a-26

[Imowface]

Pe-8
 

[AWwrgwy]

    Guess I should have put dates in.  The red that you highlighted would be for the B-26K, A-26A.    The A-26B  and the A-26C would be what we would see in game.  There were air forces using the A-26A (as the rebuilt b-26K was called) in 1977.   A-26A was made in 1948 from what I understand.  

I was responding to the first post and trying to show that there were not 18 guns.

B-26K's still never had 20mm cannon nor .30 calibre machine guns....


wrongway

[JHerne]

Our weapons loadouts should be simple... in addition to the four (4) .50cal in the upper and lower turrets...

We should have the choice of a glass nose, 6-gun, or 8 gun nose, with obvious penalties in performance due to weight.





We should also have the option of wing gun packs, adding an additional four (4) .50cal MGs to the wings, again, with drag and weight performance reductions.





I like the A-26, mostly because of improved survivability in the LW arena. If you're vehemently against the A-26, well, this one is for you...

[DEECONX]

I like the A-26, mostly because of improved survivability in the LW arena. If you're vehemently against the A-26, well, this one is for you...

(Image removed from quote.)

 

[JHerne]

I wonder which will happen first - Skuzzy to edit that pic, or someone to verify that its his backside!

J

[SpiveyCH]

    I never stated that a a-26 with cannon was used in combat.  All I did was list the armament that Bill Gunston had listed in his book.  They did make a prototype with a 20mm.  There was at least one made.  Why did they list this, even though it was not used in combat?  Because they show the complete history of the aircraft.   

    I was also shocked to find out that they made one with 18 guns firing forward.   8 in nose, the 2 turrets were locked in place firing forward, and they put 3 under both wings.   IT DID NOT SEE COMBAT, but they made at least one.


This is what we would see in game--

    (A-26B) ten 0.5in Brownings, six fixed in nose and two each in dorsal and ventral turrets;  internal bomb load of 4,000lb (1814kg), later supplemented by underwing load of up to 2,000lb (907kg);  (A-26C) similar but only two 0.5in in nose.

[AWwrgwy]

    I never stated that a a-26 with cannon was used in combat.  All I did was list the armament that Bill Gunston had listed in his book.  They did make a prototype with a 20mm.  There was at least one made.  Why did they list this, even though it was not used in combat?  Because they show the complete history of the aircraft.   

Dunno where Bill got his information, but it's wrong.



The only reference I can find for 20mm on an A-26 is a proposed night fighter version that did not go beyond the design phase.


   

I was also shocked to find out that they made one with 18 guns firing forward.   8 in nose, the 2 turrets were locked in place firing forward, and they put 3 under both wings.   IT DID NOT SEE COMBAT, but they made at least one.

This is what we would see in game--

    (A-26B) ten 0.5in Brownings, six fixed in nose and two each in dorsal and ventral turrets;  internal bomb load of 4,000lb (1814kg), later supplemented by underwing load of up to 2,000lb (907kg);  (A-26C) similar but only two 0.5in in nose.

Incorrect again.  The lower turret will not lock forward to fire directly forward.  360^o travel in rotation, and depressed from 5^o to 89^o down.
There is a distinct step in the fuselage forward of the lower turret where it fares into the rear of the bomb bay.



Also, with the installation of a new, bulged canopy, the upper guns could no longer be locked forward to fire.

In mid-September 1944 a hand-built prototype canopy was installed on an A-26B at Long Beach.  Two moulded Plexiglas hatches, bulging upward over the cockpit, replaced the flat, framed canopy.  The two hatches were hinged on the outside edges, opening outward in a clam shell fashion and meeting in the middle when closed.  The decking behind the cockpit was also modified to meet the lines of the bulging canopy as it fared back into the fuselage.  Besides the improved visibility, the higher canopy also allowed the pilot to look over the top of the nacelles on each side of the aeroplane, with the right side hatch extending further aft than the left hatch to increase visibility toward the right rear of the cockpit. One drawback was that the top turret guns could no longer be locked forward for use by the pilot for strafing since the canopy bulged into the line of fire.

(Douglas A-26 and B-26 Invader by Scott Thompson)

You still could potentially have 18 forward firing .50s but at the expense of poor visibility and slower airspeed.


wrongway

[Tupac]

I like the A-26, mostly because of improved survivability in the LW arena. If you're vehemently against the A-26, well, this one is for you...

(Image removed from quote.)

I wonder which will happen first - Skuzzy to edit that pic, or someone to verify that its his backside!

J

That is, infact, cobia's hiney.

[Beefcake]

Good lord a 75mm and a 37mm in the nose, wow!

[JHerne]

Later versions also carried 6 .50cal in the wings...so in theory...unless the wing packs couldn't be carried on the versions with the wing guns...

You could have an 8 gun nose, 6 fifties in the wings, and an additional 8 fifties in two twin packs under each wing, for a total of 22 .50cal machine guns.

Now - it more than likely never happened, why would anyone want the added drag and weight of 8 more .50s when you've got 14 already...but...unless someone has a pilot's manual for an A-26, it could, in theory, be done.

According to Francis Gallemi's Warbird Profile A-26B/C (Aries Publications, 1994), two twin 'tubs' could be carried under each wing. The author mentions that used in conjunction with the wing-mounted .50s, it dramatically increased the Invader's firepower...

Attached is a pic...

[cobia38]

That is, infact, cobia's hiney.

 
   nope my hiney is not that fat   

[Ack-Ack]

Good lord a 75mm and a 37mm in the nose, wow!

Never used.

ack-ack

[Liberator]

+1 to the A-26!

[kvuo75]

Attached is a pic...

(Image removed from quote.)

interesting!

how much ammo is in those twin pack pod dealies? doesn't look like theres room for much. 

[SpiveyCH]

The Douglas XA-26A was a prototype night fighter/attack aircraft ordered at the same time as the XA-26 light attack bomber. The XA-26A was similar to the XA-26 but was designed specifically for the night attack mission. The aircraft had a solid nose designed to carry radar used for search, intercept and attack. Since the nose was filled with electronics, there was no room for attack weaponry. Douglas engineers solved the problem by designing a ventral "tub" housing four 20mm cannons. The cannon machinery and ammunition boxes took up a relatively large amount of space in what was the forward bomb bay of the XA-26. Only the aft bomb bay was retained and gave the XA-26A a maximum internal bomb load of just 2,000 pounds. Defensive armament consisted of a remote controlled dorsal barbette with four .50-cal. machine guns.

Testing of the XA-26A was successful; however, its performance was about the same as the Northrop P-61 "Black Widow" night fighter. The P-61 was already in production and Douglas was short of production capacity for new aircraft so the XA-26A program was canceled after only a single prototype was built.

 

Serial #  41-19505