The B-26 was designed by the Glenn L. Martin Company in response to a 1939 government request for fast, two engine bombers. A number of other designs were provided by other aircraft companies, some of which were also accepted and became other well-known WWII aircraft. (http://www.aviation-history.com/martin/b26.html). The aircraft was designed by Peyton Magruder, and was eventually named the Marauder (Magruder’s Marauder). The Army made initial orders of more than 1000 aircraft before the first prototype had even been delivered! It was designed for speed and the ability to carry a large bomb load. It succeeded at both of these. The initial model could exceed 300 mph in level flight and the aircraft eventually carried an internal 4000 lb. bomb load, as much as the four engine B-17. In return for speed and a large bomb load, the aircraft sacrificed operational ceiling and range. The high speed was achieved by the use of a short, low drag wing. Because this wing had a small area, it had to produce very high lift per unit area to keep the aircraft aloft. This is called “wing loading”, and the B-26’s load of 56 lb./sq. ft. was unusually high. This meant that anything which substantially reduced the lift of the wing could precipitate a stall. As a result, take off and landing speeds of the B-26 were unusually high and the loss of an engine on takeoff could prove disastrous. Consequently, the B-26 required a more skillful pilot than some of the other more forgiving aircraft, like the B-25 Mitchell used in the famous "30-Minutes over Tokyo" raid. As a result, early training of inexperienced pilots on the B-26 was plagued by frequent aircraft (and crew) losses. The aircraft thus developed a poor reputation and there was an inquiry, headed by Harry Truman, to determine if the Army should continue use of the B-26. The commission recommended that it be discontinued, but Jimmy Doolittle tried the aircraft and liked it and went about the country demonstrating that it could take off and land on a single engine. That saved the aircraft. Check out this 1944 training film (http://www.aviation-history.com/video/tfb26.htm) on how to fly the B-26. Don’t worry, a lot of the detail covered in this film isn’t implemented in our simulation. Here is an hour-long video giving the whole history of the B-26 in WWII. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq-vg7E6JmI)
There is an excellent FSX/P3D freeware B-26 B/C by Milton Schupe available from Flyaway Simulations available here:
(https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/24664/fsx-martin-b-26b-c-marauder/).
The website provides basic instructions for installing and operating this aircraft. Pay close attention to the installation instructions; there is no auto-installer, but the process is simple.
Just put the extracted files into the appropriate FSX directories by hand. When you open the aircraft, you will find a number of liveries available. Take your pick, but one of these is unique to
the 387th Bomb Group and you will be using that for operational missions.
However, it isn’t the one (Heavenly Body) depicted below. Note the one-piece transparent nose cone sporting a 50 cal. Machine gun, right above the bombsite. In fact the aircraft is crawling with
guns, a twin fifty electrically operated dorsal turret (first of its kind), a twin fifty turret in the tail, fifties at ports on either side of the fuselage and twin machine package guns on both sides
of the chin of the aircraft. The aircraft was used as a defacto fighter to shoot down enemy transport aircraft and was a daunting target for enemy interceptors, due to it high speed, heavy armor for
the crew and multiple machine guns.
There are several important things to bear in mind when starting to fly the B-26. It is a really hot aircraft with very sensitive controls. Compared with other aircraft of this epoch, it handles
more like a fighter than a conventional bomber or transport aircraft. Flying it by hand (more on this later) requires a fine touch and constant attention. It takes off and lands fast
(e.g., 120 – 140 mph). You can access the historical B-26 Training and operating manuals here (https://aviationshoppe.com/martin-b26-documents-manuals-a-20.html).
They devote a lot of
attention to how to operate and maintain the hardware, but give some information on flying the aircraft. The aircraft has tricycle landing gear, but no steerable nose wheel, so you will
have to use differential braking to taxi the aircraft and straighten the initial take off roll. To do this, get the aircraft rolling at a low speed and then tap the left brake pedal lightly.
This will cause the nose wheel to caster to the left. If you then apply gentle additional power you can continue your turn to the left until you tap the right brake pedal to caster the wheel
back to the straight-ahead position. It also does not have reversible props, so you will have to allow for its relatively long landing roll out.
