Does anyone know why the B-26 Marauder was de-commissioned?

Question

its a WWII bomber that was discontinued sometime in the late 1940's maybe around 1945, im doing a class on it and know everything except for the fact of why it was discontinued. Please help.

Answer 1

The Martin Marauder (B-26) was often referred to as the "Widowmaker," because it had a bad reputation for controllability problems and stability issues.  Apparently it was very easy for many pilots to get into a stall/spin accident with the Martin B-26.

There is considerable controversy about this, as many pilots said the problem was poor pilot training and the fact that the airplane had exceptional performance and control response for a bomber at the time.  It was said that if pilots were properly trained, the Marauder was perfectly safe.  We may never know the truth.

Controversies of this type arise all the time.  A current example is the Beechcraft V-tail Bonanza, which many pilots claim "hunts" or "fishtails" in flight because of the unusual construction of its tail.  As an experienced professional pilot who occasionally flies a Bonanza recreationally, I have tried hard to make a Bonanza behave the way some people claim it does; I can't get it to do it.  So some say it does, and some say it doesn't.  May never be resolved.

As you probably know, the Martin B-26 was replaced with another aircraft, the Douglas B-26, called the Invader, which handled in a much more conventional way.

Answer 2

It was also a complex construction issue.

Jimmy Doolittle demo'ed the airplane at MacDill ("plane a day in Tampa Bay" -- those were B-26s) and proved most of the problems were lack of attention; however, they did add about 10 feet to the wing span.  This changed the moniker "Baltimore w***e" -- no visible means of support.

Nevertheless, the airplane was complex, fast and flew near it's edge.  Combat aircraft need to be simple and easy, you can't employ the weapons if you're worried about straight and level flight.

Answer 3

From Wiki:

While the B-26 was a fast plane with better performance than the contemporary B-25 Mitchell, its relatively small wing area and resulting high wing loading (the highest of any aircraft used at that time) led to tricky high-speed landings (approach at 140 mph (225 km/h) and stall at 130 mph (210 km/h) indicated airspeed). The R-2800 engines were reliable, but the electric pitch change mechanism in the propellers required impeccable maintenance and was prone to failure. Failure of the mechanism placed the propeller blades in flat pitch with instant total loss of power. Due to the rotund fuselage, the B-26 engines were placed far outboard, and loss of power on one side resulted in a violent snap roll flipping the aircraft on its back. This led to a high number of accidents during takeoff, thus earning B-26 the nickname "Widowmaker" by its pilots. Other colorful nicknames included "Martin Murderer," "The Flying Coffin," "B-Dash-Crash" and "The Flying Prostitute" (so-named because it had no visible means of support, referring to its small wings), as well as "The Baltimore w***e" (a reference to the city where Martin was based).[3]

The toll eventually led to a halt in production. During this time a commission of inquiry (led by then-Senator Harry Truman) was appointed to look into the problem. When Truman and the other commission members arrived at the Avon Park Air Force Range, they were greeted by the still-burning wreckage of two crashed Marauders. Indeed, the regularity of crashes by pilots training at MacDill Field—up to 15 in one 30-day period led to the only mildly exaggerated catchphrase, "One a day in Tampa Bay."

The resulting aircraft (designated B-26B) had a 6 ft (1.8 m) increase in wingspan, and other changes, some of which reduced the aircraft's speed. The newer version had reduced landing and stall speeds. The safety of the B-26B was an immense improvement: it had the lowest attrition rate of any aircraft used during the war. Nevertheless, it remained a challenging plane to fly and continued to be unpopular with potential crews throughout its life.

Answer 4

At the end of WWII in Europe, the AAF (Army Air Forces) grouped as many Martin B-26's together in Nor then Italy and scraped them out.

    The aircraft had very high performance and it took a highly trained, highly skilled crew to operate it. During the war years, almost anything that could be used to hit the enemy was used, irregardless of it's shortcomings. This aircraft was dubbed "one a day in Tampa Bay" because of all the training accidents from McDill Field, Fl. However, with the proper training and experience, the crews found that the aircraft was a superb fighting tool. If attacked, the crew could jettison the bombs, go to War emergency power" and run away from any German fighter, except the jets !

    When the war was over, the need was gone and the Army got rid of the Marauders as fast as it could.

    Go forward to 1947 and the new U.S. Air Force. The old AAF still had the Douglas Invaders (A-26) in inventory. The new service wanted to shed as much of the "Army" as it could, so---- The Invader (A-26) became the new B-26.

    Be sure you know which "B-26" is being discussed -- the Martin Marauder or the Douglas Invader !!!

Answer 5

I think mainly because the war ended...............

Answer 6

While it WAS known as a "hot ship": with a relatively high landing speed and tricycle landing gear; it actually had the LOWEST operational attrition rate of any US bomber.  The reason it was scrapped was obsolescence, and the emergence of strategic bombing doctrine.  (Even the mighty B17-which was outperformed by the B24 BTW, was rapidly approaching obsolescence by 1945).

It was obvious that jets were the next technological leap-in fact the US had a light/med jet bomber the B45 that flew in 1944.  However problems with the engines prevented it from going into production until after the war.

The impression at the time, and still to a degree maintained by the USAF, is that strategic bombing greatly shortened the war.  And, with the new atomic bomb (even though the US had only about 7 of the weapons until the late 40's), long range bombers that could hit targets in the Soviet Union were needed.

There is some confusion over the A26 Invader and the B26 Marauder.  That's because the "A" designator was dropped in the late 1950's; when the A26 was brought in to Vietnam it was renamed the "B26" and performed exceedingly well in night intruder ops.  Lack of spares, and more sophisticated air defense network led to it being withdrawn.

Answer 7

There is an A-26 which is still flyable, and is based at Van Nuys, CA. If you are doing a paper on the B-26, you might to include mention of the A-26. I knew a fellow who flew the B-26 in WWII. (He passed away a few years ago.) He liked it and said you had to fly it, had to stay on it. But he liked it.

Answer 8

Originally the B-26 had too small of wings, making approaches fast and stalls and spins easy to get into.  The wings were later lengthened but it still remained a 'hot ship'.

The reason why they were discontinued was the large scale post-war demobilization and the obsolescence of the design in the face of a modern jet threat.  The availability of large numbers of B-25s for the immediate post war and the Douglas A-26 which had the same performance as the B-26 but none of its flaws sealed the fate of the B-26.