsquo;s Marauder came back from Midway so shot up it was later stripped for parts.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>The story of that aircraft &mdash; pressed low over the enemy fleet, hammered by anti-aircraft fire, yet still flying &mdash; became an early sign that the &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; was also remarkably tough. Toughness, as much as speed, would define its combat record.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">The nickname<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;No visible means of support&rdquo;<\/h3>\n<p>The stubby wing looked far too small for the fuselage, earning the Marauder a string of unflattering names.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Crews called it the &ldquo;Flying Prostitute&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Baltimore Whore&rdquo; &mdash; because, they joked, it had no visible means of support. Behind the barrack humour was a real aerodynamic fact: the high-loaded wing was the source of both the speed and the fear.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Flak-Bait<\/div>\n<h3>202 missions and still counting holes<\/h3>\n<p>The Marauder &ldquo;Flak-Bait&rdquo; flew more combat missions than almost any other American aircraft of the war.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>According to the Smithsonian, Flak-Bait completed 202 combat missions with the 322nd Bomb Group, absorbing repeated battle damage and always bringing its crews home. Its forward fuselage was displayed for decades in Washington; the full aircraft is now being restored at the National Air and Space Museum.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Mediterranean<\/div>\n<h3>RAF and SAAF Marauders<\/h3>\n<p>Royal Air Force and South African squadrons flew Lend-Lease Marauders across the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Operating from North Africa, Sardinia and Italy, RAF and South African Air Force Marauders attacked shipping, airfields and communications. In one celebrated action, an RAF No. 14 Squadron aircraft helped destroy a formation of giant Luftwaffe Me 323 transports off Corsica in 1943.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Free French<\/div>\n<h3>The road back to France<\/h3>\n<p>Rebuilt French bomber groups flew Marauders in the campaign to liberate their own country.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Equipped under Lend-Lease, Free French Armee de l&rsquo;air units flew the Marauder in the Mediterranean and over southern France in 1944. For their crews the aircraft was not just a tool of war but a symbol of France returning to the fight.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">D-Day<\/div>\n<h3>The Ninth Air Force&rsquo;s hammer<\/h3>\n<p>On 6 June 1944 Marauders struck coastal defences and communications behind the Normandy beaches.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Flying at medium altitude in tight formation, Ninth Air Force Marauders bombed gun batteries, bridges and marshalling yards ahead of and during the invasion, then followed the armies across France and into Germany as a tactical strike force.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">The redemption<\/div>\n<h3>The statistic that changed the story<\/h3>\n<p>By 1945 the Marauder had the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber &mdash; the exact opposite of its reputation.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Less than one half of one percent of Marauder sorties over Europe ended in a loss, the Smithsonian records. The aircraft crews once feared had become the one they were most likely to come home in &mdash; a reversal almost unique in the history of the air war.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">17 May 1943<\/div>\n<h3>The 322nd&rsquo;s darkest day<\/h3>\n<p>A low-level raid on IJmuiden cost the 322nd Bomb Group virtually its entire attacking force in a single mission.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>It was one of the worst days any Marauder unit endured &mdash; and it ended low-level medium bombing in Europe for good. The disaster forced a rethink that ultimately made the aircraft far safer.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">The fix<\/div>\n<h3>Precision from 12,000 feet<\/h3>\n<p>After IJmuiden the Marauder moved up to medium altitude, bombing in tight, escorted formations.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>The new doctrine traded treetop drama for survivability and accuracy. It was the direct origin of the type&rsquo;s celebrated low loss rate &mdash; proof that how an aircraft is used matters as much as the aircraft itself.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">Firepower<\/div>\n<h3>The gunners&rsquo; wall of fire<\/h3>\n<p>A Martin powered dorsal turret and up to eleven .50-calibre guns let a formation cover every angle.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Flown as a disciplined box, a group of Marauders threw up interlocking fields of fire that made attacking them genuinely dangerous &mdash; a key ingredient in the aircraft&rsquo;s survivability.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">After the war<\/div>\n<h3>Vanishing act<\/h3>\n<p>Despite its record, the Marauder was scrapped by the thousand almost as soon as the war ended.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Overtaken by jets and by the Douglas Invader, the type disappeared within a few years. That mass scrapping is why only around seven Marauders survive today &mdash; and why the aircraft is less remembered than it deserves.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\">\n<div class=\"st\">The confusion<\/div>\n<h3>Two aircraft, one name<\/h3>\n<p>In 1948 the &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; designation was handed to the Douglas A-26 Invader &mdash; a different aeroplane entirely.<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary>Read more<\/summary>\n<p>Ever since, captions and books have mixed the two up. The Korea and Vietnam &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; is the Invader; the WWII Marauder never fought in either war. Keeping the two apart is the key to understanding the story.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cbtns\"><button class=\"cbtn\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('b26track').scrollBy({left:-380,behavior:'smooth'})\" aria-label=\"Scroll stories left\">&lsaquo;<\/button><button class=\"cbtn\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('b26track').scrollBy({left:380,behavior:'smooth'})\" aria-label=\"Scroll stories right\">&rsaquo;<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Photo gallery<\/p>\n<h2>Martin B-26 Marauder in photographs<\/h2>\n<div class=\"gtrack\">\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1028037985  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b-26-marauder-bomb-loading-394th-bomb-group-scaled.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Ground crew loading bombs into a B-26 Marauder of the 394th Bomb Group\"><figcaption>Ground crew load bombs into a Marauder of the 394th Bomb Group. Photo: U.S. Army Air Forces (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=2036550337  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b-26b-marauder-tunisia-1943-scaled.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Martin B-26B Marauder in Tunisia during the Mediterranean campaign, March 1943\"><figcaption>A B-26B Marauder in Tunisia, March 1943, during the Mediterranean campaign. Photo: U.S. Army Air Forces \/ Library of Congress (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1576313496  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b-26-marauder-bombing-albenga-italy-1944-scaled.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"B-26 Marauders of the 320th Bomb Group bombing the Albenga railway bridge in Italy, 1944\"><figcaption>Marauders of the 320th Bomb Group strike the Albenga rail bridge, Italy, 12 April 1944. Photo: U.S. Army Air Forces (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=2042959996  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b-26-marauder-crew-midway-1942-scaled.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Crew of Lt James Muri with their battle-damaged B-26 Marauder after Midway, 1942\"><figcaption>The crew of Lt. James Muri with their battle-damaged Marauder after Midway, June 1942. Photo: U.S. Army Air Forces (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=733220627  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/raf-b-26-marauder-attack-corsica-1943.png\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Gun-camera frame from an RAF No. 14 Squadron Marauder attacking a Luftwaffe Me 323 off Corsica, 1943\"><figcaption>Gun-camera frame from an RAF No. 14 Squadron Marauder attacking a Luftwaffe Me 323 off Corsica, 1943. Photo: No. 14 Squadron RAF (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1128564738  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b-26-marauder-323rd-bomb-group-takeoff.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"B-26 Marauder of the 323rd Bomb Group taking off\"><figcaption>A Marauder of the 323rd Bomb Group lifts off. Photo: U.S. Army Air Forces (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=86015174  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/surviving-b-26g-marauder-nmusaf-dayton.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Surviving B-26G Marauder on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton\"><figcaption>The surviving B-26G &ldquo;Shootin&rsquo; In&rdquo; at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Dayton. Photo: U.S. Air Force \/ NMUSAF (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"fnote\">All images are in the public domain (U.S. Army Air Forces \/ U.S. Air Force \/ RAF) sourced via Wikimedia Commons. Credits appear in each caption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Watch<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder on film: veterans in their own words<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Rather than a modern re-cut, we chose an authoritative documentary built around the men who flew and serviced the Marauder.<\/p>\n<div class=\"vidwrap\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/puzKc4xqKTM\" title=\"Marauder Men: In Their Own Words \u2014 PBS Western Reserve\" loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p class=\"vcap\">&ldquo;Marauder Men: In Their Own Words&rdquo; &mdash; the official PBS Western Reserve documentary, featuring B-26 veterans recounting the aircraft first-hand (roughly 201,000 views and a 4.9\/5 like ratio at time of writing). An authoritative public-broadcasting source rather than a re-uploaded clip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Operations map<\/p>\n<h2>Where the Martin B-26 Marauder flew and fought<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">The Marauder was overwhelmingly an American aircraft, but it fought across two hemispheres and served with several Allied air forces. Toggle the categories to explore its operators, its combat theatres and where the last airframes survive today.