Specifications

A controversial aircraft, many pilots and crew did not want to fly because of rumors of  it's poor track record that earned it the name "Widow Maker."  It turned out that the Marauder just required a little more skill to pilot, and once flown correctly the Marauder had the lowest loss rate of any allied bomber. 

Aircraft - B-26 Marauder (U.S.A.)

B-26 Marauder on the ground.
 

During WWII, the B-26 Marauder had the lowest loss rate of any allied bomber.  By the end of WW II, it had flown more than 110,000 sorties and had dropped 150,000 tons of bombs, and had been used in combat by British, Free French, Australian, South African and Canadian forces in addition to U.S. units. In 1945 when B-26 production was halted, 5,266 had been built.

The WADC used these planes for experiments.

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B-26 Marauder after dropping it's bomb load.
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Specifications of the B-26 Marauder

Powerplant - Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-5 Double Wasp air cooled radial engines, rated at 1850 hp each.

Performance - Maximum speed 315 mph at 15,000 feet. Cruising speed 265 mph. An altitude of 15,000 feet could be attained in 12.5 minutes. Service ceiling 25,000 feet. Range was 1000 miles at 265 mph with a 3000-pound bomb load.

Weight - 21,375 pounds empty, 32,025 pounds gross.

Dimensions -  Wingspan 65 feet 0 inches, length 56 feet 0 inches, height 19 feet 10 inches, wing area 602 square feet.

Armament - One flexible 0.30-inch machine gun installed in the tip of a transparent nose cone and operated by the bombardier. Two 0.50-inch machine guns in a Martin-designed dorsal turret located behind the bomb bay just ahead of the tail. One 0.30-inch flexible machine gun was installed in a tunnel position in the lower rear fuselage. One flexible 0.50-inch machine installed in a tail position. The maximum bomb load was 5800 pounds.