B-26 Marauder

[B777LR]

Lockheed Martin B-26J!

Fit the 6 blade props and engines of a C-130J / C-27J, and paint it all over dark gray

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

I'm late to this party too.

OK let me draw back to WWII types that could be used as CoIn types. Well some of the obvious candidates have been mentioned..... B-25, B-26 Marauder, A/B-26 Invader, A-20 (with 4 x 20mm in the nose). But there's room for a couple more..... Whilst mentioning WWII twins, wasn't somebody here building a CoIn P-38 ? Was it ever completed ? and who was building it ? - enquiring (and forgetful) minds need to know !

So here's a few contenders:-

Mosquito (upgrade - small tip tanks to allow carriage of stores under wing, RR Griffon engines ?, delete the .303's and exchange for .50's). Yep I know they tended to fall apart in humid conditions, so send them somewhere that isn't humid...... Finland, Iraq, Yemen.

Beaufighter (again tip tanks, lose the wing guns. Upgrade the engine). French AF in Nth Africa, RNZAF in Korea ??

Ta154 (Re-engine & re-arm with US or British equivelants - alternatively, the USSR could have acquired a number of them and produced their own upgrade, then sold them on to China, Nth Korea etc)

And talking of the Soviets, what about the:-
Pe2 & Tu2. Big rugged twin engined machines with lots of scope (and space) for increasing or upgrading the engine/fuel/weapons. Don't forget the (IMHO), beautiful Yermolaev Yer2, a late war twin with an offset canopy (think Sea Vixen/Canberra B(I) and broad gull wings..... simply beautiful looking machine.

I dont know much about the Japanese Diana, Nick & Ginga but they all look very suitable for CoIn upgrades too.

So much potential.....

Ian

[jcf]

Unbuilt B-26 follow-ons from the Martin Co.

The XB-27 and XB-33, both were intended to fulfill the requirement for a 'high-altitude' medium bomber and as such would be doubtful candidates for low-level or Coin work. The XB-33 was redesigned into the XB-33A four-engined heavy, a B-29 competitor.

The 3-views are from Lloyd Jones 'U.S. Bombers', and I highly recommend getting a copy along with his 'U.S. Fighters' and 'U.S. Naval Fighters', all three are widely available used for very reasonable sums.

Jon

[jcf]

So here's a few contenders:-

Mosquito (upgrade - small tip tanks to allow carriage of stores under wing, RR Griffon engines ?, delete the .303's and exchange for .50's). Yep I know they tended to fall apart in humid conditions, so send them somewhere that isn't humid...... Finland, Iraq, Yemen.

Beaufighter (again tip tanks, lose the wing guns. Upgrade the engine). French AF in Nth Africa, RNZAF in Korea ??

Ta154 (Re-engine & re-arm with US or British equivalents - alternatively, the USSR could have acquired a number of them and produced their own upgrade, then sold them on to China, Nth Korea etc)

And talking of the Soviets, what about the:-
Pe2 & Tu2. Big rugged twin engined machines with lots of scope (and space) for increasing or upgrading the engine/fuel/weapons. Don't forget the (IMHO), beautiful Yermolaev Yer2, a late war twin with an offset canopy (think Sea Vixen/Canberra B(I) and broad gull wings..... simply beautiful looking machine.

I dont know much about the Japanese Diana, Nick & Ginga but they all look very suitable for CoIn upgrades too.

The Mossie is an easy get around as far as the 'falling apart' problem is concerned (I've read that the problem has been greatly exaggerated over the years) by using the same Redux adhesive that was used on the Hornet. Why not go all the way and use bonded metal skinning on the undersides of the wing ala the Hornet? There would not be any compelling reason to switch to Griffons, retaining Merlins would be lower cost in terms of initial purchase and long term due to the number of engines manufactured.

On the Beau I'd stay with the Hercules but go to a later, more powerful mark with rear-swept exhaust, again it would save money and there would be loads of parts available in the military and civil markets. You could use a Centaurus type ejector exhaust system for that 'Fury'ous look. 

