Battle Stations: The B26 Marauder (War History Documentary)
Vložit
- čas přidán 26. 04. 2014
- Battle Stations: The B26 Marauder (War History Documentary)
The B26 Marauder : the deadly US bomber nicknamed the 'Widowmaker' when early flights proved difficult : which eventually became a major factor in air supremacy during World War Two.
My father was a waist gunner/radioman in this plane during the war. He and his crew crashed landed twice. He flew in the 'Seductive Susie', the 'Eager Eleanor' and the 'Impatient Virgin'. He was the recipient of the 'Distinguished Flying Cross'. Thank You for your service Dad, I Miss You So Much. x
Was that Don Bass? My dad flew in these in italy 1944/45 with the SAAF 30th squadron.
My late stepdad flew the B-26 in the last several months of WWII. He was 19-yrs-old and was first pilot in the crew of five. By that time most of the glitches had been corrected. He loved the plane! Part of that may have been the exuberance of youth and the sheer joy of flying but he remembered it fondly. He left Europe in June of '45* and was sent to Hawaii to await orders to the Pacific Theater. Fortunately, those orders never came and he turned 20 in Honolulu. Pretty nice place for a party! He also flew in Korea where he became an Ace in the F-86 Sabre and ended his military career flying "Puff" in Vietnam. Knowing him intensified my love of aircraft, especially military aircraft. I could listen to him for hours discussing his experiences and the planes he flew. Miss him terribly.
+Melanie Hamilton awe i know what you mean. my Grandad was in the RAF no where near the same experience as your stepdad but still gave me my interest in everything military. now that i've started to really really love aviation there is so many more questions i want to ask....we have to realize no time would have been enough and the time we had was priceless :)
John Hilton You're absolutely right. Great to have had them around to have told these valuable tales. RAF: The folks who, as far as I'm concerned, handed the Nazis their first defeat.
+Melanie Hamilton thanks for the props. the Germans were looking pretty invincible up the BoB. the British would have been allowed to keep there empire and be an equal partner with Germany but they rejected it even with those odds. and the Germans were tactically defeated. we also have to thank the foreign pilots(including US) that fought in the RAF. and American supplies including 100 octane fuel they received during the BoB. my younger grandparents are still able to tell me about the bombing in Liverpool. most of the fighting age men are gone now.
John Hilton I was so proud to learn that we'd given the RAF an edge with 100 octane aviation fuel. I'm also grateful that the RAF pilots decided Mustang was the best name for the P-51 and that you folks, being the first to fly it in combat, improved it with the legendary Rolls Royce Merlin engine. Can't think of anything that sounds quite like it. I wish the world could be as willing to share in times of peace.
+Melanie Hamilton the Americans did make them pay it back that's why it was called lend lease. Britain boxed up and shipped a lot of jet engine, radar and aerodynamic research etc that they couldn't afford to fund or was prob a token or partial repayment. there was a golden age of British aviation after the war but have the funding for all types of craft and research like the USSR and USA. there is a fascinating documentary on Eric "Winkle" Brown on netflix, probably the best and luckiest pilot ever. first one to take down a FW200 Condor in a makeshift launch from an aircraft carrier in a Hurricane. then they forced him in to treat piloting. he was first in world to land a jet on an aircraft carrier etc. most aircraft carrier landings of anyone. sorry went on tangent but yeah imagine if the whole world shared and was driven by wanting to better the human race not competition and destruction.
My father(Capt. Cyril Steinberg) flew nearly 100 missions in a B26 Marauder as navigator/ bomb aimer ,for 12th squadron South African airforce based in Pescara Italy.I have his logbook still- filled out beautifully each mission ,target,flying conditions,flak quantity and accuracy-truly a work of military art. He was awarded the DFC-The squadron leader was Capt Said.
My dad flew in these back in WW2. I want to say in the 397th bomber group. His plane was shot down a few days after D-Day. The whole crew walked away from the crash. They did a wheels up landing in a field in France occupied by the 82nd Airborne.
My grandfather was a navigator on one of these in WW 2. His crashed on a landing when they had lost an engine. He missed his next mission due to injuries....all died in that crash.
My full respects to you and yours, you must continue to honour his sacrifice and memory. #OurHistory 👍 📚🇬🇧🙏☘️
My godfather, Henri Mallet, left France to join free french of De Gaulle. He went to Africa and from there was sent to the USA (I suppose in 1942) to become a pilot. He succeeded as a B26 pilot and flew in Italy, France and last missions in Germany. In my 10-15, I was bluffed by his stories and wanted to become a pilot also. I changed my mind later... He used to show me pictures of his plane and crew. Today I can recognize a B26 at first sight.
