Martin B-26 Marauder
While I was at the museum I ran into a WWII B-26 reunion group. I got to talking with one Vet who was on the maintenance crew for the Marauder squadron. I asked how the planes got such a bad reputation that they had been given the nickname "The Widowmaker". He told me that the pitch of the propellers on these engines was electrically controlled. Part of the run up check list was to turn the generator switch for each engine off and then on again to verify that the generator was working correctly. The problem was with that switch it was easy to leave the switch in the off position. The crew would take off and get in the air and after a while the battery powering the prop pitch control and other systems for that engine would go flat. The prop would immediately go to flat pitch making it one big air brake. The aircraft would suddenly roll to that side and go into an uncontrollable spin. Once the problem was identified and run up procedures were clarified those crashes came to a stop and the B-26 Marauder ended the war with the lowest loss per sortie rate of any allied bomber.
Here is a link to a Youtube Martin B-26 Marauder wartime training film. It details the training of a pilot with an unplanned engine outage thrown in.
Martin B-26G Marauder Bomber Specifications:
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| Another Martin B-26 Marauder at the MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, OH |
Length: 58 feet, 6 inches
Wingspan: 71 feet, 0 inches
Height: 20 feet, 3 inches
Crew: 4
Weight: Empty - 23,500lbs Max Takeoff - 37,000lbs
Max Speed: 285mph at 5,000 feet
Cruise Speed: 190 mph
Range: 1,100 miles
Service Ceiling: 19,800 feet
Fuel Capacity: 1,044 gallons
Powerplant: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines 2,000 hp each
Armament:
11 50cal Browning Machine Guns
Up to 4,000lbs of bombs internally
First Flight : November 25, 1941
Cost: $227,000