In this video, we talk about the Martin B-26 Marauder, an American bomber from World War II that was initially intended to be an American version of a Schnellbomber, or a fast bomber. We first talk about the design competition, that featured the North American B-25 Mitchell, and how the B-26 was viewed as being the far superior plane. We then talk about why the end result of that competition was basically a tie, with the B-25 receiving almost equal priority. We then talk about the initially very promising prototype performance.
We then talk about the first deliveries of the B-26 to units, and how this started to reveal numerous issues with not only the design, but with the US Army Air Corps training system. We look at how the B-26 design made it more difficult to control than your standard bomber or fighter, and how poor training effectively doomed the rookie pilots that would be flying it. We talk about how the Military attempted to prove that there were no issues with the plane, while also fixing said issues. We end by talking about the solid combat performance of the B-26, and question how valuable it was, in the face of all its earlier issues.
Archive Link to The Martin B-26 Marauder by J.K Havener:
https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780941072274/mode/2up
Added Info: J.K Havener was a veteran of WWII and he piloted the B-26 on dozens of missions. If you're interested, his book talks a lot about the combat experience of the B-26, far too much info for me to put in a ~30 minute video.
Sadly, it appears Havener passed away in 2011 at the age of 91. Rest In Peace.
