Research by: Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Some of the artwork below is by other artist.
"Flak Bait" by Sir Hamilton
$50.00; Poster print signed by the artist and by C.C. Sprinkle who flew with the 319th Bombing Group in the Italian Campaign.
Poster print price $12.95. Shipping $6.00 anywhere in the world.
B-26 Story
The Martin B-26 was rushed in its development from concept to creation. The Marauder was on the drawing board un-built, un-flown and untested in 1939 when the first order from Washington for the medium bomber arrived.
The
Marauder’s first flight was in November 1940. The design was radical with a streamlined fuselage resembling a torpedo with two large engines, stubby wings
and a big tail. With its fast speed and short stubby wings the
The
speed of the Marauder was perfect with the Army Air Corp need for an
aircraft to get to the target quickly and evade enemy aircraft with pure speed.
The Marauder could fly up to 300mph after dropping its bomb load giving the B-26
an edge with FW-190’s and Bf 109’s trying to catch up.
The Marauder saw combat for the first time in April 1942 against the Japanese at Rabaul. The Marauder also saw combat at the “Battle of Midway” in attacking the Japanese fleet with torpedoes that were jury-rigged onto the aircraft for the attack. Two of the Marauders that attacked the Japanese fleet were lost.
The Marauder was introduced into the European theatre at the end of 1942. The heavy armament, speed and long range gave the Army Air Corp a heavy duty medium bomber that could deliver bombs on target and get the crews home.
The
Marauder above is the most famous of the surviving B-26’s of World War II.
“Flak Bait” flew with the 322nd Bombardment Group of the 9th
Air Force. “Flak Bait” was damaged in battle over 1000 times while flying an
amazing 202 combat missions.
During a mission on railway yards at Amiens, France “Flak Bait” was hit by a 20mm anti aircraft shell that blew out the instrument panel severely wounding the pilot. Despite the pain, loss of blood and loss of his flying instruments the pilot was able to bring “Flak Bait” home with the rest of the crew safe.
Showing the newly painted invasion stripes on the rear spine of the fuselage and dominating the upper and lower wings, “Flak Bait” flew its 101st and 102nd missions in support of the “D-Day” invasion of France.
“Flak Bait” was the third Marauder to break 100 missions flown. Crews for “Flak Bait” came and went with “Flak Bait” becoming a weathered work- horse. “Flak Bait” was accepted begrudgingly by new crews who wanted to see combat in new aircraft. This Marauder would prove to the new crews that looks are deceiving after 202 combat missions and over 1000 battle scars.
“Flak Bait” flew its 200th mission on April 16, 1945. “Flak Bait had now flown 177,460 miles consuming approximately 157,850 gallon of aviation gasoline. By V-E Day, “Flak Bait” had logged 717 hours of combat flight time.
“Flak Bait” is currently on exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. The only completely restored flying B-26 is located at the Fantasy of Flight Museum located in Lakeland, Florida.
This is a great photo.
When the war ended the Air Corp realized that the Flak Bait had the highest mission record of any other Marauder. This B-26 was labeled "Special" in that the Air Corp wanted to preserve the Marauder for historical proposes. The officers that were put in charge of getting Flak Bait back to the U.S. safely had Army personal take the wings off the Marauder and trucked it all the way back to the French coast where it was then shipped back to the U.S. I was able to get this story by chance by a ex-G.I. from the war who was one of the men that was there and assigned to perform the task.
I met the gentlemen at a military show where I was displaying and selling my art. When he saw the print of Flak Bait he came over and introduced himself. He told me the story in-between me working with other customers. It took him on an off an hour to tell the story but it was well worth it. I had just wished that I got his name so I could thank him here.
He told me that the first part of the journey was on the auto bond. He told me that there were a couple of over passes that they had to cross which they were glad that the bridge held the weight. He told me also that there were several over passes that had been bombed and they had to do some major engineering to make a road around the destroyed area to continue. Yes there were a couple of bridges they had to cross which they had to have the engineers that were working with them inspect to see if they could cross it. A bridges few they had to wait while the bridge was reinforced.
They were using maps of the German and French country side where they were under the impression that a bridge would be only to find the bridge destroyed. This caused much grief because they would then have to back-track and find a road and bridge that was intact.
The trip took a month of very hard labor and many hours of sitting and waiting. It must have cost tens of thousands of dollars of man hours and the use of equipment to accomplish this task. This just goes to show how stupid many of the people at the top of our military are. The bomber could have been flow to Britten in five hours from the air base it last landed on.
This is my painting of "Flak Bait." This painting is available to the right investor. Please go to "Bomber Paintings for Sale" page and review how easy it is to own a painting by a nationally known artist of a subject you hold dear to your heart. This painting stole my heart. I enjoyed painting this bomber. I will add the name of the bomber and the unit Flak Bait flew with on the bottom under the bomber. I may add a Messerschmitt in pursuit as well. I do want to add two more small B-26's to show they flew in a formation.
All Artwork below is by other artist and from many different sources including artworks that have been sent to me. If you have a good B-26 profile or artwork please send it to us and the name of the artist if you have it. If you have drawn or painted a B-26 I will post your artwork here with your name for everyone to see.
322nd Bombing Group
397th Bomb Group
Path Finders
25th Bomb Group
The Black and White sketch above is by another artist.
This shows the front profile of the sleek B-26. It is like a flying torpedo. The bomber also had four fifty-caliber machine guns that shot straight forward. Even though James could not concentrate on hitting exact targets along the side of the carrier his bullets peppered the side of the ship. If any of the bullets hit anything it would decimate the target. But just being "shot at" is un-nerving as experienced by the pilot and crew of the B-26 and the anti-aircraft gun crews and deck hands on the carrier. Bullets are bad.
The B-26 as a Torpedo Bomber
There have been tens of thousands of pages written about the B-26. Always flying low and fast and dropping bombs. In the beginning there was a torpedo bombing training school for B-26 pilots and crew only. This is a very brief story but the aircraft did see combat and glory.
To read the story of the B-26 used as a torpedo bomber please go to the like below. The link will take you to my Military Library. To review the many thousands of hours of my research and be able to read about the Battle of Midway a small fee is required. On this web site you will be able to review information on dozens of airplanes with hundreds of different profiles. Plus the chapters of my upcoming books will be here complete for your review. Hundreds of hours of reading. Thank you.
Remember, If you are interested in purchasing a piece of my artwork please let us know by contacting the artist below.
I am seeking special commissions. I am unemployed and disabled. I am an honest American citizen that has been caught up in our economic turmoil.
If you have ever wanted to commission your own painting please let me know. If the artwork you want is something very special then I will use the funds to publish a print of the artwork. So, how about a real nice B-26 Marauder for the home or office? My artwork could be a actual tax deduction! I will do you a good job. Thank you.
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All research, writings and some artwork are by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette.
No one is permitted to republish any part of this story with out my personal permission.
Please call or e-mail me for any use of this story.
I do not mind sharing, just call or e-mail and ask for permission.
Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Aviation Artist/Historian
107 Arthur Moore Drive
Green Cove Springs, Florida 32043
Phone Number; 904-406-5791
E-Mail Address aviationartstore@peoplepc.com
Originally Posted 2-22-07
Re-posted and Edited with Counter on June 26, 2011