<\/p>\n<div id=\"b26-map-widget\" style=\"font-family:'Gilroy semiBold','Gilroy regular',Helvetica,Arial,Lucida,sans-serif;max-width:1080px;width:100%;\">\n<div id=\"b26-map-container\" style=\"width:100%;position:relative\"><svg id=\"b26-map-svg\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\"><\/svg><\/p>\n<div id=\"b26-tooltip\" style=\"position:fixed;background:#1a1a2e;color:#fff;padding:10px 16px;border-radius:0;font-size:13px;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:.3px;pointer-events:auto;opacity:0;transition:opacity .15s;z-index:1000;max-width:360px;line-height:1.5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"b26-controls\" style=\"display:flex;gap:8px;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:flex-start;margin-top:12px;\"><button class=\"b26-toggle active\" data-cat=\"primary\" data-full=\"Primary Operator (USAAF)\" data-short=\"USAAF\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #5C91FF;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#5C91FF\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"b26-label\">Primary Operator (USAAF)<\/span><span class=\"b26-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><button class=\"b26-toggle active\" data-cat=\"combat\" data-full=\"Combat Theatres\" data-short=\"Combat\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #6B8E23;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:linear-gradient(135deg,#4A6741 25%,#6B8E23 25%,#6B8E23 50%,#556B2F 50%,#556B2F 75%,#8B9D77 75%);background-size:8px 8px\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"b26-label\">Combat Theatres<\/span><span class=\"b26-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><button class=\"b26-toggle active\" data-cat=\"allied\" data-full=\"Allied \/ Lend-Lease Operators\" data-short=\"Allied\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #555;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#555\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"b26-label\">Allied \/ Lend-Lease Operators<\/span><span class=\"b26-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><button class=\"b26-toggle active\" data-cat=\"survivor\" data-full=\"Surviving Airframes on Display\" data-short=\"Survivors\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #bbb;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#C0C0C0\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"b26-label\">Surviving Airframes on Display<\/span><span class=\"b26-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<div id=\"b26-count\" style=\"text-align:left;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:12px;line-height:1.7;width:100%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>#b26-map-widget .b26-toggle:hover{border-color:#999!important}#b26-map-widget .b26-toggle:not(.active){color:#999!important;border-color:#E0E0E0!important}#b26-map-widget .b26-toggle:not(.active) .b26-check{opacity:0!important}#b26-map-widget .country{fill:#E8ECF1;stroke:#C8D0DA;stroke-width:.4;transition:fill .3s,stroke .3s}#b26-map-widget .country:hover{stroke-width:1;stroke:#999}#b26-map-widget .country.cat-primary{fill:#5C91FF;stroke:#3A6FD8;stroke-width:.7}#b26-map-widget .country.cat-combat{fill:url(#camo-pattern);stroke:#4A6741;stroke-width:.7}#b26-map-widget .country.cat-allied{fill:#555;stroke:#333;stroke-width:.7}#b26-map-widget .country.cat-survivor{fill:#C0C0C0;stroke:#999;stroke-width:.5}#b26-tooltip .tt-name{font-size:15px;font-weight:700;display:block;margin-bottom:4px}#b26-tooltip .tt-cat{font-size:11px;font-weight:400;color:#9fb0c4;display:block;margin-bottom:6px;letter-spacing:.3px}#b26-tooltip .tt-fleet{font-size:12px;font-weight:600;color:#dbe3ee;display:block;margin-bottom:4px;line-height:1.5}#b26-tooltip .tt-desc{font-size:12px;color:#ccc;line-height:1.5;display:block}@media(max-width:600px){#b26-map-widget .b26-toggle{padding:6px 10px!important;font-size:12px!important;gap:5px!important}#b26-map-widget .b26-toggle div{width:12px!important;height:12px!important}#b26-controls{gap:6px!important}#b26-count{font-size:13px!important}#b26-tooltip{max-width:calc(100vw - 32px)!important;font-size:12px!important;padding:8px 12px!important}#b26-tooltip .tt-name{font-size:14px!important}#b26-tooltip .tt-cat{font-size:10px!important}#b26-tooltip .tt-fleet{font-size:11px!important}#b26-tooltip .tt-desc{font-size:11px!important}}@media(max-width:400px){#b26-map-widget .b26-toggle{padding:5px 8px!important;font-size:11px!important;gap:4px!important}#b26-map-widget .b26-toggle div{width:10px!important;height:10px!important}#b26-controls{gap:4px!important}}<\/style>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/d3\/7.8.5\/d3.min.js\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/topojson\/3.0.2\/topojson.min.js\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/d3-geo-projection@4\/dist\/d3-geo-projection.min.js\"><\/script><div id=\"b26-data\" data-js=\"KGZ1bmN0aW9uIGJvb3QoKXsKaWYodHlwZW9mIGQzPT09J3VuZGVmaW5lZCd8fHR5cGVvZiB0b3BvanNvbj09PSd1bmRlZmluZWQnfHwhZDMuZ2VvUm9iaW5zb24pe3NldFRpbWVvdXQoYm9vdCwxNTApO3JldHVybjt9CnZhciBDQVQ9ewogcHJpbWFyeTp7bDonUHJpbWFyeSBPcGVyYXRvciAoVVNBQUYpJyxjOlsnVW5pdGVkIFN0YXRlcyBvZiBBbWVyaWNhJ119LAogY29tYmF0OntsOidDb21iYXQgVGhlYXRyZXMnLGM6WydGcmFuY2UnLCdCZWxnaXVtJywnTmV0aGVybGFuZHMnLCdHZXJtYW55JywnSXRhbHknLCdUdW5pc2lhJywnTGlieWEnLCdQYXB1YSBOZXcgR3VpbmVhJ119LAogYWxsaWVkOntsOidBbGxpZWQgLyBMZW5kLUxlYXNlIE9wZXJhdG9ycycsYzpbJ1VuaXRlZCBLaW5nZG9tJywnRnJhbmNlJywnU291dGggQWZyaWNhJ119LAogc3Vydml2b3I6e2w6J1N1cnZpdmluZyBBaXJmcmFtZXMgb24gRGlzcGxheScsYzpbJ1VuaXRlZCBTdGF0ZXMgb2YgQW1lcmljYScsJ0ZyYW5jZSddfQp9OwpPYmplY3Qua2V5cyhDQVQpLmZvckVhY2goZnVuY3Rpb24oayl7Q0FUW2tdLnM9bmV3IFNldChDQVRba10uYyl9KTsKdmFyIGFjdGl2ZT17cHJpbWFyeToxLGNvbWJhdDoxLGFsbGllZDoxLHN1cnZpdm9yOjF9Owp2YXIgRkxFRVRfSU5GTz17CiAnVW5pdGVkIFN0YXRlcyBvZiBBbWVyaWNhJzonVS5TLiBBcm15IEFpciBGb3JjZXMg4oCUIHRoZSBwcmltYXJ5IG9wZXJhdG9yOyBhYm91dCA1LDI3MCBidWlsdCBhbmQgZmxvd24gaW4gZXZlcnkgbWFqb3IgdGhlYXRyZS4gU3Vydml2b3JzIGluY2x1ZGUgRmxhay1CYWl0IChOQVNNKSwgU2hvb3RpblwnIEluIChOTVVTQUYgRGF5dG9uKSwgcGx1cyBhaXJmcmFtZXMgYXQgTUFQUywgRmFudGFzeSBvZiBGbGlnaHQgYW5kIFBpbWEuIE5vbmUgYWlyd29ydGh5LicsCiAnVW5pdGVkIEtpbmdkb20nOidSb3lhbCBBaXIgRm9yY2Ug4oCUIExlbmQtTGVhc2UgTWFyYXVkZXIgSS9JSS9JSUksIHNldmVyYWwgaHVuZHJlZCBhaXJjcmFmdCwgdXNlZCBtYWlubHkgaW4gdGhlIE1lZGl0ZXJyYW5lYW4gYW5kIE1pZGRsZSBFYXN0LicsCiAnRnJhbmNlJzonRnJlZSBGcmVuY2ggQXJtZWUgZGUgbCBhaXIg4oCUIHJvdWdobHkgMjcwIE1hcmF1ZGVycyB1bmRlciBMZW5kLUxlYXNlOyBhbHNvIGhvbWUgdG8gdGhlIHN1cnZpdmluZyBNYXJhdWRlciAiRGluYWggTWlnaHQiIGF0IHRoZSBVdGFoIEJlYWNoIExhbmRpbmcgTXVzZXVtLCBOb3JtYW5keS4nLAogJ1NvdXRoIEFmcmljYSc6J1NvdXRoIEFmcmljYW4gQWlyIEZvcmNlIOKAlCBzZXZlcmFsIHNxdWFkcm9ucyBmbGV3IE1hcmF1ZGVycyBpbiB0aGUgTWVkaXRlcnJhbmVhbiB0aGVhdHJlLCAxOTQz4oCTNDUuJwp9Owp2YXIgQ09NQkFUX0lORk89ewogJ0ZyYW5jZSc6J1VTQUFGICg5dGggQUYpLCBSQUYsIFNBQUYgYW5kIEZyZWUgRnJlbmNoIE1hcmF1ZGVycyBzdHJ1Y2sgY29hc3RhbCBkZWZlbmNlcywgYnJpZGdlcyBhbmQgcmFpbCB5YXJkcyBiZWZvcmUgYW5kIGFmdGVyIEQtRGF5LCAxOTQ0LicsCiAnQmVsZ2l1bSc6J05pbnRoIEFpciBGb3JjZSBNYXJhdWRlcnMgaGl0IGNvbW11bmljYXRpb25zIGFuZCBhaXJmaWVsZHMgYWNyb3NzIG9jY3VwaWVkIEJlbGdpdW0gZHVyaW5nIHRoZSAxOTQ0IHRhY3RpY2FsIGFpciB3YXIuJywKICdOZXRoZXJsYW5kcyc6J01hcmF1ZGVycyBib21iZWQgYWlyZmllbGRzLCBicmlkZ2VzIGFuZCBWLXdlYXBvbiBzaXRlcyBpbiB0aGUgb2NjdXBpZWQgTmV0aGVybGFuZHMsIDE5NDPigJM0NC4nLAogJ0dlcm1hbnknOidJbiB0aGUgd2FyXCdzIGZpbmFsIG1vbnRocyBNYXJhdWRlcnMgY2FycmllZCB0aGUgdGFjdGljYWwgYm9tYmluZyBjYW1wYWlnbiBpbnRvIHdlc3Rlcm4gR2VybWFueS4nLAogJ0l0YWx5JzonVHdlbGZ0aCBBaXIgRm9yY2UsIFJBRiBhbmQgU0FBRiBNYXJhdWRlcnMgYm9tYmVkIGJyaWRnZXMsIHJhaWwgbGlua3MgYW5kIGRlZmVuY2VzIHRoZSBsZW5ndGggb2YgdGhlIEl0YWxpYW4gY2FtcGFpZ24sIDE5NDPigJM0NS4nLAogJ1R1bmlzaWEnOidNYXJhdWRlcnMgam9pbmVkIHRoZSBNZWRpdGVycmFuZWFuIGFpciB3YXIgb3ZlciBUdW5pc2lhIGluIDE5NDMgYXMgdGhlIEF4aXMgd2FzIGRyaXZlbiBmcm9tIE5vcnRoIEFmcmljYS4nLAogJ0xpYnlhJzonQWxsaWVkIE1hcmF1ZGVycyBvcGVyYXRlZCBvdmVyIExpYnlhIGFuZCB0aGUgd2lkZXIgTm9ydGggQWZyaWNhbiBkZXNlcnQgZHVyaW5nIHRoZSBNZWRpdGVycmFuZWFuIGNhbXBhaWduLicsCiAnUGFwdWEgTmV3IEd1aW5lYSc6J1RoZSAyMm5kIEJvbWIgR3JvdXAgZmxldyB0aGUgTWFyYXVkZXJcJ3MgZmlyc3QgY29tYmF0IG1pc3Npb25zIG92ZXIgTmV3IEd1aW5lYSBmcm9tIEF1c3RyYWxpYSBpbiAxOTQyLicKfTsKdmFyIE5NPXs0OidBZmdoYW5pc3RhbicsODonQWxiYW5pYScsMTI6J0FsZ2VyaWEnLDI0OidBbmdvbGEnLDMyOidBcmdlbnRpbmEnLDM2OidBdXN0cmFsaWEnLDQwOidBdXN0cmlhJyw1MDonQmFuZ2xhZGVzaCcsNTE6J0FybWVuaWEnLDU2OidCZWxnaXVtJyw2NDonQmh1dGFuJyw2ODonQm9saXZpYScsNzA6J0Jvc25pYSBhbmQgSGVyemVnb3ZpbmEnLDcyOidCb3Rzd2FuYScsNzY6J0JyYXppbCcsOTY6J0JydW5laScsMTAwOidCdWxnYXJpYScsMTA0OidNeWFubWFyJywxMDg6J0J1cnVuZGknLDExNjonQ2FtYm9kaWEnLDEyMDonQ2FtZXJvb24nLDEyNDonQ2FuYWRhJywxNDA6J0NlbnRyYWwgQWZyaWNhbiBSZXB1YmxpYycsMTQ0OidTcmkgTGFua2EnLDE0ODonQ2hhZCcsMTUyOidDaGlsZScsMTU2OidDaGluYScsMTcwOidDb2xvbWJpYScsMTc0OidDb21vcm9zJywxNzg6J0NvbmdvJywxODA6J0RlbS4gUmVwLiBDb25nbycsMTg4OidDb3N0YSBSaWNhJywxOTE6J0Nyb2F0aWEnLDE5MjonQ3ViYScsMTk2OidDeXBydXMnLDIwMzonQ3plY2ggUmVwdWJsaWMnLDIwODonRGVubWFyaycsMjE0OidEb21pbmljYW4gUmVwdWJsaWMnLDIxODonRWN1YWRvcicsODE4OidFZ3lwdCcsMjIyOidFbCBTYWx2YWRvcicsMjI2OidFcXVhdG9yaWFsIEd1aW5lYScsMjMyOidFcml0cmVhJywyMzM6J0VzdG9uaWEnLDIzMTonRXRoaW9waWEnLDI0NjonRmlubGFuZCcsMjUwOidGcmFuY2UnLDI2NjonR2Fib24nLDI3MDonR2FtYmlhJywyNjg6J0dlb3JnaWEnLDI3NjonR2VybWFueScsMjg4OidHaGFuYScsMzAwOidHcmVlY2UnLDMyMDonR3VhdGVtYWxhJywzMjQ6J0d1aW5lYScsMzI4OidHdXlhbmEnLDMzMjonSGFpdGknLDM0MDonSG9uZHVyYXMnLDM0ODonSHVuZ2FyeScsMzUyOidJY2VsYW5kJywzNTY6J0luZGlhJywzNjA6J0luZG9uZXNpYScsMzY0OidJcmFuJywzNjg6J0lyYXEnLDM3MjonSXJlbGFuZCcsMzc2OidJc3JhZWwnLDM4MDonSXRhbHknLDM4NDonSXZvcnkgQ29hc3QnLDM4ODonSmFtYWljYScsMzkyOidKYXBhbicsNDAwOidKb3JkYW4nLDM5ODonS2F6YWtoc3RhbicsNDA0OidLZW55YScsNDA4OidOb3J0aCBLb3JlYScsNDEwOidTb3V0aCBLb3JlYScsNDE0OidLdXdhaXQnLDQxNzonS3lyZ3l6c3RhbicsNDE4OidMYW9zJyw0MjI6J0xlYmFub24nLDQyNjonTGVzb3RobycsNDMwOidMaWJlcmlhJyw0MzQ6J0xpYnlhJyw0NDA6J0xpdGh1YW5pYScsNDQyOidMdXhlbWJvdXJnJyw0NTA6J01hZGFnYXNjYXInLDQ1NDonTWFsYXdpJyw0NTg6J01hbGF5c2lhJyw0NjY6J01hbGknLDQ3ODonTWF1cml0YW5pYScsNDg0OidNZXhpY28nLDQ5NjonTW9uZ29saWEnLDQ5ODonTW9sZG92YScsNDk5OidNb250ZW5lZ3JvJyw1MDQ6J01vcm9jY28nLDUwODonTW96YW1iaXF1ZScsNTE2OidOYW1pYmlhJyw1MjQ6J05lcGFsJyw1Mjg6J05ldGhlcmxhbmRzJyw1NDA6J05ldyBDYWxlZG9uaWEnLDU1NDonTmV3IFplYWxhbmQnLDU1ODonTmljYXJhZ3VhJyw1NjI6J05pZ2VyJyw1NjY6J05pZ2VyaWEnLDU3ODonTm9yd2F5Jyw1MTI6J09tYW4nLDU4NjonUGFraXN0YW4nLDU5MTonUGFuYW1hJyw1OTg6J1BhcHVhIE5ldyBHdWluZWEnLDYwMDonUGFyYWd1YXknLDYwNDonUGVydScsNjA4OidQaGlsaXBwaW5lcycsNjE2OidQb2xhbmQnLDYyMDonUG9ydHVnYWwnLDYzMDonUHVlcnRvIFJpY28nLDYzNDonUWF0YXInLDY0MjonUm9tYW5pYScsNjQzOidSdXNzaWEnLDY0NjonUndhbmRhJyw2ODI6J1NhdWRpIEFyYWJpYScsNjg2OidTZW5lZ2FsJyw2ODg6J1NlcmJpYScsNjk0OidTaWVycmEgTGVvbmUnLDcwMjonU2luZ2Fwb3JlJyw3MDM6J1Nsb3Zha2lhJyw3MDU6J1Nsb3ZlbmlhJyw3MDY6J1NvbWFsaWEnLDcxMDonU291dGggQWZyaWNhJyw3MTY6J1ppbWJhYndlJyw3MjQ6J1NwYWluJyw3Mjg6J1NvdXRoIFN1ZGFuJyw3Mjk6J1N1ZGFuJyw3NDA6J1N1cmluYW1lJyw3NDg6J1N3YXppbGFuZCcsNzUyOidTd2VkZW4nLDc1NjonU3dpdHplcmxhbmQnLDc2MDonU3lyaWEnLDc2MjonVGFqaWtpc3RhbicsNzY0OidUaGFpbGFuZCcsNzY4OidUb2dvJyw3ODA6J1RyaW5pZGFkIGFuZCBUb2JhZ28nLDc4ODonVHVuaXNpYScsNzkyOidUdXJrZXknLDc5NTonVHVya21lbmlzdGFuJyw4MDA6J1VnYW5kYScsODA0OidVa3JhaW5lJyw3ODQ6J1VuaXRlZCBBcmFiIEVtaXJhdGVzJyw4MjY6J1VuaXRlZCBLaW5nZG9tJyw4MzQ6J1RhbnphbmlhJyw4NDA6J1VuaXRlZCBTdGF0ZXMgb2YgQW1lcmljYScsODU4OidVcnVndWF5Jyw4NjA6J1V6YmVraXN0YW4nLDg2MjonVmVuZXp1ZWxhJyw3MDQ6J1ZpZXRuYW0nLDg4NzonWWVtZW4nLDg5NDonWmFtYmlhJywzMTonQXplcmJhaWphbicsMTEyOidCZWxhcnVzJywyNzU6J1BhbGVzdGluZScsMzA0OidHcmVlbmxhbmQnLDEwOidBbnRhcmN0aWNhJywxNTg6J1RhaXdhbicsNjUyOidXZXN0ZXJuIFNhaGFyYSd9OwpmdW5jdGlvbiBnYyhuKXtpZihhY3RpdmUucHJpbWFyeSYmQ0FULnByaW1hcnkucy5oYXMobikpcmV0dXJuJ3ByaW1hcnknO2lmKGFjdGl2ZS5jb21iYXQmJkNBVC5jb21iYXQucy5oYXMobikpcmV0dXJuJ2NvbWJhdCc7aWYoYWN0aXZlLmFsbGllZCYmQ0FULmFsbGllZC5zLmhhcyhuKSlyZXR1cm4nYWxsaWVkJztpZihhY3RpdmUuc3Vydml2b3ImJkNBVC5zdXJ2aXZvci5zLmhhcyhuKSlyZXR1cm4nc3Vydml2b3InO3JldHVybiBudWxsO30KZnVuY3Rpb24gYWMobil7dmFyIHI9W107aWYoQ0FULnByaW1hcnkucy5oYXMobikpci5wdXNoKCdQcmltYXJ5IE9wZXJhdG9yIChVU0FBRiknKTtpZihDQVQuY29tYmF0LnMuaGFzKG4pKXIucHVzaCgnQ29tYmF0IFRoZWF0cmUnKTtpZihDQVQuYWxsaWVkLnMuaGFzKG4pKXIucHVzaCgnQWxsaWVkIC8gTGVuZC1MZWFzZSBPcGVyYXRvcicpO2lmKENBVC5zdXJ2aXZvci5zLmhhcyhuKSlyLnB1c2goJ1N1cnZpdmluZyBBaXJmcmFtZSBvbiBEaXNwbGF5Jyk7cmV0dXJuIHI7fQpmdW5jdGlvbiBidWlsZFRvb2x0aXAobil7dmFyIGNhdHM9YWMobik7aWYoIWNhdHMubGVuZ3RoKXJldHVybiBudWxsO3ZhciBoPSc8c3BhbiBjbGFzcz0idHQtbmFtZSI+JytuKyc8L3NwYW4+JztoKz0nPHNwYW4gY2xhc3M9InR0LWNhdCI+JytjYXRzLmpvaW4oJyBcdTAwYjcgJykrJzwvc3Bhbj4nO2lmKEZMRUVUX0lORk9bbl0pe2grPSc8c3BhbiBjbGFzcz0idHQtZmxlZXQiPicrRkxFRVRfSU5GT1tuXSsnPC9zcGFuPic7fWlmKENPTUJBVF9JTkZPW25dKXtoKz0nPHNwYW4gY2xhc3M9InR0LWRlc2MiPicrQ09NQkFUX0lORk9bbl0rJzwvc3Bhbj4nO31yZXR1cm4gaDt9CmZ1bmN0aW9uIHVwZGF0ZUxhYmVscygpe3ZhciBpc01vYmlsZT13aW5kb3cuaW5uZXJXaWR0aDw9NjAwO2RvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoJy5iMjYtdG9nZ2xlJykuZm9yRWFjaChmdW5jdGlvbihiKXt2YXIgbGFiZWw9Yi5xdWVyeVNlbGVjdG9yKCcuYjI2LWxhYmVsJyk7aWYobGFiZWwpe2xhYmVsLnRleHRDb250ZW50PWlzTW9iaWxlP2IuZ2V0QXR0cmlidXRlKCdkYXRhLXNob3J0Jyk6Yi5nZXRBdHRyaWJ1dGUoJ2RhdGEtZnVsbCcpO319KTt9CnVwZGF0ZUxhYmVscygpO3dpbmRvdy5hZGRFdmVudExpc3RlbmVyKCdyZXNpemUnLHVwZGF0ZUxhYmVscyk7CmRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoJy5iMjYtdG9nZ2xlJykuZm9yRWFjaChmdW5jdGlvbihiKXtiLmFkZEV2ZW50TGlzdGVuZXIoJ2NsaWNrJyxmdW5jdGlvbigpe3ZhciBjPXRoaXMuZ2V0QXR0cmlidXRlKCdkYXRhLWNhdCcpO2FjdGl2ZVtjXT1hY3RpdmVbY10\/MDoxO3RoaXMuY2xhc3NMaXN0LnRvZ2dsZSgnYWN0aXZlJywhIWFjdGl2ZVtjXSk7dXBkKCk7fSk7fSk7CmZ1bmN0aW9uIHVwZCgpe2QzLnNlbGVjdEFsbCgnI2IyNi1tYXAtd2lkZ2V0IC5jb3VudHJ5JykuZWFjaChmdW5jdGlvbigpe3ZhciBlbD1kMy5zZWxlY3QodGhpcyksbj1lbC5hdHRyKCdkYXRhLW5hbWUnKSxjPWdjKG4pO2VsLmF0dHIoJ2NsYXNzJywnY291bnRyeScrKGM\/JyBjYXQtJytjOicnKSk7fSk7dmFyIHZpcz1uZXcgU2V0KCk7T2JqZWN0LmtleXMoYWN0aXZlKS5mb3JFYWNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGspe2lmKGFjdGl2ZVtrXSlDQVRba10uYy5mb3JFYWNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGMpe3Zpcy5hZGQoYyl9KX0pO2RvY3VtZW50LmdldEVsZW1lbnRCeUlkKCdiMjYtY291bnQnKS5pbm5lckhUTUw9JzxzcGFuIHN0eWxlPSJmb250LXdlaWdodDo3MDA7Y29sb3I6IzVDOTFGRiI+Jyt2aXMuc2l6ZSsnPC9zcGFuPiBjb3VudHJpZXMgc2hvd24gYWNyb3NzIGFjdGl2ZSBjYXRlZ29yaWVzJzt9CnZhciBXPTEwODAsSD01MDA7CnZhciBzdmc9ZDMuc2VsZWN0KCcjYjI2LW1hcC1zdmcnKS5hdHRyKCd2aWV3Qm94JywnMCAwICcrVysnICcrSCkuYXR0cigncHJlc2VydmVBc3BlY3RSYXRpbycsJ3hNaWRZTWlkIG1lZXQnKTsKdmFyIGRlZnM9c3ZnLmFwcGVuZCgnZGVmcycpOwp2YXIgcGF0PWRlZnMuYXBwZW5kKCdwYXR0ZXJuJykuYXR0cignaWQnLCdjYW1vLXBhdHRlcm4nKS5hdHRyKCdwYXR0ZXJuVW5pdHMnLCd1c2VyU3BhY2VPblVzZScpLmF0dHIoJ3dpZHRoJywyMCkuYXR0cignaGVpZ2h0JywyMCk7CnBhdC5hcHBlbmQoJ3JlY3QnKS5hdHRyKCd3aWR0aCcsMjApLmF0dHIoJ2hlaWdodCcsMjApLmF0dHIoJ2ZpbGwnLCcjNkI4RTIzJyk7CnBhdC5hcHBlbmQoJ2NpcmNsZScpLmF0dHIoJ2N4JywzKS5hdHRyKCdjeScsMykuYXR0cigncicsNSkuYXR0cignZmlsbCcsJyM1NTZCMkYnKTsKcGF0LmFwcGVuZCgnY2lyY2xlJykuYXR0cignY3gnLDEzKS5hdHRyKCdjeScsOCkuYXR0cigncicsNCkuYXR0cignZmlsbCcsJyM0QTY3NDEnKTsKcGF0LmFwcGVuZCgnY2lyY2xlJykuYXR0cignY3gnLDgpLmF0dHIoJ2N5JywxNikuYXR0cigncicsNikuYXR0cignZmlsbCcsJyMzRTU2MzEnKTsKcGF0LmFwcGVuZCgnY2lyY2xlJykuYXR0cignY3gnLDE4KS5hdHRyKCdjeScsMTUpLmF0dHIoJ3InLDMpLmF0dHIoJ2ZpbGwnLCcjOEI5RDc3Jyk7CnBhdC5hcHBlbmQoJ2NpcmNsZScpLmF0dHIoJ2N4JywxKS5hdHRyKCdjeScsMTIpLmF0dHIoJ3InLDMpLmF0dHIoJ2ZpbGwnLCcjMkY0MDI0Jyk7CnZhciBwcm9qPWQzLmdlb1JvYmluc29uKCkuc2NhbGUoMTcwKS50cmFuc2xhdGUoW1cvMixILzIrMTBdKTsKdmFyIHBhdGhHPWQzLmdlb1BhdGgoKS5wcm9qZWN0aW9uKHByb2opOwpzdmcuYXBwZW5kKCdyZWN0JykuYXR0cignd2lkdGgnLFcpLmF0dHIoJ2hlaWdodCcsSCkuYXR0cignZmlsbCcsJyNmZmYnKTsKc3ZnLmFwcGVuZCgncGF0aCcpLmRhdHVtKHt0eXBlOidTcGhlcmUnfSkuYXR0cignZmlsbCcsJ25vbmUnKS5hdHRyKCdzdHJva2UnLCcjRDBEOEU0JykuYXR0cignc3Ryb2tlLXdpZHRoJywuNSkuYXR0cignZCcscGF0aEcpOwpzdmcuYXBwZW5kKCdwYXRoJykuZGF0dW0oZDMuZ2VvR3JhdGljdWxlKCkoKSkuYXR0cignZmlsbCcsJ25vbmUnKS5hdHRyKCdzdHJva2UnLCcjRTBFNUVEJykuYXR0cignc3Ryb2tlLXdpZHRoJywuMykuYXR0cignZCcscGF0aEcpOwp2YXIgdHQ9ZG9jdW1lbnQuZ2V0RWxlbWVudEJ5SWQoJ2IyNi10b29sdGlwJyk7dmFyIHR0VGltZXI9bnVsbDt2YXIgb25Db3VudHJ5PWZhbHNlLG9uVG9vbHRpcD1mYWxzZTt2YXIgaXNUb3VjaERldmljZT1mYWxzZTt2YXIgc2VsZWN0ZWRDb3VudHJ5PW51bGw7CndpbmRvdy5hZGRFdmVudExpc3RlbmVyKCd0b3VjaHN0YXJ0JyxmdW5jdGlvbigpe2lzVG91Y2hEZXZpY2U9dHJ1ZX0se29uY2U6dHJ1ZX0pOwpmdW5jdGlvbiBzaG93VFQoaHRtbCx4LHkpe2NsZWFyVGltZW91dCh0dFRpbWVyKTt0dC5pbm5lckhUTUw9aHRtbDt0dC5zdHlsZS5vcGFjaXR5PTE7cG9zVFQoeCx5KTt9CmZ1bmN0aW9uIHBvc1RUKHgseSl7dmFyIHR3PXR0Lm9mZnNldFdpZHRoLHRoPXR0Lm9mZnNldEhlaWdodDt2YXIgdnc9d2luZG93LmlubmVyV2lkdGgsdmg9d2luZG93LmlubmVySGVpZ2h0O2lmKGlzVG91Y2hEZXZpY2Upe3ZhciBsZWZ0PU1hdGgubWF4KDgsTWF0aC5taW4oeC10dy8yLHZ3LXR3LTgpKTt2YXIgdG9wPXktdGgtMTY7aWYodG9wPDgpe3RvcD15KzI0fWlmKHRvcCt0aD52aC04KXt0b3A9dmgtdGgtOH10dC5zdHlsZS5sZWZ0PWxlZnQrJ3B4Jzt0dC5zdHlsZS50b3A9dG9wKydweCc7fWVsc2V7dmFyIG54PXgrMTQsbnk9eS0xMDtpZihueCt0dz52dy0xMClueD14LXR3LTE0O2lmKG55K3RoPnZoLTEwKW55PXktdGgtMTA7aWYobnk8MTApbnk9MTA7dHQuc3R5bGUubGVmdD1ueCsncHgnO3R0LnN0eWxlLnRvcD1ueSsncHgnO319CmZ1bmN0aW9uIGhpZGVUVCgpe3R0VGltZXI9c2V0VGltZW91dChmdW5jdGlvbigpe2lmKCFvbkNvdW50cnkmJiFvblRvb2x0aXApdHQuc3R5bGUub3BhY2l0eT0wO3NlbGVjdGVkQ291bnRyeT1udWxsO30sMjAwKTt9CnR0LmFkZEV2ZW50TGlzdGVuZXIoJ21vdXNlZW50ZXInLGZ1bmN0aW9uKCl7b25Ub29sdGlwPXRydWU7Y2xlYXJUaW1lb3V0KHR0VGltZXIpO30pOwp0dC5hZGRFdmVudExpc3RlbmVyKCdtb3VzZWxlYXZlJyxmdW5jdGlvbigpe29uVG9vbHRpcD1mYWxzZTtoaWRlVFQoKTt9KTsKZG9jdW1lbnQuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigndG91Y2hzdGFydCcsZnVuY3Rpb24oZSl7aWYoaXNUb3VjaERldmljZSYmdHQuc3R5bGUub3BhY2l0eT09PScxJyl7dmFyIHRhcmdldD1lLnRhcmdldDtpZighdHQuY29udGFpbnModGFyZ2V0KSYmKCF0YXJnZXQuY2xhc3NMaXN0fHwhdGFyZ2V0LmNsYXNzTGlzdC5jb250YWlucygnY291bnRyeScpKSl7dHQuc3R5bGUub3BhY2l0eT0wO3NlbGVjdGVkQ291bnRyeT1udWxsO319fSk7CmQzLmpzb24oJ2h0dHBzOi8vY2RuLmpzZGVsaXZyLm5ldC9ucG0vd29ybGQtYXRsYXNAMi9jb3VudHJpZXMtMTEwbS5qc29uJykudGhlbihmdW5jdGlvbih3b3JsZCl7dmFyIGNvdW50cmllcz10b3BvanNvbi5mZWF0dXJlKHdvcmxkLHdvcmxkLm9iamVjdHMuY291bnRyaWVzKTtzdmcuc2VsZWN0QWxsKCcuY291bnRyeScpLmRhdGEoY291bnRyaWVzLmZlYXR1cmVzKS5lbnRlcigpLmFwcGVuZCgncGF0aCcpLmF0dHIoJ2QnLHBhdGhHKS5hdHRyKCdkYXRhLW5hbWUnLGZ1bmN0aW9uKGQpe3JldHVybiBOTVsrZC5pZF18fCcnfSkuYXR0cignY2xhc3MnLGZ1bmN0aW9uKGQpe3ZhciBuPU5NWytkLmlkXXx8JycsYz1nYyhuKTtyZXR1cm4nY291bnRyeScrKGM\/JyBjYXQtJytjOicnKX0pLm9uKCdtb3VzZW92ZXInLGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUsZCl7aWYoaXNUb3VjaERldmljZSlyZXR1cm47b25Db3VudHJ5PXRydWU7dmFyIG49Tk1bK2QuaWRdfHwnJyxodG1sPWJ1aWxkVG9vbHRpcChuKTtpZihodG1sKXNob3dUVChodG1sLGUuY2xpZW50WCxlLmNsaWVudFkpO30pLm9uKCdtb3VzZW1vdmUnLGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKGlzVG91Y2hEZXZpY2UpcmV0dXJuO3Bvc1RUKGUuY2xpZW50WCxlLmNsaWVudFkpO30pLm9uKCdtb3VzZW91dCcsZnVuY3Rpb24oKXtpZihpc1RvdWNoRGV2aWNlKXJldHVybjtvbkNvdW50cnk9ZmFsc2U7aGlkZVRUKCk7fSkub24oJ3RvdWNoc3RhcnQnLGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUsZCl7ZS5wcmV2ZW50RGVmYXVsdCgpO3ZhciBuPU5NWytkLmlkXXx8Jyc7aWYoc2VsZWN0ZWRDb3VudHJ5PT09bil7dHQuc3R5bGUub3BhY2l0eT0wO3NlbGVjdGVkQ291bnRyeT1udWxsO3JldHVybjt9dmFyIGh0bWw9YnVpbGRUb29sdGlwKG4pO2lmKGh0bWwpe3ZhciB0b3VjaD1lLnRvdWNoZXNbMF18fGUuY2hhbmdlZFRvdWNoZXNbMF07c2VsZWN0ZWRDb3VudHJ5PW47c2hvd1RUKGh0bWwsdG91Y2guY2xpZW50WCx0b3VjaC5jbGllbnRZKTt9ZWxzZXt0dC5zdHlsZS5vcGFjaXR5PTA7c2VsZWN0ZWRDb3VudHJ5PW51bGw7fX0pO3N2Zy5hcHBlbmQoJ3BhdGgnKS5kYXR1bSh0b3BvanNvbi5tZXNoKHdvcmxkLHdvcmxkLm9iamVjdHMuY291bnRyaWVzLGZ1bmN0aW9uKGEsYil7cmV0dXJuIGEhPT1ifSkpLmF0dHIoJ2ZpbGwnLCdub25lJykuYXR0cignc3Ryb2tlJywnI0M4RDBEQScpLmF0dHIoJ3N0cm9rZS13aWR0aCcsLjQpLmF0dHIoJ2QnLHBhdGhHKS5zdHlsZSgncG9pbnRlci1ldmVudHMnLCdub25lJyk7dXBkKCk7fSk7Cn0pKCk7\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(){var el=document.getElementById(\"b26-data\");var js=decodeURIComponent(escape(atob(el.getAttribute(\"data-js\"))));var sc=document.createElement(\"script\");sc.text=js;document.body.appendChild(sc);})();<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Combat theatres<\/p>\n<h2>Where the Martin B-26 Marauder went to war<\/h2>\n<div class=\"story\">\n<p>The Marauder&rsquo;s war fell into three chapters. It began badly in the Pacific, matured in the deserts and mountains of the Mediterranean, and reached full stride over occupied Western Europe. In each theatre the aircraft did the same essential job &mdash; fast, medium-altitude tactical bombing &mdash; but the conditions, and the lessons, were very different.<\/p>\n<p>In the South-West Pacific in 1942, small numbers of early short-wing Marauders flew long over-water missions in punishing conditions from bases in Australia and New Guinea. The torpedo attack at Midway that June showed both the aircraft&rsquo;s toughness and the folly of using a fast level bomber as a torpedo plane. The Pacific was never the Marauder&rsquo;s natural home, and the type was gradually concentrated elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>The Mediterranean is where the Marauder found its feet. From late 1942 the Twelfth Air Force flew it over Tunisia, Sicily, Sardinia and Italy, joined by Royal Air Force, South African Air Force and Free French squadrons. Here the medium bomber&rsquo;s speed and toughness paid off against bridges, airfields, ports and rail links, and crews developed the tight formation tactics that would define the type.<\/p>\n<p>The greatest chapter was Western Europe. The Ninth Air Force built a large Marauder force in England for the tactical air campaign, and from 1943 it pounded targets across France and the Low Countries. On D-Day and through the advance that followed, Marauders struck coastal batteries, headquarters, bridges and marshalling yards, working hand-in-glove with the armies on the ground.