B-26 Marauder Units of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces

Jerry Scutts

ISBN 10: 185532637X / ISBN 13: 9781855326378

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, GB, 1997

About this Item

The medium-bomber workhorse of the tactically-optimized Ninth Air Force, Martin's much-maligned B-26 Marauder recovered from its poor start to combat with the Eighth Air Force, to go on and equip no less than eight bomber groups. Although the media initially coined the phrase "the widow maker" for the Marauder, a change of tactics from low- to medium-level soon improved the crews' chances of survival - by the war's end it boasted a lower loss per sortie ratio than any other twin-engined bomber in the USAAF. Like the B-17, the B-26 was one of the first American-manned combat aircraft to see action in Europe, with initial Bomb Groups arriving in East Anglia in the spring of 1943. From that point on Marauders bore the brunt of the medium bomber effort on France and the low Countries, proving particularly effective in the lead up to the D-Day invasion. This volume covers all aspects of Marauder operations in Western Europe, featuring first-hand accounts from surviving B-26 crews, plus an analysis of the training and tactics employed. Full unit histories are also included, plus detailed appendices covering unit disposition and locations.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781855326378

Bibliographic Details

• Title: B-26 Marauder Units of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, GB
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 185532637X
• ISBN 13: 9781855326378
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Tullis, Tom
• Condition: New
• Weight: 326 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The medium bomber 'workhorse' of the Ninth Air Force, Martin's much-maligned B-26 Marauder recovered from its poor start with the Eighth Air Force to go on and equip no less than eight bomber groups in the ETO. Although initially dubbed 'the widow maker', a change of tactics from lowto medium-level bombing for the Marauder soon improved the crews' chances of survival - indeed, by war's end it boasted a lower loss-per-sortie ratio than any other twin-engined bomber in the USAAF. This volume covers all aspects of Marauder operations in Western Europe, featuring first hand accounts from surviving B-26 crews, plus an analysis of the tactics employed.

About the Author

Jerry Scutts has worked in the field of aviation publishing since the late 1960s, writing over 40 books that have covered a broad spectrum of subject matter ranging from US Navy floatplane fighters in World War 2 to the exploits of the USAF_s Phantom IIs over Vietnam. His specialist areas are the Luftwaffe and the US Army Air Forces in World War 2, and he originally appeared on the Osprey list as long ago as 1977, when he wrote the second volume in the now much sought after Air Cam Air War series -many of the jacket illustrations in this series were also painted by him. Jerry has been a regular contributor to Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series since its inception in 1994. Tom Tullis has illustrated a number of books in both the Aces and Combat Aircraft series. He was the first artist to produce material for Osprey Aviation electronically. Tom's most recent work can be found in Aces 26 and Combat Aircraft 16 and 20