when war was war & men were... airborne.

December 28, 2003 5:51 PM

b-26 marauder nose art often reflected a flight crew's courageous faith that luck would be a lady. or maybe not quite. chock full of great ww2 vintage photos, the b-26 marauder virtual museum is a sure go for no dough.
posted by quonsar (9 comments total)

is that a bomb in your chamber, or are you glad to see me? ;-)
~ nice q, thanks! ~
posted by madamjujujive at 6:40 PM on December 28, 2003

The -26 was a great airplane but its crews had a love-hate relationship with it. It was fast, manuverable and could carry a large bomb load a long way -- but at a price of stability and ease of handing. The Marauder had a reputation as a crew killer, and its high wing loading and lineage from Martin Aircraft Co. in Baltimore, Maryland earned it the sobriquet "The Whore from Baltimore - no visiible means of support."
posted by alumshubby at 6:52 PM on December 28, 2003

My great-uncle was a '26 nosegunner, if I remember properly. He came home peppered with flak he bore for the rest of his life...but he did come home.
posted by adamgreenfield at 7:20 PM on December 28, 2003

a bomber pilot's memories.
posted by quonsar at 7:30 PM on December 28, 2003

Nice post.

The A-26 went on after WWII and even saw service in Vietnam, and a number were converted for civilian executive aircraft use. I saw my last one on such a "mission" in about 1980, by then fuel prices, and affordable jets like the Lear, had pretty much driven converted bombers out of the exec transport biz.
posted by Elvis at 8:38 PM on December 28, 2003

On a mostly-related note, my father's site has a large collection of B-17 nose art photos from the 303rd Bomb Group.
posted by mmoncur at 3:01 AM on December 29, 2003

such cool links! Thanks everyone. :)
posted by dejah420 at 7:35 AM on December 29, 2003

Nose Art.
posted by hama7 at 7:58 AM on December 29, 2003

A (surviving) B-26 Bombardier's site.
posted by Dan Brilliant at 8:56 AM on January 1, 2004