American twin-engine medium bomber B-26, manufactured by the Glenn L. Martin Company, was designed and created in 1939 under the requirements of the US Army Air Corps for a new high-speed medium bomber. Initially, the project was called Model 179. The construction of production aircraft was started without the usual stage of a prototype or pre-series samples.
The first B-26 flew on November 25, 1940, and it was adopted by US aviation in February 1941. Structurally, the B-26 Marauder was a high-wing with a spacious fuselage and a crew of five (in later versions up to seven) people. During operation, the design of the bomber was constantly changed to improve flight and combat characteristics. Since 1943, the wing area and keel were increased, with these changes, the aircraft was produced until the end of production.
The last modification of the B-26B Marauder (B-26B-55-MA) was produced until February 1944; these aircraft took an active part in US bomber operations in Europe at the final stage of World War II. B-26B Marauder aircraft are known as one of the most famous US bombers during the Second World War.
