Martin B-26 Marauder

*"The Marauder’s greatest success as a workhorse of the U.S. Ninth Air Force came in the tactical air support role before, during, and after the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944. Heavy armament and a big bomb load made the B-26 devastatingly effective in this role. Its highly loaded wing made the Marauder a “hot” plane with a high landing speed, a characteristic that cost some early crews their lives. Wing and fin modifications, and an aggressive training program, decreased operational accidents and helped get the best out of this capable aircraft. The C model increased the wing’s span by six feet; the later F and G models increased the wing’s angle of incidence by 3.5 degrees to shorten takeoff distance*
and decrease landing speed. By the end of the war, the B-26 had the lowest loss rate of all of the American bombers in the European Theater."

-In game description of the B-26 "C" and "G" Marauder

The B-26 Marauder is a US meduim bomb with handling. Like a mini B-17 it possessed alot of firepower, thanks to heavy load and multiple turrets along with several forward facing guns for strafing runs not to mention is very fast for its type. This plane has the heaviest bomb load and speed of any bomber in *CFS3* of all countries surpassing the B-25C Mitchell and Ju 88A4 (not including *CFS3: Firepower* where it is surpassed greatly by the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Super Fortress strategic bombers)

Overall this is a decent plane however it requires a lot of skill to take off and land safely due to the high speed and the large cockpit window is prone to flak. Altitude performance is an issue as it can barely function above 20,000 feet, backed up by the fact the Warp altitude for bombers is at 23,500 feet by default.

## Specifications

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             B-26C SPECIFICATIONS

```

 WEIGHT: 23,800/38,200 lb. (10,818/17,363 kg)

 SPAN: 71' (21.6 m) LENGTH: 56' 1" (17 m)

 ENGINE: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 18-cyl. air-cooled radials with 2,000 hp each

 ARMAMENT: Twelve 0.5-in. Browning machine guns-- one exible and one xed gun in the nose ( xed gun later omitted), four xed-package guns on the sides, two in the top turret, two in the lower waist, and two in the tail--plus 3,000 lb. of bombs. Optional: Fourteen 5-in. rockets

 MAX SPEED @ ALTITUDE: 283 mph (455 km/h) @ 5,000 ft (1,524 m)

 CEILING: 19,800 ft (6,035 m)

 INITIAL CLIMB RATE: 1000 ft/min (305 m/min)

 RANGE: 1,150 mi (1,850 km)

 B-26G SPECIFICATIONS

 WEIGHT: 23,800/38,200 lb. (10,818/17,363 kg)

 SPAN: 71' (21.6 m) LENGTH: 56' 1" (17 m)

 ENGINE: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 18-cyl. air-cooled radials with 2,000 hp each

 ARMAMENT: Twelve 0.5-in. Browning machine guns (as above,but without xed nose gun), plus 4,000-lb. of bombs Optional: Fourteen 5-in. rockets

 MAX SPEED @ ALTITUDE: 283 mph (455 km/h) @ 5,000 ft (1,524 m)

 CEILING: 19,800 ft (6,035 m)
INITIAL CLIMB RATE: 1000 ft/min (305 m/min)

RANGE: 1,150 mi (1,850 km)

STRENGTHS (ALL B-26 VARIANTS)

- High-speed cruise.

- Heavy armament and bomb load.

 WEAKNESSES (ALL B-26 VARIANTS)

 - High landing speed dangerous for unwary pilots.

- Vulnerable to fighters, requires escort.

## Armament

12x 0.5 in Browning machine guns total: four guns on the sides (frontward), one in the nose, two in the top turret, two in the lower waist, and two in the tail.

4x 1000lb bombs

8x 500 lb bombs

2x 2000lb bombs

14x rockets + 2x 1000lb bombs

14x rockets + 8x 500lb bombs

1x Mk13 Torpedo

## Trivia

* A larger four engine variant called the XB-33 Super Marauder was planned as a heavy bomber to operate aside the B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress. The prototype as designed was 79 feet long with an 134 foot wingspan powered by four 1,800 HP radical engines, carried a bomb load of 10,000lb, had 8 .50 caliber machine guns, high altitude of 39,000 feet and a max speed of 345 mph, which would have been a ridiculous performance for such a large aircraft for its period. On November 25th, 1942, all 400 requested production models were cancelled to save funds for the B-29 program.
* The B-26 C and G models are the only *CFS3* stock bombers to carry a 2,000lb bomb let alone two.
* The B-26C is available at the start of the Campaign as a American Bomber pilot by default. It is replaced by the B-17G in the *Firepower* installation content.