B-26 MARAUDER - "FLAK BAIT"

Historical Note:   In response to an Army Corps issued on January 1939, B-25 Marauder, also know as the Flak Bait, was designed by Project engineer Peyton M. Marauder under the Glenn L Martin’s company. Due to the consistent war during that time, the Air Corps underwent prototype test stage and both bombers went from the drawing board to production. As a result, many pilots who flew the Martin airplane were in danger.

The B-26 Marauder was the first aircraft in World War II that used four bladed propellers. It is also the very first aircraft that embodied the first horizontal tail plane with marked dihedral. The Flak Bait carried a power operated gun turret. These turrets were also used later on by the B25, B17 and B24 bombers. The tail gunner could sit in an upright position. The original armament included a flexible .30 caliber gun in the tail position but it was later replaced with .50s, and in March 1943 it was again replaced by an electric hydraulic Martin Bell turret.

The B-26 Marauder used weapons pods. In addition to this, it was the first aircraft which incorporated all-plexiglass bombardier’s nose. The designers of Flak Bait used butted seams for the skin covering as opposed to the conventional seams. Thus, this enhanced the flow of air over the streamed lined torpedo like fusage of the B-26 Marauder. This combat also employs all electrical bomb mechanism.

As its regular equipment, it has a rubber self sealing fuel tanks installed in it. To transfer ammunition from the bomb bay storage back to the tail gun position, the Flak Bait employed the first flexible tracks. Moreover, the B26 Marauder was the first combat aircraft that used plastic materials as metal substitutes on grand scale. Another of its wonders is it is the very first and last bomber to use torpedoes in war conflicts. This is made possible by the external rack installed along the kneel that carries a standard 2000 pounds Naval aerial torpedo.

The Flak Bait was the first Allied bomber which was amazingly used over 200 operational missions in the European Theater of War. One of the most popular nicknames of the B-26 Marauder is the “Flying Torpedo” as it is also the first aircraft that had an aerodynamically perfect fuselage. It was used to test the bicycle type landing gear which was later adopted by the Air Force on B-47 and B-52 jet bombers.

The B-26 Marauder or Flak Bait is perhaps the most dominant and famed Marauder of all. In history, it is said to have absorbed over 1000 enemy hits. Undoubtedly, no other aircraft in World War II can compare to its reputation.

Scale:    1:44
W/S:      19.1 inches, 
Lgth:      15.3  inches

Item Number:    TMC-AB26OD                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Price:    $169.95