Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA3201 Douglas A-26B Invader 552nd BS, 386th BG, Beaumont, France 1944 “Stinky”

True 1/72 scale. Professionally painted. Great attention to detail. All markings are Tampoed (pad applied). Option to display the model on a stand that is provided. Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions. Loads of optional armament provided. Canopy can be removed to place figures inside. 3 figures included. Dorsal turret can turn. Bomb bay can be opened with 6 bombs included. Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic. Highly collectable.

In 1941 Douglas Aircraft Company began work on their twin-engine medium-bomber A-26 Invader. By the end of production there were 2,452 aircraft produced for all variants. The A- 26/B-26 was the only U.S. bomber to take part in three wars, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. The confusion with the use of the designation B-26 began when the Martin B-26 Marauder was retired and in 1948 the USAF dropped the “A” (Attack) designator so the Douglas A-26 Invader became the B-26 Invader. The A-26 made its first European appearance in late 1944.

One variant of the Douglas A-26 Invader was the “B” series. Douglas built 1,560 A-26B’s. 205 were built in Tulsa Oklahoma with another 1,355 coming from Long Beach California. In July 1944 the 553rd Bombardment Squadron began mission testing the new A-26 but by September this had been suspended because of technical problems. The 386th Bombardment Group “The Crusaders” arrived in Beaumont-sur-Oise, France on Oct 2, 1944 with their Martin B-26 Marauders. Shortly after the Ardennes campaign the 386th BG received the much improved Douglas A-26 Invader.

Specifications Douglas A-26B Invader First flight - July 10, 1942 Crew - 3 Dimensions Length - 50 ft 9 in Wingspan - 70 ft 0 in Height - 18 ft 6 in Weight Empty - 22,370 lbs Maximum take-off - 35,000 lbs Performance Engines - 2 x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-79 radial piston each producing 2,000 hp Maximum speed @ 15,000 ft - 355 mph Ceiling - 22,100 ft Range - 1,400 miles Armament 6 x 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns in nose 2 x 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns in ventral turret 2 x 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns in dorsal turret 6,000 lbs of bombs 8 x 127 mm (5-inch) rockets