1:48 B-26B Marauders

A hammer for bridges and rail yards

The sheet brings a pair of Martin medium bombers. The first is a B-26B-55-MA with the number 42-96205, the code KX-N and the name Hamilton Hey Maker II of the 558th Bombardment Squadron of the 387th Group. The second is a B-26B-45-MA, number 42-95808, with the code O8-C and the name Idiots Delight of the 575th Squadron of the 391st Group. Both units belonged to the tactical air arm, which broke up bridges, marshaling yards and missile launching sites in western Europe.

A machine that first earned itself a bad name

Martin gave it short wings of small area so that it would fly fast, and paid for that with a high landing speed. Crews in training crashed with it so often at first that it earned grim nicknames and nearly ended in production. But as soon as the pilots learned to keep the speed up and the units received experienced instructors, its losses over the front were among the very lowest of the American bomber types.

Code letters and their spacing

The pair of squadron letters and the single aircraft letter are applied to the fuselage in front of the tail surfaces. The spacing between the characters is visible at first glance, so try the position out dry first and mark it in pencil. The characters are settled individually, not in one strip, so it is easy to tilt them unintentionally relative to the longitudinal axis.

The look of the aircraft in 1944

Before the landings the bombers of the tactical groups received wide black and white bands around the fuselage and wings, painted hastily and irregularly in field conditions. On a model it therefore pays to avoid ruler accuracy and to leave the edges of the bands slightly uneven.