<\/p>\n<p>Through it all, the statistic that would redeem the aircraft kept improving: fewer Marauders were lost, sortie for sortie, than any other American bomber in the European theatre.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">07<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Martin B-26 Marauder in the Pacific: New Guinea and Midway<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder&rsquo;s combat debut came with the 22nd Bomb Group, which flew missions over New Guinea from Australian bases in early 1942. These were gruelling operations: long stretches of open ocean, primitive fields, and an aircraft still in its demanding short-wing form.<\/p>\n<p>The most famous Pacific action was the torpedo attack at Midway on 4 June 1942, when four Army Marauders joined Navy torpedo bombers against the Japanese carriers. Two were shot down; the survivors, including Lt. James Muri&rsquo;s aircraft, came home badly damaged. It was a costly, arguably misconceived use of a fast level bomber &mdash; but it demonstrated how much punishment the airframe could absorb.<\/p>\n<p>After 1942 the Marauder was largely withdrawn from the Pacific in favour of the more suitable B-25 Mitchell, and its centre of gravity shifted to the Mediterranean and Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">08<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Martin B-26 Marauder in the Mediterranean: RAF, SAAF and Free French crews<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Mediterranean turned the Marauder into a war-winner. Flying with the U.S. Twelfth Air Force alongside Commonwealth and French units, it attacked the bridges, ports, airfields and rail networks that supplied Axis forces across North Africa and Italy.<\/p>\n<p>The Royal Air Force and South African Air Force flew Lend-Lease Marauders on anti-shipping and interdiction work &mdash; one celebrated RAF No. 14 Squadron action helped destroy a formation of huge Luftwaffe Me 323 transports off Corsica in 1943. Free French bomber groups, rebuilding with American equipment, flew the type in the Mediterranean and over southern France in 1944.<\/p>\n<p>It was here that the tight, mutually supporting formations and disciplined medium-altitude bombing that kept losses low were perfected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">09<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Martin B-26 Marauder over Normandy: the Ninth Air Force and D-Day<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>In England, the Ninth Air Force assembled the largest Marauder force of the war for the tactical air campaign over occupied Europe. From 1943 its groups bombed airfields, bridges, V-weapon sites and rail yards, softening the ground for invasion.<\/p>\n<p>On 6 June 1944 Marauders struck coastal gun batteries and communications behind the beaches, and in the campaign that followed they ranged across France, Belgium, the Netherlands and, finally, into Germany. Operating within range of Allied fighter escort and in strong formation, they proved extremely hard for German defences to stop.<\/p>\n<p>By VE-Day the Marauder had become one of the workhorses of the Allied tactical air forces &mdash; and the safest bomber a crew could be assigned to in that theatre.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">10<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Why so few Martin B-26 Marauders were shot down: guns, speed and formation<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder&rsquo;s survivability came from a stack of advantages. It was fast for a medium bomber, structurally robust, and heavily armed &mdash; late aircraft carried as many as eleven .50-calibre machine guns in nose, dorsal turret, waist and tail positions.<\/p>\n<p>Tactics mattered as much as hardware. Marauders flew in tight boxes that concentrated defensive fire, bombed from medium altitude where light flak was less lethal and heavy flak less accurate, and operated inside the umbrella of Allied fighter cover. Their crews, by 1944, were superbly trained.<\/p>\n<p>The result was the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber over Europe &mdash; the physics of speed and firepower, multiplied by good tactics and good training.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Survivors<\/p>\n<h2>The surviving Martin B-26 Marauders &mdash; and why none of them fly<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Of more than five thousand built, only a handful of Marauders survive. All are museum pieces or restoration projects; none is in flying condition today.<\/p>\n<div class=\"cards\">\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">USA<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;Flak-Bait&rdquo; &mdash; NASM<\/h3>\n<p>The most famous survivor. Its nose was displayed in Washington for decades; the complete aircraft is now being restored at the National Air and Space Museum&rsquo;s Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">USA<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;Shootin&rsquo; In&rdquo; &mdash; NMUSAF<\/h3>\n<p>A restored B-26G on public display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Dayton, Ohio &mdash; the airframe most visitors will actually see complete.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">USA<\/div>\n<h3>MAPS Air Museum<\/h3>\n<p>A Marauder held at the MAPS Air Museum in Canton, Ohio, one of a small number of preserved examples in the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">France<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;Dinah Might&rdquo; &mdash; Utah Beach<\/h3>\n<p>Displayed at the Utah Beach Landing Museum in Normandy &mdash; a fitting home for a type that helped make D-Day possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">USA<\/div>\n<h3>Fantasy of Flight<\/h3>\n<p>An early, rare short-wing Marauder in the Kermit Weeks collection in Polk City, Florida. Sometimes described as potentially airworthy, it is not a flying aircraft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">USA<\/div>\n<h3>Restoration projects<\/h3>\n<p>Further airframes are under long-term restoration, including examples associated with the Pima Air &amp; Space Museum in Arizona and private restorers in California.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">11<\/span><span class=\"gt\">&ldquo;Flak-Bait&rdquo;: the Martin B-26 Marauder that flew more than 200 missions<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Flak-Bait is the Marauder the world remembers. A B-26B of the 322nd Bomb Group, it completed 202 combat missions according to the Smithsonian &mdash; more than almost any other American aircraft of the war &mdash; while being hit again and again and always bringing its crews home. Its name came, the story goes, from a crewman&rsquo;s dog, &ldquo;Flea Bait.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>After the war its forward fuselage, still wearing its mission tally and battle scars, was preserved by the Smithsonian and displayed in Washington for decades. The National Air and Space Museum is now carrying out a painstaking full-airframe conservation at its Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar &mdash; preserving the damage and repairs rather than erasing them, so that the aircraft tells its own story.<\/p>\n<p>Mission counts of 200, 202 and 207 all appear in print for Flak-Bait; we follow the Smithsonian&rsquo;s own figure of 202 and note the others as variations in the record.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">12<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Is any Martin B-26 Marauder airworthy today? An honest answer<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>No. As of today, there is no Martin B-26 Marauder in flying condition anywhere in the world. That is a genuine rarity for a famous American warbird: unlike the B-25 Mitchell, the P-51 Mustang or the B-17, of which flyable examples tour the airshow circuit, the Marauder simply does not fly.<\/p>\n<p>You will occasionally see the early short-wing aircraft at Fantasy of Flight described as &ldquo;the only airworthy Marauder.&rdquo; Treat that carefully: the airframe is a superb restoration, but it is not a flying aeroplane, and no original Marauder has been in continuous airworthy service in the post-war era. If seeing one matters to you, the reliable option is a museum &mdash; Dayton, Normandy, or the Smithsonian&rsquo;s restoration hangar.<\/p>\n<p>So if the question is &ldquo;can I book a flight in a B-26 Marauder?&rdquo;, the honest answer is no &mdash; but there are plenty of other genuine military aircraft you can fly in, which we cover below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Important disambiguation<\/p>\n<h2>Two aircraft, one designation: the B-26 Marauder is not the A-26 Invader<\/h2>\n<div class=\"story\">\n<p>This is the single most common confusion in the Marauder story, so it deserves to be spelled out clearly. There are two completely different American aircraft that have carried the designation &ldquo;B-26,&rdquo; and they are not the same machine.<\/p>\n<p>The <b>Martin B-26 Marauder<\/b> &mdash; the aircraft this page is about &mdash; is the fast, twin-engine, seven-crew medium bomber of the Second World War, first flown in 1940 and retired soon after 1945.<\/p>\n<p>The <b>Douglas A-26 Invader<\/b> is a different, later aircraft: a sleeker twin-engine attack bomber that entered service in 1944 with a crew of three. In June 1948, with the Martin B-26 already out of service, the U.S. Air Force reused the now-vacant &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; designation for the Douglas Invader. So the &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; that fought in Korea and later in Vietnam is the Douglas A-26 Invader &mdash; not the Martin Marauder, which never served in either war.<\/p>\n<p>The rule of thumb is simple. Second World War, European and Mediterranean theatres, medium bomber, &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; = Martin B-26 Marauder. Korea and Vietnam, attack bomber, three crew = Douglas A-26 \/ B-26 Invader. When a source says &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; without a date, check which war it is describing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">13<\/span><span class=\"gt\">How the Douglas A-26 Invader came to be called &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; &mdash; and why it still confuses people<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>U.S. military aircraft designations were periodically reshuffled, and designations of retired types could be recycled. When the Martin B-26 Marauder left service, its designation became available. In 1948 the Air Force dropped the separate &ldquo;A&rdquo; (attack) category and redesignated the Douglas A-26 Invader as the B-26 Invader.