Accepted for production without the benefit of a prototype the Marauder gained an early reputation as a dangerous and difficult aircraft to fly. The primary area of concern was the planes relatively high landing speed. Many modifications including lengthening the wings never really fixed the problem. On at least four separate occasions Congressional or military investigations were launched into whether or not production should be stopped. Despite its problems experienced crews loved the Marauder and by the end of the war it had proven itself with the lowest loss ratio of any American medium bomber.
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Jun 4 2010
The wing nose ribs have been attached to the wing's front spar. |
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Nov 10 2009
Nearing an end to final alignments a Volunteer is almost ready to rivet this section of leading edge ribs on the right wing in place. |
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Oct 29 2009
A volunteer nears completion of the framing on the left wing. The process of replacing the skins will begin soon. |
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Sep 29 2009
A volunteer aligns and fastens leading edge ribs. |
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Sep 24 2009
A volunteer is reassembling stringers and bulkheads for the rear portion of the right engine nacelle. |
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Jul 22 2009
All of the apparatus and straps are in place to turn the right wing over to continue repair. |
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Jul 13 2009
The outboard wing rotating fixture is in place. |
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Jul 13 2009
The inboard wing rotating fixture is in place. |
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Apr 28 2009
The custom built apparatus that will attach to the inboard end of the wing to rotate it to a top side up position. |
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Apr 24 2009
The fixture for the inboard part of the wing that one of the rotating devices will attach. |
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Apr 21 2009
A volunteer fits a fixture to the wing tip that will be used when the wing is turned top side up. |
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Feb 5 2009
A volunteer works on the leading edge hinge assembly for the left wing. |
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Jan 29 2009
A volunteer is using a rivet squeezer to attach brackets for the wing leading edge ribs. |
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Jan 28 2009
One of the project team members is aligning and mounting the leading edge ribs. |
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Dec 16 2008
A volunteer is working on what will be part of a mold to form the leading edge of part of the wing. |
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Sep 25 2008
A volunteer aligns part of the hinge bracket for the leading edge. |
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Sep 18 2008
A collection of wing leading edge parts are drying after being painted. |
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Sep 17 2008
A rib is drying after an Alodine bath. |
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Sep 16 2008
The leading edge ribs are acid washed before being painted. |
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Sep 4 2008
One of the volunteers on the B-26 Team starts on a new leading edge wing rib. |
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Sep 2 2008
A volunteer is installing hinge fittings used to attach the leading edge. |
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Aug 14 2008
One of our volunteers on the project just finished installing one of the newly fabricated leading edge win ribs. |
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Jul 31 2008
Two of our exchange students are fitting a large skin patch to the rear fuselage. |
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Jul 22 2008
The B-26 Team Leader is using a gauge to check alignment of the wing rib leading edge. |
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Jul 21 2008
Always near by are drawings of the various wing structures. |
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May 27 2008
Piece by piece the left wing is coming back together. This section will be all new parts and skin. |
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May 8 2008
The leading edge rib patterns have been completed. After they have been checked we start cutting metal. |
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Apr 27 2008
Rib by rib the right engine nacelle takes slowly takes shape. One of the dedicated volunteers continues installing newly fabricated parts. |
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Apr 15 2008
Two volunteers continue the repair of the damage on the left wing. One is working on the flap track and the other is working on formers for the engine nacelle. |
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Mar 18 2008
Work continues a making wing leading edge rib patterns before the first one will be converted into aluminum. |
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Mar 17 2008
Progress is being made on repairing the under wing skin where the flaps retract. |
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Mar 10 2008
A two man volunteer team is working on repair of the trailing edge of the left wing. |
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Mar 8 2008
An overview of the major assemblies and their progress so far. Left to Right: forward fuselage, aft fuselage, right wing and left wing. |
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Mar 1 2008
Despite starting 2 weeks after the right wing the team working on the left wing is striving to catch up to the team working on the right wing. The fire wall and fillets/leading edge skin are beginning to take shape. |
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Feb 19 2008
Patterns are being made for the leading edge ribs on the right wing. When we get to that point on the left wing all we have to do is reverse them. |
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Feb 19 2008
In this step you can see the beginnings of a form being made for the engine and landing gear housing for the left wing. A hydraulic press is sometimes used for making many of these pieces. |
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Feb 13 2008
These damaged ribs from the left engine nacelle have to be removed, straightened or new ribs fabricated. Fortunately if we make forms they can be reversed for left or right wing. |
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Feb 12 2008
The left engine mount has been repaired and installed on the wing. |
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Feb 8 2008
After two weeks of dedicated work, one of our volunteers has completed the removal of the severely damaged structure housing the engine and landing gear from the left wing. Fabrication of the parts for the replacement has already started. |
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Jan 31 2008
The first of many replacement skin panels has been made and installed on the right wing. |
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Jan 28 2008
The second wing (left) has been moved into the Restoration Hangar so that a disassembly team can start on removing damaged parts. Fabrication of replacement parts has already started on the right wing. The left wing seems to have more extensive damage than the right. |
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Jan 23 2008
One of our skilled volunteers is removing a patch and replacing it with a proper aircraft patch on right nacelle faring. |
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Jan 17 2008
It looks like we are making negative progress but we have to remove damage skin and structure to replace it. The nacelle had a large gash in the skin and structural damage underneath. |
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Jan 16 2008
A volunteer starts the repair process on the leading edge of the right wing. For reference the wing is upside down. |
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Jan 15 2008
The actuation of the right bomb bay door has tested and passed. |
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Dec 28 2007
From the two pictures (top picture B-26 single gun tail and the bottom picture the parts we have to work from). We will face many challenges in this restoration project. |
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Dec 18 2007
Completion of other projects has allowed the area to be reorganized for more efficient work. |
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Aug 23 2007
The fabric department will be starting on the rudder. |
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Apr 22 2005
A replacement skin panel is fitted. |
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Dec 30 2004
The wings are going to need a lot of repair work. |
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Dec 29 2004
The forward fuselage after being cleaned and moved into the restoration hangar. |
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Sep 9 2004
The engines are nearing completion and will be put into storage until the airframe is ready. |
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Aug 26 2004
The forward fuselage as it arrived at the museum. |
