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B26.COM is dedicated to Martin B-26 Marauder Men who
fought in World War 2. Personal accounts, photos of
crews
and planes, and related information.
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The first Martin B-26 Marauder mission flown was by
the 22nd Bomb Group on April 5, 1942. Launched from Garbutt Field, Australia the
B26's staged through 7 mile drome near Port Moresby, New Guinea to strike the Japanese
base at Rabaul, New Britain. The B26's had to stage through 7 mile drome to top off
the gas tanks to enable them to reach Rabaul and then fly back to Port Moresby. The
conditions encountered by the crews of the 22nd Bomb Group were primitive in the extreme
by comparison with those of the 9th Army Air Force (AAF) crews later in the war.
The
last bombing mission by a Martin B-26 Marauder Group was
that flown on May 1, 1945 by the 17th Bomb Group 1st Tactical Air Force. They bombed
the gun positions on the Isle d'Oleron, France. The last Martin
B-26 Marauder mission was flown by the
1st Pathfinder Squadron when 8 of
their B26's led 130 Douglas A26's of the 386th, 391st, 409th and 416th Bomb Groups to the Stod Ammo plant in Czechoslovakia on May 3, 1945.
More
info...
The following Marauder Men and their families helped us to tell their stories -
thank you!
A Bob Ahrens, Richard Ainsworth,
Manuel Albuquerque, E.J. Allen,
John Allen, Andy
Anderson,
Diamond Anderson,
Max Anderson,
Roland C. Anderson, Jean Annez de Taboada,
Casimer Apolinski, John Armstrong, Joseph Armstrong, Carl Arnold,
Michael Astuto
B Julius Bargholz, Edgar Beal,
Wendell Beazer, Del
Bentley, William Berry, Sherman Best,
George Blancard, Julian Blount, Jack Bogle,
Lloyd Bond, Tom
Bond, Nick Bouras,
John Bourlier, Bob Bouse, Paul
Brady, Willis Brainard, Mark Bratton,
Ivan Breaux,
Ron Briscoe, Robert Brockett, Robert Brockhouse,
Christian Burger, Warren Butterfield, Andrew Byrd
C Jack Caldwell, Albert Caney,
Bob Carden,
Francis Carney, Kenneth Carty,
James Carver, Nels Cassano, Joseph Castoro,
David Castrellon,
Rollin Childress, Everett Chrisco, Curtis Church,
Bill Churchman,
John Citti, Maurice
Cohen, Joe Coleman,
TFB Collins,
Willie Cone, Robert Conlen, Joe Connery, Ed
Constable, Robert Coseo,
Lauren
Cowallis,
William Cox, Charles Crecelius, George Croote, Russ Crumrine,
Comelous Cruse
D Fred Dees, Gene DeLorenzo, Myron Denny,
Francis Dickason, Norman Disharoon,
Michael Donahoe, Joe Donato,
Richard Donnelly,
Fred Dopheide,
Harold Dorsen,
Glenn Doyal, Clyde
Duke, Ed Dunn
E Roy Edge,
Dwight Edwards,
John Egan, Paul Ellzey,
Santo Endrizzi, Malcolm Enlow, Don Epstein,
Paul Ermler,
Mal Ernest,
Jesse Eubank
F Jim Farrell,
Luther Feagin, Robert Felt, Samuel Findley,
James Fisher, Frank
Fitzer,
Eugene Fletcher, Girard Forcella,
John Ford, Armin Frank,
John Franzen,
Clifton
Freeman,
Elmer Freeman,
Don Frisbie
G Moses Gatewood,
David Gearing,
Nathan Geren,
Joseph Gisavage,
James Glattly, David Gleason,
Fletcher Glenn, Leonard Goldberg, Lee Goodwin, Paul
Gowey, Harry Graham, Sidney Grahn,
James Gray,
Robert Gridley, Leo Green,
Paul Guertin,
Richard "Dick" Gunn
H Boyd Hall,
Robert Hammerberg,
Thomas Handlon, Albert
Hands, Elmer Hansard, Clyde Harkins,
Howard Hartley,
John Hartman,
Robert Harwell, Ted Harwood,
Homer Hash,
John
Helden, Ben Hicks,
Leroy Hildebrand, Albert Hill,
Henry Hill,
Donald Hines,
Arlie Hitchcock,
Frank Hobbs, Sterling Hoch, Jim Hoel, Thomas
Holland,
Leonard Holmes, Bill Hornbarger, Jim Houston, Thomas Howard,
Stanley Hughes
J "Bud" Jackson, Willard Jacobson,
Charley Johns, James Jones,
Robert Jones,
Paul Jorgensen,
Kenneth Juhl
K Wilmoth Keller,
George Kelly, James Kelley, Wetzel Kimball,
Francis Kirby,
Bob Kiriakides,
Mahlon Kiscaden, Lloyd Kisner, Edward Klemz, Chester Klier,
David Knight, Joe Knight,