<\/p>\n<p>The consequences echo to this day. Photographs, books and even museum captions sometimes mix the two aircraft up; a &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; shot down over Korea in 1951 or flown in Southeast Asia in the 1960s is an Invader, while a &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; bombing Normandy in 1944 is a Marauder. If you keep the two aircraft, their shapes and their wars separate in your mind, the confusion dissolves &mdash; which is exactly why we gave the Invader its own page in this museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Deeper into the machine<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder in detail: engines, guns and production<\/h2>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">14<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Pratt &amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp: the engine that made the Marauder fast<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder&rsquo;s speed came straight from its engines. The Pratt &amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was an eighteen-cylinder, twin-row air-cooled radial of 2,800 cubic inches &mdash; one of the great piston aero-engines of the war, also used on the P-47 Thunderbolt, the F4U Corsair and the F6F Hellcat.<\/p>\n<p>Early Marauders used versions of around 1,850 horsepower; later B-26F and B-26G aircraft ran 2,000 hp engines driving four-blade propellers. That reserve of power let a heavy, small-winged aircraft reach roughly 285 mph and, just as importantly, gave it the muscle to keep flying on one engine once crews were trained to manage the asymmetry.<\/p>\n<p>The R-2800 was famously rugged, which fed directly into the Marauder&rsquo;s reputation for bringing crews home. An engine that kept running after taking damage was worth as much as any armour plate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">15<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Martin B-26 Marauder&rsquo;s defensive armament: up to eleven .50-calibre guns<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Early Marauders were relatively lightly armed, but the type grew progressively more bristling with guns. Late aircraft carried as many as eleven .50-calibre (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns: in the nose, a powered dorsal turret, waist positions and a manned tail position, with additional fixed &ldquo;package&rdquo; guns on the fuselage sides of some B and C models for strafing.<\/p>\n<p>That heavy defensive fit, concentrated by tight box formations, made attacking a Marauder box a dangerous business for enemy fighters. Combined with the aircraft&rsquo;s speed and the medium altitudes it favoured, it is a central reason the type&rsquo;s combat losses stayed so low.<\/p>\n<p>The bomb bay carried a typical load of around 4,000 lb (1,815 kg) of bombs, tailored to the tactical targets &mdash; bridges, rail yards, gun positions &mdash; that the Marauder specialised in hitting accurately from medium height.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">16<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Building the Marauder: Baltimore, Omaha and the wartime production line<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder was a product of the Glenn L. Martin Company, whose main plant was at Middle River near Baltimore, Maryland. As demand grew, a second line was opened at Omaha, Nebraska &mdash; the origin of the B-26C designation, which was mechanically identical to the Baltimore-built B-26B.<\/p>\n<p>Across both plants roughly 5,270 Marauders were completed between 1941 and the end of production in 1945 (the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force cites 5,266; other references give 5,288). It was a substantial programme, though smaller than the vast runs of the B-24 or B-17 heavy bombers.<\/p>\n<p>The scale of production is part of why the early accident scare mattered so much: with so many aircraft already ordered and building, cancelling was never simple. Fixing the training and the aircraft was the only sensible course &mdash; and it worked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">17<\/span><span class=\"gt\">&ldquo;Widowmaker,&rdquo; &ldquo;Flying Prostitute,&rdquo; &ldquo;Baltimore Whore&rdquo;: where the Marauder&rsquo;s nicknames came from<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Few aircraft collected as many grim or bawdy nicknames as the Marauder. &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; and &ldquo;Martin Murderer&rdquo; came from the early training accidents. &ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay&rdquo; referred to the crashes during conversion training at MacDill Field near Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>The bawdier names &mdash; the &ldquo;Flying Prostitute&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Baltimore Whore&rdquo; &mdash; came from a running joke among crews that the small, high-loaded wing gave the aircraft &ldquo;no visible means of support.&rdquo; It was gallows humour about the very feature, high wing loading, that made the aircraft both fast and unforgiving.<\/p>\n<p>What makes the nicknames worth remembering is the irony behind them. The aircraft the names mocked went on to have the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber over Europe. Few reputations in aviation history have been so thoroughly, and so quietly, overturned by the facts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Combat record<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder&rsquo;s war in numbers<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">The figures that turned a feared trainer into a respected combat aircraft. Contested numbers are hedged.<\/p>\n<div class=\"combat\">\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>&lt;0.5%<\/b><span>Combat loss rate over Europe<\/span><em>Lowest of any USAAF bomber (Smithsonian: &ldquo;less than one-half of one percent&rdquo;)<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>~5,270<\/b><span>Aircraft built 1941&ndash;45<\/span><em>NMUSAF cites 5,266; other sources 5,288<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>202<\/b><span>Missions by &ldquo;Flak-Bait&rdquo;<\/span><em>Smithsonian figure; 200 and 207 also cited<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><b>3<\/b><span>Theatres of war<\/span><em>Pacific, Mediterranean and Western Europe<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Legacy<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder&rsquo;s place in history<\/h2>\n<div class=\"story\">\n<p>The Marauder&rsquo;s story is really a story about reputation and reality. It arrived with a fearsome name and a genuine handling problem, and for a year or two the two reinforced each other. Then better engineering and better training pulled them apart &mdash; and the aircraft that crews had dreaded became the one that carried them home more reliably than any other.<\/p>\n<p>It was retired quickly after 1945, overtaken by the faster Douglas Invader and by the coming jet age, and its very designation was handed on to another aircraft within three years. That fast disappearance is part of why the Marauder is less remembered today than the B-17 or the B-25, and why so few survive.<\/p>\n<p>But among those who study the air war, the Marauder holds a particular place: proof that a difficult aircraft is not necessarily a bad one, and that training and small design fixes can rescue a programme the headlines have already written off. The &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; that finished the war as the safest bomber over Europe is one of aviation&rsquo;s great reversals of fortune.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\" id=\"faq\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Questions &amp; answers<\/p>\n<h2>Martin B-26 Marauder: frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div class=\"faq\">\n<details class=\"qa\" open>\n<summary>Can I fly in a Martin B-26 Marauder?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>No. There is no airworthy Martin B-26 Marauder anywhere in the world, so there is no way to book a flight in one. Unlike the B-25 Mitchell or the P-51 Mustang, of which flyable warbirds still tour airshows, the Marauder survives only as museum aircraft and restoration projects. To see one, visit the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, the Utah Beach Landing Museum in Normandy, or the Smithsonian&rsquo;s restoration of &ldquo;Flak-Bait.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If what you want is the real experience of flying in a genuine military aircraft, that absolutely is possible &mdash; just in a different type. MiGFlug arranges flights in real fighter jets and warbirds, from the L-39 Albatros to a MiG-29 at the edge of space. Explore what is available at <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">migflug.com\/flights-prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>Why was the B-26 Marauder called the &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo;?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>The Marauder had a small, highly loaded wing that gave it high take-off and landing speeds and an unforgiving stall. In 1941&ndash;42, inexperienced crews converting onto it &mdash; often without standardised single-engine procedures &mdash; suffered a spate of accidents, especially at MacDill Field near Tampa, which produced the slogan &ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay.&rdquo; The names &ldquo;Widowmaker,&rdquo; &ldquo;Flying Prostitute&rdquo; and &ldquo;Baltimore Whore&rdquo; all date from this period.<\/p>\n<p>The reputation was largely overtaken by events: once the wing and tail were enlarged and crews were properly trained, the accident rate fell and the aircraft went on to have the lowest combat loss rate of any USAAF bomber over Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>Is the B-26 Marauder the same as the A-26 Invader?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>No &mdash; and this is the most common confusion about the aircraft. The Martin B-26 Marauder is the WWII medium bomber described on this page. The Douglas A-26 Invader is a different, later attack bomber that was redesignated &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; in 1948, after the Martin aircraft had retired. The &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; that fought in Korea and Vietnam is the Douglas Invader, not the Martin Marauder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>Did the B-26 Marauder really have the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>Yes, that is the strong consensus. The Smithsonian&rsquo;s National Air and Space Museum states the Army Air Forces &ldquo;lost fewer Marauders than any Allied bomber it flew &mdash; less than one-half of one percent.