64-17673

B-26K-1 Invader
Builders: Douglas Aircraft Company On Mark Engineering
Operators: United States Air Force
Number Built: 40
First Built: Jan 1963 (YB-26K) First test flight
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Type: Light Attack Bomber
Weight: 25,130 lbs empty 37,000 lbs loaded 39,250 lbs Maximum
Length: 51' 7 3/16" (inc. guns)
Height: 19' 0"
Wingspan: 71'6" (including wingtip tanks)
Wing Area: 540 Sq. Feet (50.17 m²)
Speed: 169 mph (cruising)
Max Speed: 323 mph
Ceiling: 28,600'
Powerplant: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-103W
Horsepower: 2,500
Fuel Capacity: 1,600 US Gallons
Range: 700 miles w/3518 lbs payload 1,480 miles empty 2,700 miles (ferry)
Crew: 2
Passengers: 1
ARMAMENT
Nose Guns: 8x .50 caliber guns
Dorsal Turret: None
Ventral Turret: None
Payload: 8,000 lbs on wings 4,000 lbs internal
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See also: List of Invaders by Serial Number, Serial Numbers starting with 64

Converted from 44-34135.

Operational History

7 Mar 1965 - Accepted into USAF Inventory from OnMark Engineering Company in Van Nuys, CA
8 Mar 1965 - Assigned to 1st Air Commando Wing at Hurlburt Field
17 Dec 1965 - 1st Air Commando Wing moved from Hurlburt Field to England AFB

10 May 1966 - Designation changed from B-26K to A-26A while with 1st Air Commando Wing at England AFB.
31 Oct 1966 - Assigned to 1st Air Commando Wing at England AFB.
16 Nov 1966 - Assigned to 603rd Air Command Squadron at England AFB.
1 Dec 1966 - Assigned to 1st Air Commando Wing at England AFB.
21 Dec 1966 - Assigned to 634th Combat Support Group at Nakhon Phanom Air Base.

10 Jul 1967 - Assigned to Sacramento Air Material Area (SMAAR) at McLellan AFB.
6 Dec 1967 - Assigned to 56th Air Commando Wing at Nakhon Phanom Air Base.
10 Dec 1967 - Arrived at 56th Air Commando Wing at Nakhon Phanom Air Base.
28 Dec 1967 - Combat capable at 56th Air Commando Wing at Nakhon Phanom Air Base.

2 Aug 1968 - 56th Air Commando Squadron renamed to 56th Special Operations Wing.

11 Mar 1969 - Destroyed in accident. Crashed in circuit at Nakhon Phanom when it ran out of fuel while checking a landing gear problem. 2 KIA.

Accidents

11 Mar 1969 - Crashed due to fuel starvation and landing gear problem.

According to Maj. Walt Langford, a fellow 609th pilot and friend of the Navigator, Captain Callanan, the plane crashed during troubleshooting procedures. "He (Capt. Callanan) died in a crash landing at Nakhon Phanom AB, Thailand, after returning from a night interdiction mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Central Laos. While preparing to land, he and his pilot had a cockpit indication that one of the wheels was not down and locked. They attempted to get positive verification from ground observers that the landing gear was down, and made several low and slow passes over the flight line. On the last one, about midway down the field, the right engine quit because of fuel starvation and the plane rolled to the left and went straight into the ground. There were no survivors."

Further details by fellow Nimrod pilot Al Shortt were provided: "(the plane) was totaled. It rolled into the dead engine, not the opposite direction, went straight in and burned, just missing the bomb dump."

Crew

Cpt. Neal Emil Monette - Pilot - KIA
Maj. John Vincent Callanan - Navigator - KIA

Disposition

Destroyed in accident.

Images

673 at Nakhon Phanom Air Base in 1968.

Sources

Databases searched:

• AAIR -
• MACR -
• Baugher - http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1964.html