Eddie Kozlowski,
Lewis Kranz,
Lawrence Kreissler, Delbert Kretschmar,
Stanley Kucinski, Joe Kurill
L Bill
Laberee, Matteo LaMuraglia,
Oliver Lane, Kenneth Larsen, Robert Lawrence,
Garnett Lawton, Jack Laydon, Joe
Lazar,
Léon Lebreau, Chalender Lesher, Darrell Lindsey, Lee Lipkis,
Richard Lloyd, John
Long, William Lopatin,
Lloyd Love, Domitilo Lucero
M
John Magella, Peyton Magruder,
Dom Malchiodi,
Mason Mandell, Hugh Manson,
James Marcus, Ralph
Marble, Merrill Matthews,
Floyd Mauth, John McBride,
John
McCabe,
Robert McCallum,
Eugene McCarthy, James McCarty,
John McClurkin, Frank McKeown,
Robert McMillan,
Weldon Mellody,
John Merrill,
Roy Meyer, Curtis Miller,
Joseph Miller,
Albert Miner,
Victor Mitel,
Hank Moen, John Moench,
Floyd Monroe,
Elliott Moorhead,
Thomas Morgan,
William Morgart,
Louis
Morin,
Edward Morrison,
Vincent Mosca, Edward Munge, Eckard Munsch, Odell Myers
N Mark Nagel,
Merv Neis,
John Nemeth,
John Newman, Edward Nielsen, Albert Norman,
Edward Norton,
James Norton
O William O'Brien,
Frank Ockert,
Edwin Odell,
William O'Hara, Roscoe Orr,
John O'Shaughnessy,
Paul Ostrom,
Robert Ozburn
P Ed Pakish, Clint Palmer,
Herchel Palmer,
Perry Parish,
Harry Patterson,
Joseph Peachman,
Robert Peale,
John Perry,
John D. Perry, Jr.,
Earl Oakley Petersen,
Max Petrisek, William Phillips, Gaston Poulin,
Edward Proctor, Donald Proudfit
R Eli Radanovich,
William Reynolds,
Wilson Riedy, Herbert Ritter,
Clark Roberds,
Richard Robinson,
Joseph Ross, Donald Round,
Raymond Rowland,
Carl Royer
S
Charlie Salas,
Henry Samspon,
Robert Schacht, Eugene
Schultz, Phil Scheier,
Kenneth Schell, Richard Schlosser,
William Schulte, Roland Scott, Earl Seagars,
Roy Seymour,
John Sharpe,
Bill Shaughnessy, Donald Short,
Harold Simmons,
James Skinner,
Joseph Sloane, Parker Smilie, Gayle Smith, James
Smith, Sydney Smith,
Acile Sneed,
Casimier Sochocki, Worth Speed,
Harry Sperry,
Paul Stach,
Donald Stangle,
Paul Starr,
Allen Stephens,
Royce Stephens, Mont Stephensen, Myron Sterngold,
Joe Stevens,
Edward Stiffler, Bill Stuckey, Jim Stratton, Leo Sugerman, James Sweeney,
Eugene Swinford
T Herbert Tanner,
Robert Tate,
Les Tenold, Harold Tharp,
Donald Thomas,
Burl Thompson, Bernard Thompson,
Clifford Thompson,
Sonny Timbers,
Edward Tipton,
Chuck Tompkins, Jay Troup
V Clair Van Camp,
Jack Vandegrift,
Jerry Vath,
Benjamin Vaughan, John Velthouse,
George Vidusic, Colin Villines,
David Vreeland
W
Walter Wagner, Thomas Wakeman,
Richard Waidelich, Willard Wales,
Lawrence Weaver,
William Weissker, Jack Whitley,
Ralph Willett,
Jim Williams, Ray Williamson,
Don Wilson, Ralph Wilson, Rufus Wilson,
Henry Winstell, Bob Witty,
James Womack
Z Robert Zinkgraf,
Richard Zinkowski,
John Zitnyar,
John Zubeck, Ralph Zuranski
451st Bomb Squadron, 456th Bomb Squadron, 391st Bomb Group, UK Marauder Bases, South African Air Force (SAAF), The Flying Wedge (456th
Bomb Squadron) |
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What is the Special Operations
Warrior Foundation?
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The B-26 Marauder was a result of the need for a new and improved medium size
bomber. In 1939, the request was out for a new aircraft that would exhibit the
following requirements: high speed, long range and a bomb load of 2,000 pounds.
In July of 1939, the proposal for the B-26 was submitted and accepted, and the
first production piece was flown in November of 1940. This aircraft measured 58
feet 3 inches long and had a wingspan of 71 feet - weighing in at 24,000 pounds
(empty).
In its lifetime, over 5000 Marauders were produced. This plane had an impressive
war record, participating in 129,943 missions, dropping 169,382 tons of bombs.
The Marauder achieved these records with the loss rate of less than one percent.
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