&rdquo; The figure usually refers to the per-sortie loss rate in the European theatre during the aircraft&rsquo;s mature career. Exact percentages vary between sources and theatres, so it is best stated as a well-supported claim rather than a single fixed number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>How many B-26 Marauders were built?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>Roughly 5,270, at Martin&rsquo;s plants in Baltimore, Maryland and Omaha, Nebraska, between 1941 and 1945. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force cites 5,266; other references give 5,288. Production ended in 1945 and the type was retired shortly after the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>How many B-26 Marauders survive, and where can I see one?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>Only about seven Marauders survive worldwide, all as static exhibits or restoration projects. Complete examples on public display include the B-26G &ldquo;Shootin&rsquo; In&rdquo; at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, and &ldquo;Dinah Might&rdquo; at the Utah Beach Landing Museum in Normandy, France. The famous &ldquo;Flak-Bait&rdquo; is being conserved at the Smithsonian&rsquo;s National Air and Space Museum. Others are held by the MAPS Air Museum, Fantasy of Flight and the Pima Air &amp; Space Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>What engines did the B-26 Marauder use, and how fast was it?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>Two Pratt &amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp eighteen-cylinder radial engines &mdash; about 1,850 hp each in early aircraft and 2,000 hp in later B-26G models. Top speed was around 285 mph (459 km\/h), with a cruising speed near 190 mph (306 km\/h), a range of about 1,100 miles (1,770 km) and a service ceiling near 19,800 ft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>Who flew the B-26 Marauder besides the U.S. Army Air Forces?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>The Marauder served with several Allied air forces under Lend-Lease. The Royal Air Force operated it as the Marauder I, II and III, mainly in the Mediterranean and Middle East; the South African Air Force flew it in the Mediterranean theatre; and the Free French Armee de l&rsquo;air used it in the Mediterranean and over southern France in 1944.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>What was &ldquo;Flak-Bait&rdquo;?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>&ldquo;Flak-Bait&rdquo; was a B-26B of the 322nd Bomb Group that completed 202 combat missions &mdash; more than almost any other American aircraft of the war &mdash; while surviving repeated battle damage. Its nose was displayed at the Smithsonian for decades, and the full aircraft is now undergoing a careful, conservation-focused restoration at the National Air and Space Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"qa\">\n<summary>How much did a B-26 Marauder cost?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">\n<p>Wartime unit costs are approximate and vary by source and year. A figure of roughly $260,000 is commonly cited for 1942, falling toward about $190,000 for late B-26G aircraft as production matured. There is no meaningful modern &ldquo;cost per flight hour,&rdquo; because no Marauder is operated today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Can I fly in a Martin B-26 Marauder?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. There is no airworthy Martin B-26 Marauder anywhere in the world, so there is no way to book a flight in one. The Marauder survives only as museum aircraft and restoration projects, such as the examples at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, the Utah Beach Landing Museum in Normandy, and the Smithsonian. If you want to fly in a genuine military aircraft, MiGFlug arranges flights in real fighter jets and warbirds from the L-39 Albatros to a MiG-29 at the edge of space; see migflug.com\/flights-prices.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the B-26 Marauder called the Widowmaker?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Marauder had a small, highly loaded wing that gave it high take-off and landing speeds and an unforgiving stall. In 1941 to 1942, inexperienced crews suffered a spate of accidents, especially at MacDill Field near Tampa, producing the slogan One a day in Tampa Bay and names like Widowmaker, Flying Prostitute and Baltimore Whore. Once the wing and tail were enlarged and crews were properly trained, the accident rate fell and the aircraft went on to have the lowest combat loss rate of any USAAF bomber over Europe.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is the B-26 Marauder the same as the A-26 Invader?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. The Martin B-26 Marauder is the WWII medium bomber. The Douglas A-26 Invader is a different, later attack bomber that was redesignated B-26 in 1948, after the Martin aircraft retired. The B-26 that fought in Korea and Vietnam is the Douglas Invader, not the Martin Marauder.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did the B-26 Marauder really have the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes, that is the strong consensus. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum states the Army Air Forces lost fewer Marauders than any Allied bomber it flew, less than one-half of one percent. The figure usually refers to the per-sortie loss rate in the European theatre. Exact percentages vary between sources, so it is best stated as a well-supported claim rather than a single fixed number.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many B-26 Marauders were built?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Roughly 5,270, at Martin plants in Baltimore, Maryland and Omaha, Nebraska, between 1941 and 1945. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force cites 5,266; other references give 5,288. Production ended in 1945.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many B-26 Marauders survive, and where can I see one?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Only about seven Marauders survive worldwide, all as static exhibits or restoration projects. Complete examples on display include the B-26G Shootin In at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton and Dinah Might at the Utah Beach Landing Museum in Normandy. Flak-Bait is being conserved at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Others are held by the MAPS Air Museum, Fantasy of Flight and the Pima Air and Space Museum.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What engines did the B-26 Marauder use, and how fast was it?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Two Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines, about 1,850 hp each in early aircraft and 2,000 hp in later B-26G models. Top speed was around 285 mph (459 km\/h), cruising speed near 190 mph, range about 1,100 miles (1,770 km) and service ceiling near 19,800 ft.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who flew the B-26 Marauder besides the U.S. Army Air Forces?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Marauder served under Lend-Lease with the Royal Air Force (as the Marauder I, II and III), the South African Air Force, and the Free French Armee de l air, mainly in the Mediterranean and over southern France.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was Flak-Bait?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Flak-Bait was a B-26B of the 322nd Bomb Group that completed 202 combat missions, more than almost any other American aircraft of the war, while surviving repeated battle damage. Its nose was displayed at the Smithsonian for decades, and the full aircraft is now being restored at the National Air and Space Museum.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How much did a B-26 Marauder cost?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Wartime unit costs are approximate. A figure of roughly $260,000 is commonly cited for 1942, falling toward about $190,000 for late B-26G aircraft as production matured. There is no meaningful modern cost per flight hour because no Marauder is operated today.\"}}]}<\/script><div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Units, tactics &amp; comparisons<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder in service: groups, tactics and rivals<\/h2>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">18<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The bomb groups that flew the Martin B-26 Marauder<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>By 1944 the Marauder equipped a large slice of the U.S. tactical bomber force. In England, the Ninth Air Force fielded groups such as the 322nd, 323rd, 344th, 386th, 387th, 391st, 394th and 397th Bomb Groups &mdash; the units that carried the medium-bomber war across France and the Low Countries.<\/p>\n<p>In the Mediterranean, groups including the 17th, 319th and 320th Bomb Groups flew the type over North Africa, Sardinia and Italy, alongside Royal Air Force, South African and Free French squadrons. The 22nd Bomb Group had earlier pioneered Marauder operations in the South-West Pacific.<\/p>\n<p>Each group developed the same hard-won craft: assemble into tight formations, bomb accurately from medium altitude, and rely on massed defensive fire and fighter escort to get home. It was unspectacular, disciplined work &mdash; and it produced the type&rsquo;s remarkable safety record.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">19<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The torpedo-bomber experiment: the Marauder at Midway<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder was never designed to drop torpedoes, but at Midway in June 1942 four Army B-26s were pressed into exactly that role, carrying torpedoes against the Japanese carriers alongside Navy TBD Devastators. It was a desperate improvisation.<\/p>\n<p>The attack was costly and achieved little in material terms &mdash; two of the four Marauders were shot down &mdash; but it entered legend for the sheer aggression of the crews and the punishment the aircraft absorbed. It also confirmed what planners suspected: a fast, high-loaded level bomber was the wrong tool for low-level torpedo work, and the experiment was not repeated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">20<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Martin B-26 Marauder vs North American B-25 Mitchell: which was better?