41-39213

A-26B-20 Invader
Builders: Douglas Aircraft Company
Operators: United States Air Force
Number Built: 153 (99-DL, 54-DT)
First Built: Jul 1944
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Type: Light Attack Bomber
Wet Weight: 31,000 lbs
Length: 50' 9" (with guns) 49' 11" (without guns)
Height: 18' 6" (5.64 m)
Wingspan: 70' (21.34 m)
Wing Area: 540 Sq. Feet (50.17 m²)
Speed: 212 mph
Max Speed: 370 mph
Ceiling: 31,300 feet
Powerplant: 2x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27
Horsepower: 2,000 each
Fuel Capacity: 1,600 US Gallons
Range:
Crew: 3
Passengers: 1
ARMAMENT
Nose Guns: 6x .50 Machine Guns
Dorsal Turret: 2x .50 Machine Guns
Ventral Turret: 2x .50 Machine Guns
Payload: 4,000 lbs internal 2,000 lbs wing points
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During 1944 this plane was painted with the identification code: 5H-A

Operational History

1944
AUG 10 - Available to USAF from Douglas Long Beach
AUG 12 - Accepted into USAF Inventory.
AUG 14 - flew from Long Beach, CA to Palm Springs, CA.
AUG 15 - flew from Palm Springs, CA to El Paso AB.
AUG 16 -flew from El Paso to Selman Field, LA. Stopped due to "mechanical trouble".
AUG 18 - Flew from Selman Field, LA to Hunter Field, GA. The plane stayed here for 11 days. The note says "awaiting pilot", so I infer that a different pilot was used for the subsequent legs.
AUG 29 - Flew from Hunter Field, GA to Wilmington, OH. Remained overnight.
AUG 31 - arrived at (illegible). Remained for 3 days.
SEP 2 - arrived in Cincinnati. Began ferry trip to 9 AF, England.
. SEP 4 - arrived 9 AF, England.

Based on the length of time between the planes arrival with the 9th Air Force and its combat log, I can infer that plane spent the months of October and November as a training plane, allowing pilots to get used to the new plane.

This plane was assigned to the 668th Bombardment Squadron, 416th Bombardment Group during November 1944. It began participating in combat missions immediately thereafter.

1945 MAR 18 - shot down during bombing run over Werms, Germany.

DURATION OF SERVICE: 219 days

Missions

• Mission # 159 - November 17, 1944, Friday PM Hageunau, France - Supply Depot

(Additional mission history is available, but not transcribed as yet).

Accidents

None Listed in Military Database.

Known Crew

• Lt. D. A. Fero - Pilot
• Sgt A. A. Rojas - Gunner

• 2LT. Clifford J. Vars - Pilot
• Sgt John Griffith Jr - Gunner

Vars and Griffith were the crew when the plane was shot down. Griffith is believed to have died when the flak hit the bomb bay fuel tank. Vars survived and was held prisoner by the Germans.

Disposition

This aircraft was shot down over Germany, 18 MAR 1945. It is listed in MACR Record 13155.

Images

None Found

References

• Air Force Accident Reports
• MACR
• 416th Bomb Group Unit History