Locate your new B-26 outside of Hangar #3 (south end of line of 100’ light poles) at MacDill AFB. We are stuck using the stock FSX/P3D scenery, so this is the current base, but it is where the 387th
Bomb Group began its training and this will be your point of origin for your Phase 1 training flights.
In flying these training exercises, there are several things you will notice immediately. As equipped, your B-26 has no autopilot (more later) and no VOR or ILS receivers. It does have one ADF receiver and you will have to learn how to tune this and where in the cockpit to read its output. The aircraft also has a GPS receiver (shift 2). Of course, this is an anachronism and, unless otherwise instructed, you should not use it for any of the 387th BG flights. Of course, this is just game, and you can do whatever you want, but it spoils the fun of trying to understand what our fathers and grandfathers had to accomplish to become members of the “greatest generation”. The caveat is there in case I find some way to employ the GPS as a substitute for some of the sophisticated radio bombing guidance systems that became available to the pathfinder squadrons later in the war..
Fly these missions in order on the simulator date (month and day) indicated. If you are using SPAACARS, file your training flight plans as KMCF – KMCF. If desired, fly and file these missions (flight numbers) multiple times, until you are reasonably satisfied with the results.
12/23/42. 0900. Set the weather to clear skies (no wind). If desired, set your simulator to “ignore crashes”. Taxi to Rwy. 04 and execute five touch and go circuits, right traffic. Return to hangar 3. Make sure to turn off "Econ-Mode" in SPAACARS settings to avoid automatic sending of PIREP at each touchdown, but remember to press the "Send Log" button at the end of your flight.
12/29/42. 0715. Set the weather to custom, light clouds with an 8 kt wind from 327 deg. Taxi to Rwy. 04 and execute five touch and go circuits, right traffic. Return to hangar 3. Again, turn off Econ-Mode in SPAACARS before starting this to avoid auto-PIREP sending.
01/15/43. 1000. Set the weather to “Fair Weather”. File a VHF flight plan KMCF dir. KTNT dir. KMCF. Choose your enroute altitude according to the weather. Use ADF TN (227 kHz) to navigate to KTNT and make a VFR landing. Return to KMCF using TPF (270 kHz) to navigate to Rwy. 22 for a VFR landing (no NDB procedure). If weather requires it, circle to land on Rwy. 04. Taxi to Hanger 3. Hint: This aircraft isn’t easy to trim. So, holding course and altitude isn’t easy. There is an autopilot on this B-26, but it’s in the background and you (or at least, I) can’t see it. If you know your simulator’s AP keystrokes, you can use it, at least to hold course and altitude.
02/07/43. 1115. Set the weather to “Gray and Rainy”. KMCF dir. KORL dir. KMCF. If weather allows, land at Orlando. Return to KMCF. Use only available navigational aids: Dead Reckoning (https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/march/flight-training-magazine/technique-pilotage-and-dead-reckoning) and ADF. (i.e., no GPS)
3/11/43. 0930. Set the weather to “fair Weather”. Execute the “Doolittle Challenge”. Fill the tanks to 25% fuel. Take off Rwy.04. After attaining 110 Kts. on the take off roll, fail (cut-off) the #2 engine, feather the prop, and make a right traffic return to Rwy. 04. Repeat with steadily increasing fuel loads. Determine the maximum fuel load you can carry around for a successful landing. Remember this number.
4/12/43. 1300. Set the weather to “Gray and Rainy”. Ferry your aircraft and crew to Eglin AFB (KVPS), Valparaiso, Fla., for Bombardier Training. Do not depart prior to 1300. You are responsible to plan the route (using only available navigation) and fuel load. Remember that you are responsible for your crew (7 total) and overwater flight is risky, particularly in unsettled weather. If available, land on Rwy. 01 and taxi to the pad south of taxiway T. Secure housing for your enlisted crew. You and your copilot will be billeted in the Ben’s Lake BOQ. Report at 0730 on the morning of 4/15/43 to bldg. 1 for bombardier orientation. Full disclosure: the 387th did this part of their training at Drane Field, Lakeland, Fla. This is now a commercial airport. On the other hand, Eglin is still military, has numerous test ranges and unused airstrips. Besides, I spent 2 1/2 years there in the 60s.
Congratulations on your promotion to 1st Lt.