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The Douglas A-26B Invader was the fastest USAAF light/medium bomber of WW II. Powerd by two, Pratt and Whitney R2800 engines, and employing laminar flow wings the Invader is extremly fast and can maintain a climb rate of nearly 2000 ft. per minute. A distinguishing feature was it's variety of nose designs, the A-26C has a glazed, bombardiers nose, while the A-26B has a solid "strafer" nose. Flying in the tactical role the A-26 could deliver some punishing ground-support firepower from the eight 0.5in machine guns mounted on its nose. An unusal aspect was its length of service. Invaders were still flying combat missions over 30 years after they first saw combat in the Second World War. For the U.S., the A-26 saw action in WWII, Korea and the Vietnam War. Perhaps most remarkable was the Invader air to air fighting ability, pilots noticed how maneuverable the plane was after they had released thier bombs and used this to thier advantage against enemy interceptors, in fact the A-26 scored as many air to air victories as it sufferd air to air losses in WW II.
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