Kudos to you and your family Sir, we lost our grandfather on board HMS Celendine in 1944 age 31 and I feel its vital to comment and inform people of the facts from a global catastrophe that's all too often being told of with mistakes and political agendas today. Best wishes from Liverpool UK 🇬🇧
#OurHistory
High wing loading = difficulty in flying , this plane was designed to be faster than most medium bombers. From a Brit , thank you to you brave US servicemen , you had to learn combat experience the hard way against a seasoned & well equipped enemy , coming up against the likes of Adolf Galland & his men would have been tough , plus the efficient Luftwaffe Flak Korps...you guys had balls of titanium !!
We all had the balls to do it us you the old empire and the partisans.
When I think of American bombers of ww2 I think of B-17, B-24, B-29 and B-25 but so often overlook the B-26. This was a gem of a documentary to find and super stoked to learn something new about a true underdog
my cousin James Ellison Glattly died at MacDill Airfeld, Tampa, Florida in B26 accident. He is buried at Arlington. I talked to the only survivor from this accident over the phone years ago. I have the accident report. A very sad ending to a great man. A very sad ending to a great crew.
Respect to you and yours from Liverpool UK 🇬🇧 🙏👍🇺🇸
My grandfather flew in one of these.
it was an amazing airplane when considering how quickly it was designed, built and never prototyped and then quickly sent into combat. And the crewmen back then, did there duty, were brave and skilled at their jobs, It's awe inspiring
I love this aircraft, just the looks of it are appealing. For all of the History Channels failings I think it deserves credit for keeping us interested in the pull of #OurHistory 📚🇺🇸🙏🇬🇧☘️
The Marauder finally is coming to the online military history game called 'War Thunder', in its new update 'Winds Of Change'. Player-Base...more than 50 million strong...have waited eight years for this moment to come.
I can honestly say...'The Wait Is Over!!!'.
once they worked out the bugs and improved them, this was a pretty badass plane
My dad's plane, I miss him... LOVE u dad
It became a, Purple Heart within 3 World War II months aircraft: 44-67899.
Posting a share on it yesterday.
It was an aircraft, my father was the Navigator's signature of, until 11/30/44.
When it was downed in Germany, six Americans were obviously attacked by Germans responding to crash site. But, only 3 were P.O.W. the other 3 were K.I.A.
And your father?
Great documentary and well done!
From the Wikipedia entry on Monte Cassino ... "However, during the bombing no Germans were present in the abbey. Subsequent investigations have since confirmed that the only people killed in the monastery by the bombing were 230 Italian civilians seeking refuge there.[14] Only after the bombing were the ruins of the monastery occupied by German Fallschirmjäger(paratroopers) of the 1st Parachute Division, because the ruins provided excellent defensive cover, aiding them in their defence.". If you watch this documentary you'd get the impression the building was full of Germans and that the bombing had won half the battle, rather than making the infantry's job harder and bloodier. No disrespect to the war time crews but much disrespect to whoever produced this.
Yes the History Channels failings were multiple indeed...
B26 looked like speed incarnate. Once its operation was understood and implemented it really was a powerful weapon that was reliable and deadly accurate. I just love the look of it. It is a shame the operational parameters were long in becoming standardized making it look bad.
Exactly what I was thinking, it just looks like such a fighting demon and sublimely aerodynamic to boot! 📚👍🇬🇧🇺🇸🙏 #OurHistory
I like the B-26 and the B-26 is very nice
I reckon that the de Havilland Mosquito was the one to have; a really powerful plane with an excellent casualty rate.
A most similar aircraft with similar intentions too, both outstanding. #OurHistory
The problem with the B-26 was that the pilot training program to fly it either didnt exist or was extremely basic/poor. But at that time winning the war was first and foremost and a lot of the time when introduced to new aircraft pilots were simply given take off and landing speeds, stall speeds and novice control advice, flaps etc... There were rarely any pilots notes or manuals, or time for study. It wasnt an easy aircraft to fly well either. So novices had a lot of problems and sadly many airmen lost their lives.
Plus a lot of pilots couldnt get used to its landing characteristics, being a nose wheel set up instead of a taildragger that was common on most types back then. Plus the high landing speed led to many accidents. Too late in the war to be called a "Great plane" But the overall design in the end was good.
nothing wrong with the plane training was the issue you cant hand noobs outta flight school a hot rod
Watched a video of a B26 pilot talking about Doolittle flying these in combat in the med theater. forget medium altitude, he flew it at barn top level and was known to skip-bomb nazi hangers on airfields in Italy!
