Douglas A-26 Invader - Erickson Aircraft Collection - Madras, OR
N 44° 40.254 W 121° 08.949
10T E 646708 N 4948058
This WWII vintage aircraft is housed at the Erickson Aircraft Collection located at the Madras Airport.
Waymark Code: WMPC8H
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2015
Views: 2
The
Erickson Aircraft Collection relocated approximately 20 aircraft to the Madras Airport in 2014. This collection of mostly WWII vintage planes were previously housed in a military hanger at the Tillamook Air Museum (NW coastal town in Oregon).
The following verbiage is taken from the Erickson Aircraft Collection website to describe its history:
A-26 Invader
NARRATIVE
The design and construction of the Douglas A-26 was the result of the U.S. Army Air Force's request for a multi-purpose light bomber, to have the capability for fast attack operations at low level, as well as precision bombing from medium altitudes, while carrying a powerful defensive armament. Three prototypes were ordered in June of 1941 and flight testing began in July of the following year. The aircraft, designated A-26B, began rolling off the production lines late in 1943 with deliveries to combat squadrons located in Europe and the Pacific starting in the autumn of 1944. By the end of World War II, 2,502 Invaders had been built at the Douglas facilities in Long Beach and El Segundo, California, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The A-26 possessed an operational range of 1,400 miles and a maximum speed of 355 mph with its two Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 18 cylinder radial engines. The Invader proved itself to be a fast, reliable, and rugged performer. The heavy attack variant, armed with six .50 inch machine guns in a solid nose, carried four similar weapons in dorsal and ventral turrets, both remotely controlled by the gunner who sat in the rear compartment. A pilot and navigator/radio operator rounded out the remainder of the crew. Further development included the A-26C, a model designed for precision bombing with the solid gun nose being replaced with a glass enclosure. The A-26 remained in use for several years after the conclusion of World War II. With the abolishment of the "attack" category by the U.S. Air Force in 1948, the aircraft was reclassified as a B-26. In retrospect, the Invader must be considered as one of the most successful designs of the American aircraft industry. With service in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, the operational career of the Invader lasted for over a quarter of a century.
SPECIFIC HISTORY
The Museum’s A-26B Invader was built by Douglas at its Long Beach plant and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force in August 1945. Over the next 12 years, it was deployed with several Air Force Squadrons before being declared surplus in 1957 and put in storage. The next year it became the subject of several private sales to civilian owners and in 1995 became part of the museum collection.
The interpretive display in front of the aircraft goes on to highlight this plane's history in more detail and reads:
The history of this A-26 between 1958 and 1977 is not clear, but it is believed that it was used by the CIA to train Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs invasion. Subsequently, it was sold four times to various owners before becoming a part of the museum's collection in 1995.
This plane has an inventory page at Warbirdregistry.org
here
Each aircraft contains its own interpretive display and I've included a picture of it which contains additional info on this aircraft.
This collection is definitely worth the visit for any aircraft enthusiast.