B-26B
| This page is about the American bomber B-26B. For the French version, see B-26C. |
Contents
Description
The B-26B Marauder is a rank III American bomber with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB/RB) and 4.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update "Wind of Change".
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 3,962 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 403 | 387 | 8500 | 35.3 | 36.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 950 |
| Upgraded | 525 | 491 | 32.8 | 34.0 | 10.3 | 5.6 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 568 | 265 | 382 | 320 | 297 | ~8 | ~3 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 270 | < 320 | < 370 | > ___ |
Survivability and armour
- 12.7 mm steel - floor and port side of nose gunner/bombardier's position
- 8 mm steel - slightly curved armour plates behind flight deck seats (pilot, copilot, plus one unoccupied position that is presumably the navigator/radio operator's position)
- 9 mm steel - under main oil coolers in each engine nacelle
- 12.7 mm steel - under beam gunner
- 12.7 mm steel - two curved plates aft of dorsal turret
- 12.7 mm steel - aft of tail gunner
- 8 mm bulletproof glass - small window for tail gunner
There is basically no protection from the front for the flight crew, so while your offensive battery of five forward-firing M2 Brownings might make head-on attacks tempting, your pilots are shockingly vulnerable from that angle.
The four large self-sealing fuel tanks in the wings are relatively easy targets for enemy fighters, and your engines are also an easy target. To make matters worse, the B-26 had a reputation for being very challenging to keep in the air with only one engine. While the Marauder is often able to absorb a considerable amount of punishment, it is unlikely you'll make it alive back to base. Use your speed to keep pursuing fighters on your tail, where your relatively well protected defensive gunners can discourage pursuit.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The B-26B is armed with:
- 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg)
- 4 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, cheek-mounted (250 rpg upper + 200 rpg lower = 900 total)
Suspended armament
The B-26B can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- 30 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (3,000 lb total)
- 14 x 300 lb H.E. M31 bombs (4,200 lb total)
- 8 x 600 lb H.E. M32 bombs (4,800 lb total)
- 4 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (4,000 lb total)
- 2 x 2,000 lb AN-M66A2 bombs (4,000 lb total)
- 2 x 1,600 lb AN-Mk 1 bombs (3,200 lb total)
- 1 x 2,216 lb Mk.13-1 torpedo
Defensive armament
The B-26B is defended by:
- 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, nose turret (270 rpg)
- 2 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, dorsal turret (400 rpg = 800 total)
- 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, 2 x beam turrets (240 rpg)
- 2 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, tail turret (800 rpg = 1,600 total)
Usage in battles
The B-26 is best used at high altitudes to avoid combat as much as possible due to lack of armour, its size, and because most bombers go out solo, leaving you no other allies to help you. Be sure to use its speed to your advantage. Some notable enemies that should be avoided at all costs are aircraft like the Do 335: its absurd amount of guns can surely rip you in half with nearly a burst or two. If you can dodge any enemies that come your way, then it's a cakewalk when taking out bases.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Auto control available |
Separate | Controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fighter planes will have trouble once you hit your max speed at your correct altitude
- Anti-tank bombs (AKA armour-piercing bombs) are good for CAS uses
- The 30x payload is good for strips of AAA and armoured cars
- Offensive armament is good for taking out enemy bombers
- Guns rarely jam when upgraded
- Useful in naval battles, as it can carry a torpedo
Cons:
- The nose gunner isn't really reliable
- Usually two bomb loads needed to take out a base
History
The Martin B-26 medium bomber was submitted by the Glenn L. Martin company in 1939 to the same USAAC specification (Circular Proposal 39-640) as the North American B-25 Mitchell, and both were accepted off the drawing board. Unsurprisingly, the two airplanes share much in common: twin-engined medium bombers, similar in size, with similar offensive and defensive armament. Both saw service in all major theaters of the war, with both U.S. and allied forces.
What sets the B-26 Marauder apart is that it was designed for speed; designed around two massively powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines, its maximum speed is a full 10% faster than its slightly smaller and lighter B-25 counterpart. However, this speed came at a cost. With high wing loading and demanding flight characteristics, the B-26 was noticeably harder to fly than the Mitchell. This pilot skill differential, combined with the pressures of wartime training, led to a track record of deadly crashes early in the plane's history, gaining a reputation as a "widow maker".
Despite this unpromising start to its career, the B-26 Marauder racked up a solid combat record. Mostly deployed at medium altitude missions, it became known for accurate bombing, and by the end of the war, the U.S. 9th Air Force reported that the so-called "widow maker" recorded the lowest combat loss rate of any aircraft type.[1] One B-26, named "Flak Bait", survived over 200 missions and is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.[2]
Although most of its combat flying was done in the European Theater of Operations, a notable early engagement in the Pacific was the sortie of four torpedo-equipped Marauders against the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Midway. None of the torpedoes hit, two of the planes were lost, and the other two returned so badly shot-up that they were written off. Over the fleet and pursued by Japanese A6M Zeroes, a B-26 named "Susie Q" actually overflew the length of the Akagi's flight deck at very low level, strafing the deck crew with its machine guns. Susie Q landed, just barely, back at Midway with over 500 bullet holes.[3]
The in-game version represents the B-26B model after some modifications had been made, including lengthening the wings to improve (but not eliminate) the tricky handling characteristics. Most B-26 were built at the Glenn L. Martin plant in Baltimore, Maryland, but the essentially identical B-26C (found in the French tech tree) was built in Omaha, Nebraska. A total of 5,288 aircraft of all models were built between 1941 and 1945.[4]
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| Glenn L. Martin Company | |
|---|---|
| Attackers | AM-1 |
| Bombers | B-10B · B-26B · PBM-1 · PBM-3 · PBM-5A |
| Jet bombers | B-57A* · B-57B* |
| Export | Martin 139WC · Martin 167-A3 · B-26C |
| * These aircraft were license-built from The English Electric Company Limited who developed and built the British English Electric Canberra. | |
| USA bombers | |
|---|---|
| Dive | SB2U-2 · SB2U-3 · SBD-3 · SB2C-1C · SB2C-4 |
| Torpedo | TBD-1 · PBY-5 Catalina · PBY-5A Catalina · TBF-1C · BTD-1 |
| Medium | B-10B · B-18A · B-34 · PV-2D · B-25J-1 · B-25J-20 · A-26C-45 · A-26C-45DT · B-26B |
| Heavy | B-17E · B-17E/L · B-17G-60-VE · PB4Y-2 · B-24D-25-CO · B-29A-BN |
| Hydroplanes | OS2U-1 · OS2U-3 · PBM-1 "Mariner" · PBM-3 "Mariner" · PBM-5A "Mariner" |