Watch this five times a day
I enjoy these documentaries and wish there where more. I do wish they would tell the whole story as it happened. Monte Cassino monastery had no Soldiers there only after the bombing just like Hitler promised. This was after the beaches of Anzio that the Germans agreed to a cease fire so the Allies could collect there dead.
The "Widow maker" also had the lowest loss rate per sortie of any bomber type, allied or axis of the war.
Sorry Barney i think you find the Mosquito bomber had the lowest lost rate per sortie. but sill a fine aircraft though
had an air fix model when i was a kid
Stuart Mckean
The Marauder had the lowest loss rate among allied bombers. The Mosquito, while used in the role as a bomber was actually a multi mission aircraft. And when it was used as a bomber it was often done under the cover of darkness.
yes i agree with that the Mosquito become a multi roll plane during W.W.2 the best in fact .But it was originally conceived as an unarmed Bomber therefore can be put in the bomber class. It dose have the advantage of only 2 crew that way it had a low lose rate. I'm going to disagree on one point. It roll, for meany of it famous mission were flown during the day. like attacks on V1 sties
attacks on shipping it also it could fly to Berlin twice in a day. it was in fact a day and night bomber. i watch to video and once they sort the Marauder teething issue out. this due to no test flying. It become a fine aircraft. but have a good day Scooter
Stuart Mckean I should point out that RAF Bomber Command routinely used mosquitos as pathfinders for raids.
Barney Stinson I worked with a woman for over 30 years whose Father was a Gunner on the B26 during WW2. He flew EIGHTY Missions during the War and never got a scratch. He repeatedly volunteered for more missions and that's how he got to 80 missions. He said he didn't want to leave his buddies to their fate when he was so "lucky". Last I saw the old guy he was in his 90's and doing well. Now that I am older and have lost so many friends I just shake my head at how immortal we feel when we are 19...
Nothing about the Holland raid?
This may contain spoilers but, really, I don't think it does unless one is very pedantic.
At about 39:00 (a little after) they claim to have gotten the co-pilot out and knocking his seat back. He's clearly visible when they show the shot from outside the plane. As there's one more guy that looks like he is jumping but he's doing it wrong. Very wrong... At about same time frame, you can see someone standing on the wing (he may be kneeling and helping the guy out of the plane and probably onto a ladder or stool) but there is no way he would just be sitting, kneeling, or even standing on the wing, I'm not even sure that the B26 has a door there...
I've watched this series a number of times but that's the first time I noticed those. I don't remember which one it is but I think it is either the PT boat or the P38 episode where a guy's jacket moves up his arm a bit and you can clearly see his digital watch.
I don't normally look for stuff like that but those just happened to be easily noticed. I found them mildly funny, perhaps you will as well? If I weren't so lazy I'd go to iMDB and just look there for goof and trivia, I am too lazy though.
um yeah you do understand that while these documentaries do have a lot of archival footage most of the parts they show concerning personal stories being told by the veterans are re-enactments.
patience my mate 👍
Heros all
Why didn't they just take North American B-25 bombers when problems with
the B-26 like crashes when on one engine became apparent? Overall
poerformance didn't differ alll that much
Jimmy Doolittle had to prove it could be handled.
They also had the women who ferried planes around the country fly the 26s to show the men, "see, if these women can fly them, so can you." Several different sources for that. My father, who was a B-26 pilot with 65 missions over Europe, also told me of watching a 26 land at the field he was at for training. After the plane had parked, he watched a small blond exit the plane. She had flown it solo and had no problems whatsoever.
3:25 Totally ignores the fact of limited funding.
Congress was dangerously tight fisted at the time.
This "Isolationist" era was when we were negotiating the London, and Washington Naval treaties.
Because we were minding our own business for once doesn't mean we were unaware .
It shouldn't take a PhD to figure that out.
The claim that with a Norden Bomb Sight that you could land a bomb in a pickle barrel was a huge myth. its accuracy was about 5 miles (yes miles) at 20,000 ft. Like all the US 8th air force the bomb sight users went back to area bombing.
Sadly yes, it was so bad that often the wrong town or city was bombed, appalling lies...
konami code at 19:30
This needs to be in war thunder.
It is now!
@@aidenfindley8918 it only took what, a year?
Being a neutral country does not mean you are weak. Look at Switzerland. They are weak but only mind their own business.