The Douglas A-26 Invader
was the last aircraft made as an "attack bomber". It was built to
replace the A-20 Havoc/Boston attack bomber and included a number of
improvements/enhancements over the A-20. There were three prototypes
built, a daylight bomber, a night fighter and a ground attack
configuration. The first of these, the daylight bomber first flew in
1942. The ground attack version was chosen and it included a 75mm
cannon in the nose. With a top speed of 355 MPH, it was the fastest
American bomber of WWII. It was also used in Korea and Vietnam. Some
are still in use today as water dropping tankers for fire-fighting and
as executive transports.
This Douglas A-26C Invader
(N126HK) was built in 1944. In USAAF service, it was 44-35788. The
current owner of this A-26 has 2 others in his inventory!
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