<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder and the B-25 Mitchell were the two great American medium bombers of the war, and comparing them reveals a genuine trade-off. The Marauder was faster and, in mature service, had a lower loss rate over Europe. The Mitchell was more forgiving to fly, operated more happily from rough or short strips, and adapted readily to low-level strafing and anti-shipping roles.<\/p>\n<p>That difference shaped where each went. The Mitchell thrived in the Pacific and in every improvised theatre; the Marauder came into its own in the structured, escorted, medium-altitude war over Europe. Neither was simply better &mdash; they were optimised for different fights, and between them they covered the whole spectrum of medium bombing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">21<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Why was the Martin B-26 Marauder retired so quickly after 1945?<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Despite its fine wartime record, the Marauder disappeared from service almost immediately after 1945. Several forces drove that. It was a specialised medium bomber in an air force pivoting toward jets and toward the faster, more versatile Douglas A-26 Invader, which could do much of the same work with a smaller crew.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands of surplus aircraft were simply scrapped. Within three years the &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; designation itself was reassigned to the Invader. The speed of that disappearance &mdash; and the mass scrapping &mdash; is the main reason so few Marauders survive today, and why the type is less celebrated than heavies like the B-17 that lingered longer in the public eye.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Turning point<\/p>\n<h2>The raid that changed how the Martin B-26 Marauder was used<\/h2>\n<div class=\"story\">\n<p>The single most important tactical lesson in the Marauder&rsquo;s European career was written in blood over the Netherlands. In May 1943 the 322nd Bomb Group was ordered to attack a power station at IJmuiden at very low level &mdash; the kind of fast, hedge-hopping raid the Marauder&rsquo;s speed seemed to invite.<\/p>\n<p>The first mission achieved little. The second, on 17 May 1943, was a catastrophe: the formation ran into heavy flak and fighters, and effectively none of the attacking aircraft returned. It was one of the worst single days any Marauder unit suffered, and it happened at the very moment the type&rsquo;s reputation was already fragile.<\/p>\n<p>The response was decisive and, in hindsight, the making of the aircraft. Commanders abandoned low-level medium bombing in the European theatre and moved the Marauder up to medium altitude, flying in tight, escorted boxes and bombing with precision from around 10,000&ndash;12,000 feet. It was less glamorous than roaring in at treetop height &mdash; and vastly more survivable.<\/p>\n<p>From that grim lesson grew the doctrine that produced the Marauder&rsquo;s famous low loss rate. The aircraft that had just suffered a near-total loss went on to become the safest bomber over Europe &mdash; because the way it was used had fundamentally changed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">25<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The IJmuiden raid of 17 May 1943 and the end of low-level Marauder missions<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The IJmuiden disaster is remembered as the moment the U.S. medium-bomber force in Europe abandoned low-level attack. Sending fast but large, tightly packed aircraft in low over a heavily defended coast exposed them to massed light flak and fighters with almost no room to manoeuvre or recover.<\/p>\n<p>After the losses, the Marauder was re-roled to medium-altitude precision bombing under fighter escort. Bomb groups refined formation flying, bombing accuracy and mutual defensive fire until the type became one of the hardest bombers in the theatre to shoot down. The contrast between May 1943 and 1944&ndash;45 is the clearest possible illustration that the Marauder&rsquo;s fate depended on how it was employed, not on some inherent flaw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">26<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Martin&rsquo;s powered dorsal turret and the science of the defensive box<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Part of what made the medium-altitude box so effective was firepower, and the Marauder carried a Martin-designed powered dorsal turret with twin .50-calibre guns &mdash; one of the first such turrets in American service. Combined with nose, waist and tail guns, it let a formation throw up an interlocking wall of fire.<\/p>\n<p>Flown in a well-drilled box, a group of Marauders could cover almost every approach an enemy fighter might use. That, plus speed, altitude and escort, is the unglamorous engineering-and-tactics reason behind a statistic that still surprises people: the &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; was the bomber least likely to be shot down over Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Flying the Marauder<\/p>\n<h2>What it was actually like to fly the Martin B-26 Marauder<\/h2>\n<div class=\"story\">\n<p>Ask a Marauder pilot about the aircraft and you tend to get two answers depending on when they flew it. To a nervous 1942 trainee it was a fast, twitchy machine that punished mistakes. To a 1944 veteran who had mastered it, it was a strong, honest aeroplane that did exactly what it was told and brought its crew home.<\/p>\n<p>The key was speed discipline. On approach the Marauder had to be flown by the numbers &mdash; too slow, especially on one engine, and it would let go without much warning. Flown correctly, with the power and the airspeed respected, it was stable, fast and steady on the bomb run. The difference between the two experiences was almost entirely training.<\/p>\n<p>That is the enduring lesson of the aircraft: the same machine could be a &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; or a war-winner depending on the crew&rsquo;s preparation. The metal did not change; the men flying it did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gd\">\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">22<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Martin B-26 Marauder&rsquo;s flying qualities: fast, demanding, honest<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Marauder&rsquo;s defining characteristic in the air was its high wing loading. That gave it excellent speed and a stable, steady bomb-run platform, but it also meant fast approaches and a stall that arrived with little warning &mdash; particularly dangerous with an engine out at low speed.<\/p>\n<p>The enlargement of the wing and tail on later blocks softened the worst of this, and standardised single-engine procedures did the rest. Veterans consistently described the mature Marauder as a strong, trustworthy aircraft &mdash; demanding of respect, but not treacherous once understood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">23<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Ground crews and the Martin B-26 Marauder: keeping the Double Wasps turning<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Behind every low loss rate is an army of mechanics. The Marauder&rsquo;s big R-2800 radials were powerful and rugged but demanding to maintain, and its densely packed airframe rewarded skilled hands. Ground crews patched flak damage, changed engines in the open, and kept aircraft like Flak-Bait flying mission after mission.<\/p>\n<p>The high sortie rates that the Marauder achieved in 1944 were only possible because of that unglamorous, relentless work on the flight line &mdash; a part of the story the veterans in the PBS documentary are careful to honour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><span class=\"num\">24<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Reading a &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; caption: how to tell a Marauder from an Invader in a photo<\/span><span class=\"pm\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Because both aircraft carried the &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; designation, captions and photo archives frequently confuse them. A few cues help. The Martin Marauder is a WWII medium bomber with a deep, cigar-shaped fuselage, a single tall fin, a stepped cockpit and a glazed bombardier nose, usually pictured in 1942&ndash;45 European or Mediterranean settings.<\/p>\n<p>The Douglas Invader is sleeker and later, with a smoother nose, a low-set wing and a distinctly post-war look, usually pictured in Korea or Vietnam-era markings. If the caption gives a date after 1948, or mentions Korea or Vietnam, you are almost certainly looking at the Douglas Invader &mdash; not the Martin Marauder on this page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Myth vs fact<\/p>\n<h2>The Martin B-26 Marauder: setting the record straight<\/h2>\n<div class=\"cards\">\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">Myth<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;It was a death-trap&rdquo;<\/h3>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> the Marauder finished the war with the lowest combat loss rate of any USAAF bomber over Europe &mdash; under one half of one percent per sortie, according to the Smithsonian.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">Myth<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay was literal&rdquo;<\/h3>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> the phrase was a memorable exaggeration. Accidents were real and serious, but the true numbers were lower, and most stemmed from training rather than a fatal design flaw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"n\">Myth<\/div>\n<h3>&ldquo;The B-26 fought in Korea and Vietnam&rdquo;<\/h3>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> that was the Douglas A-26 Invader, redesignated B-26 in 1948. The Martin Marauder had already been retired and never served in either war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cta\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<h2>You can\u2019t fly a B-26 Marauder \u2014 but these cockpits are open<\/h2>\n<p>No Marauder is airworthy today. But MiGFlug puts you in the cockpit of genuine military jets \u2014 from the L-39 Albatros to a MiG-29 at the edge of space. Real aircraft, real fighter pilots, real afterburner.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ctacar\">\n<div class=\"ctacard\">\n<div style=\"height:6px;background:#5C91FF\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cc\">\n<h3>Fighter Jet Flights<\/h3>\n<p>Take the controls of a real ex-military jet with an experienced fighter pilot.