2-840-021 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Twin engine medium bomber.Wing Span 2,160 cm (850 in.), Length 1,780 cm (701 in.), Height 660 cm (260 in.), Weight 10,886 kg (23,999 lb). Project engineer Peyton M. Magruder designed the Glenn L. Martin Company's B-26 Marauder in response to an Army Air Corps specification issued in January 1939. This specification also caught the attention of North American Aviation, Inc., and that firm responded with the B-25. War fever caused the Air Corps to forego a prototype test stage and both bombers went from the drawing board straight into production. The consequences were deadly for men flying the Martin bomber. The Army threatened to withdraw the aircraft from combat, but Marauder crews stuck with their airplane. By war's end, they had lost fewer airplanes than almost any other combat unit and compiled a notable war record. The NASM B-26B-25-MA nicknamed "Flak-Bait" (AAF serial number 41-31773) survived 206 operational missions over Europe, more than any other American aircraft during World War II.