Originally posted by Ack-Ack
The 3rd BG flew a mixture of B-25s, A-20s and A-24s. They didn't receive the A-26 until the invasion of Okinawa. There weren't any active front line units that had a 75mm installed in the A-26B. The only A-26 that was ever outfitted with a 75mm was one of three prototypes outfitted with various armements in 1941 for testing.
There is nothing in the 3rd BG history that indicates they did any field modifications on the A-26s they received towards the end of the war to add the 75mm gun.
The only bombers that did have them and use them were the units that used the B-25G and B-25H.
ack-ack
Actually, the first 30 planes from the Block 5 production all came with the 75mm and 2 .50's installed on them, in the nose, when they were delivered.
I've seen other references to a third "prototype" listing the 75mm, but the third prototype, the
A-26A, was a night fighter version that lost out to the P-61 Black Widow. There are also several very small/limited block productions that would indicate outfitting of the planes that were atypical, but I've not been able to find the details to them as to how they were outfitted for delivery. The "B"-model could be outfitted in six different configurations with 75mm, 37mm, and various numbers of .50's, and quite possibly the prototype was delivered with the 75mm, among the other weapons packages, which could be swapped out. The "C"-model was the glass nose.
"• A-26B-5: (30 aircraft), without the camouflage, and with 1 × 75 mm cannon in the nose plus 2 × 0.50 in (12,7 mm) machine guns on the left."
I'll grant you that finding details about the A-26B's and C's modifications and as how exactly they were used during WWII, especially in the Pacific Theater, is hard to come by through an internet search. Conversions could be done in the field in a matter of hours, and many later improvements to the A-26 (canopy and wing guns for example) could be retrofitted to older models easily enough. Additionally, the B and C model noses were switched back and forth among many planes, which has caused confusion later in restoration projects and A-26 fan sites, often getting B and C versions confused. (You also see B-26's and A-26's confused in many sites).
Basically, it's the LACK if operational information details regarding the A-26 in theater that is the problem. They were used in the last 7 to 8 months of the war. By the end of WWII, 48 squadrons of A-26's were in operation among the Fifth(Far East Air Force), Seventh (WPTO), Ninth(ETO), and Twelfth (MTO) Air Forces, at the very least. This included the 8th and 13th in the 3rd Bomb Group (Light) "Grim Reapers"; the 386th's 554th Bomb Squadron; and the 319th Group after assigned to the 7th AF at Okinawa. But the details are hard to find.
I mention the 3rd Bomber Group (aka the 3rd Attack Group) primarily due to the efforts of Army Captain Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn, and the 3rd's known history of modifying their planes to conduct their missions..... which is where many of the gun heavy "A-25's"(or B-25 strafers) and B-25's with 75mm nose guns others talk about in the boards generally come from.
B-25's with 75mm added generally got 20 shots out of them before the airframe was compromised. Which resulted in grouping up to eight .50's in the nose of the A-26 stacked vertically, as opposed to earlier 6 nose guns in a more horizontal arrangement. But, if 75mm equipped A-26's were used at all in any BG, I'd bet it would be the Grim Reapers.
Plus, I have not been able to find any history on the first 30 - 75mm equipped A-26's that were delivered. Refitted? Fielded? All used as trainers? No details. The operational information on the Invaders themselves for the last 7 to 8 months of the war is pretty sparse. I know what the plane was capable of doing, and how it *could* be outfitted, but nothing as to what was actually done. The BG BDA reports are all available, but not the individual squadrons.
A-26 Invader could carry 2 torpedoes too, but I've never found any indication that it ever did so. It could be fitted with 37mm's, but no evidence that any were ordered from the plant like this.
(BTW, 3rd BG was also the LAST A-20 Havoc equipped operational unit in the war.)
Did come across WWII A-26 Invader Flying Tips.... about 15 minutes:
http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/A-26.html A PDF copy of the A-26 Invader's Pilot's Training Manual can be downloaded here:
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?FileType=fs2k4&loc=downloads&page=downloads&Category=other#downloadAbout the 9th file down: A-26_TraMan.zip