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ctabtn\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">See flights &amp; prices<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctacard\">\n<div style=\"height:6px;background:#5C91FF\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cc\">\n<h3>L-39 Albatros<\/h3>\n<p>The classic jet trainer &mdash; aerobatics and low-level fun, in several countries.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ctabtn\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">See flights &amp; prices<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctacard\">\n<div style=\"height:6px;background:#5C91FF\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cc\">\n<h3>MiG-29 Fulcrum<\/h3>\n<p>Ride a genuine air-superiority fighter toward the edge of space.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ctabtn\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">See flights &amp; prices<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctacard\">\n<div style=\"height:6px;background:#5C91FF\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cc\">\n<h3>Supersonic experiences<\/h3>\n<p>Break the sound barrier in a real military jet.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ctabtn\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">See flights &amp; prices<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Related aircraft<\/p>\n<h2>Explore more of the museum<\/h2>\n<div class=\"relgrid\"><a class=\"relcard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-25-mitchell\/\"><img data-opt-id=1780493006  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/north-american-b-25-mitchell-in-flight.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"North American B-25 Mitchell in flight\"><span class=\"rc\"><span class=\"rt\">North American B-25 Mitchell<\/span><span class=\"rd\">The Marauder&rsquo;s more forgiving twin &mdash; the medium bomber that raided Tokyo and fought in every theatre.<\/span><\/span><\/a><a class=\"relcard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/a-26-invader\/\"><img data-opt-id=406132408  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/douglas-a-26-invader-in-flight-1.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Douglas A-26 Invader in flight\"><span class=\"rc\"><span class=\"rt\">Douglas A-26 Invader<\/span><span class=\"rd\">The faster, later attack bomber that inherited the &ldquo;B-26&rdquo; designation in 1948 &mdash; and caused decades of confusion.<\/span><\/span><\/a><a class=\"relcard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-17-flying-fortress\/\"><img data-opt-id=1907449413  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/boeing-b-17g-flying-fortress-in-flight-germany-1944.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in flight\"><span class=\"rc\"><span class=\"rt\">Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress<\/span><span class=\"rd\">The USAAF&rsquo;s legendary heavy bomber that fought the daylight strategic war over Germany.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<p class=\"kicker\">Sources &amp; further reading<\/p>\n<h2>Where this Martin B-26 Marauder profile comes from<\/h2>\n<div class=\"srcgrid\">\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian)<\/b> <span>&mdash; collection record and restoration of the Marauder &ldquo;Flak-Bait,&rdquo; including the loss-rate statement.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>National Museum of the U.S. Air Force<\/b> <span>&mdash; B-26G Marauder fact sheet: engines, speed, range, armament and production figures.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>Smithsonian Magazine, &ldquo;207 Flights, Hundreds of Holes&rdquo;<\/b> <span>&mdash; feature on Flak-Bait&rsquo;s combat record and conservation.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>Imperial War Museums<\/b> <span>&mdash; Marauder in RAF and Commonwealth Mediterranean service.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>PBS Western Reserve, &ldquo;Marauder Men: In Their Own Words&rdquo;<\/b> <span>&mdash; documentary featuring surviving Marauder aircrew and ground crew.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>The Marauder Historical Society \/ b26.com<\/b> <span>&mdash; type history, nicknames and the &ldquo;One a day in Tampa Bay&rdquo; story.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum<\/b> <span>&mdash; manufacturer history and production data from Baltimore and Omaha.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA)<\/b> <span>&mdash; bomb-group unit histories and wartime imagery.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>Library of Congress<\/b> <span>&mdash; public-domain wartime photography of the Marauder in service.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>Utah Beach Landing Museum, Normandy<\/b> <span>&mdash; the surviving Marauder &ldquo;Dinah Might&rdquo; and its D-Day context.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>MAPS Air Museum &amp; Pima Air &amp; Space Museum<\/b> <span>&mdash; surviving Marauder airframes and restoration projects.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>PBS Western Reserve, &ldquo;Where to Find the Remaining Martin B-26 Marauders&rdquo;<\/b> <span>&mdash; survey of surviving airframes and their locations.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><b>Wikimedia Commons<\/b> <span>&mdash; source of the public-domain photographs used in this gallery; individual credits appear in each caption.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"fnote\">Where figures are contested &mdash; total built, unit cost, exact loss rate, Flak-Bait&rsquo;s mission count &mdash; this page states the most authoritative value and notes the variation rather than asserting a single disputed number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aircraft Museum &rsaquo; Martin B-26 Marauder Martin B-26 Marauder The fast, feared American medium bomber that began the war as the &ldquo;Widowmaker&rdquo; and its crews learned to trust &mdash; then finished the fight with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber over Europe. 25 Nov 1940First flight ~5,270Built 1941&ndash;1945 7Typical crew ~285 mphTop speed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20785,"parent":15960,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20784","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos &amp; Stories | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Martin B-26 Marauder: the WWII medium bomber nicknamed the Widowmaker that ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/ucak\/b-26-marauder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"tr_TR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos &amp; Stories | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Martin B-26 Marauder: the WWII medium bomber nicknamed the Widowmaker that ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/ucak\/b-26-marauder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1261\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Tahmini okuma s\u00fcresi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"48 dakika\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/\",\"name\":\"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & Stories | MiGFlug\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-09T20:01:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Martin B-26 Marauder: the WWII medium bomber nicknamed the Widowmaker that ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"tr\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"tr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1261,\"caption\":\"A Martin B-26 Marauder in flight. Photo: Charles E. Brown \\\/ USAAF (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/b-26-marauder\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Book of Beasts \u2014 The Big Military Aircraft Encyclopedia\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos &#038; Stories\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug\",\"description\":\"Fly a Jet Fighter Yourself\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"tr\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"tr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2018\\/10\\/logo-migflug-blue.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2018\\/10\\/logo-migflug-blue.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & Stories | MiGFlug","description":"The Martin B-26 Marauder: the WWII medium bomber nicknamed the Widowmaker that ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/ucak\/b-26-marauder\/","og_locale":"tr_TR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & Stories | MiGFlug","og_description":"The Martin B-26 Marauder: the WWII medium bomber nicknamed the Widowmaker that ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/ucak\/b-26-marauder\/","og_site_name":"MiGFlug","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1261,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Tahmini okuma s\u00fcresi":"48 dakika"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/","name":"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & Stories | MiGFlug","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-09T20:01:38+00:00","description":"The Martin B-26 Marauder: the WWII medium bomber nicknamed the Widowmaker that ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"tr","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"tr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/martin-b-26-marauder-in-flight.jpg","width":1600,"height":1261,"caption":"A Martin B-26 Marauder in flight. Photo: Charles E. Brown \/ USAAF (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-26-marauder\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Book of Beasts \u2014 The Big Military Aircraft Encyclopedia","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Martin B-26 Marauder \u2014 History, Specs, Photos &#038; Stories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/","name":"MiGFlug","description":"Jet Sava\u015f U\u00e7a\u011f\u0131n\u0131 Kendiniz U\u00e7urun","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"tr"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"tr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/logo-migflug-blue.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/logo-migflug-blue.png","width":200,"height":100,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20784"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20794,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20784\/revisions\/20794"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}