After emerging in its initial form from the Glenn L. Martin plant in Baltimore, Maryland, in late 1940, the B‑26 Marauder twin-engined medium bomber attracted some unfair criticism and in some quarters labored under a bad name. Among its detractors, it was felt that the aircraft’s development had been rushed and, at best, it was considered to have been a “Respectable Floozie,” while at worst, it became known alarmingly as the “Martin Murderer.”

Happily, however, the B‑26 would prove its detractors wrong. The Marauder was an elegantly designed aircraft and, arguably, in terms of “looks” and proportion, it was ahead of any other medium bomber to see service in World War II. Its nearest rival in this regard was possibly the German Junkers Ju 88, against the performance of which, as a bomber, it compared well. The same applied pretty much to its homebased contemporary, the B‑25 Mitchell. But unlike the Ju 88 and the B‑25, which, in fairness, proved their adaptability as multi-role aircraft, throughout its wartime service, the B‑26 remained a bomber – and a successful one at that. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines and flying, usually, with a crew of six, it could deliver a bombload of 2,000lb over a 500- mile radius.

The B‑26 first went to war in the South Pacific in early 1942, where the 22nd Bombardment Group (BG) and two squadrons from the 38th BG operated the aircraft. Conditions in-theater were challenging. In its early months there, the 22nd BG operated from Port Moresby in New Guinea, which was described as a “malaria-infested hole” and where crews had to sleep under the wings of their aircraft using bedding and mosquito nets that had to be shipped in from Australia. To add to these discomforts, Port Moresby was the subject of several Japanese air attacks.

Despite these local adversities, the unit carried out effective surprise low-level attacks in small formations of between two and six aircraft against enemy-held targets. These missions comprised 2,600-mile round trips, with a great part of them flown over shark-infested waters. The B‑26s were even used as torpedo-bombers, and on June 13, 1942, with two torpedoes, they sank an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser.

Furthermore, despite encountering enemy fighters, a small number of B‑26 crews managed to chalk up aerial victories. On May 23, 1942, a lone Marauder bombed a target in Lae amidst torrential rain, dense anti-aircraft fire, and an attack by 15 A6M Zero-sen fighters. The crew claimed one shot down prior to returning to base. A few days later, on June 5, having bombed the same target, the crew of another B‑26, flying on one engine, claimed four Zero‑sens destroyed. After its first ten months of operations, the 22nd BG was credited with the destruction of 94 enemy aircraft. The Marauder had proved itself “respectable” and most definitely not a “floozie.”

At around the same time Marauders were striking the Japanese in New Guinea, some 8,700 miles away, in Nazi Germany, engineers at the Messerschmitt aircraft company were in a jubilant mood, having brought a sleek new aircraft powered by a highly advanced and propellerless propulsion system to a state of flight-readiness. While not, strictly speaking, the world’s first jet-powered aircraft to fly, the Messerschmitt Me 262 was to become the world’s first military jet interceptor to fly operationally. This state-of-the-art fighter, with its shark-like fuselage and swept-back wings, first took to the air using pure jet power on July 18, 1942, when Messerschmitt test pilot Fritz Wendel made a trouble-free flight from Leipheim in the V3 (third prototype). The aircraft was fitted with a pair of Jumo 004A-0 (T1) turbojets. Despite the delayed gestation of both aircraft and powerplant, Wendel was able to report generally smooth handling during the maiden test flight of the Me 262, achieving an unprecedented airspeed of 447mph.

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