TA 154? Frankly why would we or the Soviets bother? We all had better designs.
Now a South American produced version with Pratt or Wright radials or South African? That has possibilities.

The Pe-2 wasn't that big, it was roughly the same size as the Mosquito. Three Pe-2Sh 'Shturmovik' with varying armament schemes were built and trialled, no series production. Ditto the Tu-2Sh, again three aircraft built and tested.

The Ki 46 'Dinah' was far too lightly constructed for the Coin role, it was purely a high-altitude recce aircraft, the attempt to turn it into a bomber interceptor didn't fare well.
The Navy's J1N1' Gekko' would be a better candidate.

Ki-45 'Nick' was designed as a long-range heavy fighter but saw its best success as a ground attack and anti-shipping aircraft. The Ki-45 KAIb was specifically designed and built for the role. Guns up to 75mm were tested. A natural for the Coin role.

P1Y1 'Ginga', designed as a high-speed bomber some were equipped as nightfighters. It was also the used for the 'Mukade' (Centipede) project, with 20mm cannon mounted in the belly. Another good candidate for some roles.

Cheers, Jon

[jcf]

XB-33A Super Marauder

Wingspan: 134 ft (40.84m)
Length: 79 ft 10 in (24.33m)
Max speed: 345 mph
Ceiling: 39,000 ft
Range: 2,000 miles at 242 mph
Empty weight: 64,948 lbs
Max weight: 97,917 lbs
Bomb weight: 10, 130 lbs

Four Wright R-2600-15 with GE CMC-3 turbo-superchargers rated at 1,800hp.
Turrets operated by remote control.
Two prototypes were under construction in 1942, project was canceled and Martin assigned to B-29 work.

Calling the aircraft the Super Marauder was a matter of company PR, it had little in common with the B-26.

Jon

[jcf]

Three pics of B-26 armament variations:

1) belly pack, no details - appears to hold four guns(when the picture is brightened heavily)

2) B-26B-15, 41-31672, Pistol Packin' Mama, 37mm cannon in nose, waist guns moved higher up the side of the fuselage, four .50MG in the wings, engines with small scoops and extended nacelles, horn-balanced rudder.

3) B-26B-40, 42-43319, twin .50MG and additional windows in the nose, four .50MG in the wings, engines with small scoops and extended nacelles, dorsal turret moved forward to position over the rear bomb bay, horn-balanced rudder.

Jon

[philp]

Thanks for the pics Jon.
I was trying to come up with a way to cram 8 .50's in the nose keeping with the Nimrod idea but the shape just doesn't work for that.  Will probably put 4 in the nose and keep the cheek gun pods for 8 total.

Also thinking of using Skyraider engines, props and cowlings.  Course, that means I gotta find 2 not being used.  Hmm, anyone do a turbo Skyraider conversion who doesn't need the above?

Also a couple T-33 tip tanks and some underwing weapons.

Gonna keep the tail gunner with the twin .50's for SAM/AA suppression.

[jcf]

While R-3350 engines would give a lot of grunt, they are a bit larger than the R-2800.

B-26B,C,E,F,G
R-2800-43
Diameter: 52.50"
Length: 75.72"
Weight: 2,300 lbs

AD-2, 3, 4, 5, 6
R-3350-26WA
Diameter: 55.62"
Length: 80.81"
Weight: 2,822 lbs

Also as the US didn't use the power egg concept of standardized installations, each engine installation was custom to each aircraft type and each company had a definite look, if Martin had put the R-3350 on the Marauder the installation would probably have looked more like that of the JRM-1 Mars.

I did some comparison between the Monogram 1/48th B-26 and A-26 kits and have conclude that with bit of modification you could mount the cowlings and ejector exhaust sections of the A-26 to the B-26 nacelles. It would definitely cleanup the Marauder engine installation and add to the looks. Another option would be the 2,400hp turbo-supercharged R-2800 CB16 engines used on the 2-0-2A and 4-0-4 airliners in the late forties - early fifties. The 2-0-2 design studies started during the WWI and the high-wing 202-12 version looked a lot like a B-26 converted into an airliner. 


4-0-4

One other note, B-26K is an unlikely designation as the highest the Marauder got was the XB-26H, "I" would be skipped so B-26J would be next.

Jon

[sagallacci]

How about a pair of Allison V3420 engines in a B-26? The history of the Allison aero engines briefly mentions the idea of just that. I'm doing a 1/48 version now, as a sort of US answer to the DH Mosquito as a very fast reccon or strike machine. Get rid of the top turret, of course.

[Weaver]

Been thinking about an early jet bomber based on a Marauder and I see it's occurred to others too. The circular section fuselage is beautifully streamlined, looks pressurisable (lose the dorsal turret) and has a nosewheel. My suggestion would be to keep the straight wing, but replace each engine with a pair of early centrifugal jets in a common nacelle, in similar style to the Avro Ashton or CF-104 Jetliner. The engines would be at the front of the nacelle, thus keeping the CofG approximately right, and the long main undercarriage could then retract backwards between the long jetpipes.

[tigercat2]

In the "profiles" section of this forum, there have been a number of excellent What If Martin B-26 ideas presented, including B-26K for SEA, COIN B-26s, and A-61s (formerly P/F-61s) for use as an interdictor in SEA.


Wes W.

[famvburg]

      In real life, at least one B-26 did have what appeares to be the R-2800 CB16 installation, at least in its civilian life. The B-26 that the Confederate Air Force had was fitted with the same type of cowling used on some of the A-26K Counter Invaders, also similar to the Martin, Convair & DC-6 cowlings, & the big fat 3 bladed paddle blade props. At one time after its restoration in the '80s I guess, it was fitted with 4 bladed H/S props, which no B-26s ever used. I don'trecall if the cowlings had been rebuilt to more closely resemble stock B-26 cowlings. It CAN be done, 'cause it was done!

While R-3350 engines would give a lot of grunt, they are a bit larger than the R-2800.

B-26B,C,E,F,G
R-2800-43
Diameter: 52.50"
Length: 75.72"
Weight: 2,300 lbs

AD-2, 3, 4, 5, 6
R-3350-26WA
Diameter: 55.62"
Length: 80.81"
Weight: 2,822 lbs

Also as the US didn't use the power egg concept of standardized installations, each engine installation was custom to each aircraft type and each company had a definite look, if Martin had put the R-3350 on the Marauder the installation would probably have looked more like that of the JRM-1 Mars.

I did some comparison between the Monogram 1/48th B-26 and A-26 kits and have conclude that with bit of modification you could mount the cowlings and ejector exhaust sections of the A-26 to the B-26 nacelles. It would definitely cleanup the Marauder engine installation and add to the looks. Another option would be the 2,400hp turbo-supercharged R-2800 CB16 engines used on the 2-0-2A and 4-0-4 airliners in the late forties - early fifties. The 2-0-2 design studies started during the WWI and the high-wing 202-12 version looked a lot like a B-26 converted into an airliner.  


4-0-4

One other note, B-26K is an unlikely designation as the highest the Marauder got was the XB-26H, "I" would be skipped so B-26J would be next.

Jon

[Weaver]

Not sure why you'd want to do it, but looking at the Marauder's circular-section fuselage, it strikes me that it'd be really easy to stick a third radial engine on the nose.....

[Sisko]

I would seriously consider a jet engine in the tail.

Delete the rear and top turret insert a jet engine in the rear and make it a mixed propulsion bomber.

Recessed intakes on the sides to feed the jet.

[jcf]

I would seriously consider a jet engine in the tail.

Delete the rear and top turret insert a jet engine in the rear and make it a mixed propulsion bomber.

Recessed intakes on the sides to feed the jet.

Something similar done by the French as an ATAR testbed. 



Jon