The all-time B-26 mission record went to FLAK BAIT with no less than 202 sorties
The much-despised B-26 Marauder, the medium bomber “workhorse” of the Ninth Air Force, bounced back from a poor beginning with the Eighth Air Force to equip no less than eight bomber groups in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). Although first given the moniker “the widow maker,” a shift in strategy from low to medium-level bombing soon increased the crews’ chances of survival; by the conclusion of the war, it had the lowest loss-per-sortie ratio of any USAAF twin-engined bomber.
When the first bomb groups arrived in East Anglia in the spring of 1943, the B-26 was among the first American-manned combat aircraft to see action in Europe. Since then, Marauders have borne most of the ETO’s medium bomber effort and have proven especially successful in the run-up to the D-Day invasion.
A B-26 from the 322nd BG flew its 50th mission in January 1944, according to Jerry Scutts’ account in his book B-26 Marauder Units of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. The fact that B-26B-25 41-31819, dubbed MILD AND BITTER after the well-known British beer, had reached this number was cause for celebration at Great Saling considering that six months earlier most people would have thought such an occurrence was something dreamed up by a Hollywood screenplay. The ground and air teams also made the most of it.
Individual aircrew members and other Marauders were also getting close to the ‘magic 50’ mark. Around this time, it was also decided that a tour for flight crews in B-26 squadrons would now consist of 50 missions.
MILD AND BITTER once again made history on May 9 when it became the first B-26 to finish 100 missions from England. Great Sating went wild as the Marauder landed after bombing the nearby Evreaux/Fauville airfield that afternoon. Paul Shannon, who had initially piloted this exact ship on August 12, 1943, was at the controls for the 29th time. Ninth Air Force publicity was not slow to milk this success for all it was worth, and Shannon was called upon to do his bit;
‘All the flak missed us by a safe margin. MILD AND BITTER has often been called the “luckiest ship in the Ninth Air Force”, having collected less than 50 flak holes, most of them small ones. Only once has battle damage kept her on the ground – a few days ago, when repairs on an electric line required about four hours, which wasn’t enough time between missions.
`Her engines are the same ones that first were installed. Only a magneto change, a hydraulic pump change, and a few routine spark plug changes have been made. She has lever-made a one-engine return and never aborted a mission because of mechanical failure. `In her 100-mission career, MILD AND BITTER have flown 449 hours and 30 minutes, 310 hours and 40 minutes of that in combat. She has traveled approximately 58,000 miles — more than twice around the world — and burned some 87,790 gallons of gasoline. She has carried 166 crewmen into battle, yet never has a casualty been suffered aboard her.’
Shannon concluded the eloquent testimony by outlining a couple of the ancient ship’s military successes;
`Altogether she has hit military objectives in northern France 44 times, airfields 38 times (and) railway yards 14 times.’
Soon, groups boasting 100+ mission ships on their rolls virtually became the norm. The B-26C-10 41-34863 of the 323rd, known as Bingo Buster, was the second Marauder to reach this landmark after MILD AND BITTER.
The third was a B-26B-25 41-31773 FLAK BAIT from the 322nd BG. However, the aptly named FLAK BAIT would go on to enjoy much more success. Strangely, though, ‘773 was not as highly regarded as ‘819 despite fierce competition to be the first to achieve the 100 mark. The fact that FLAK BAIT more than lived up to her name and attracted the items like a proverbial magnet was a contributing factor. The ship, named MILD AND BITTER by her Texan crew chief William Stuart only after it had completed around 40 sorties, was undoubtedly a crowd favorite. Nobody actually knew the reason.
Then, on June 4, 1944, the B-26C-15 41-34951 Inpatient Virgin II of the 322nd arrived. The 322nd had ten more 100-mission Marauders by the end of July, and six 386th aircraft also reached it by that time. Soon after, other B-26s in this group did likewise; the 387th revealed its first five “centenarians” throughout the summer. Such records would continue to be made.
Crews (air and ground) started to worry about their safety as individual aircraft got closer to the 100-mission mark. Whether or not the century was reached undoubtedly had a lot to do with “Lady Luck,” and that capricious mistress did not always play the game by callously striking down a few competitors just short of the milestone. But by the end of the war, there were an astounding number of “centenarian” Marauders — as many as 350 of them (in all theaters). FLAK BAIT set the all-time B-26 mission record with 202 or more sorties. It was more than appropriate that the aircraft with such a distinguished history belonged to the 322nd BC, the longest-serving operational unit in the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces.
Amazingly, the powers that be decided to keep FLAK BAIT while many other famous aircraft types carried their combat record with them to the smelters, despite all the “brickbats” thrown at the B-26 during its brief existence. Even the 322nds greatly favored MILD AND BITTER ultimately failed to arrive. The plane, which was a definite contender for preservation, was sent back to the United States in July 1944 together with Bingo Buster but was later destroyed in a crash.
It is no small irony that the one US aircraft to bear more genuine “battle honors” than any other survivor of the mighty Army Air Forces in World War 2 should be a once much-maligned Martin Marauder! Today, the scars visitors see on FLAK BAIT’s flanks when viewing it at the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum are real enough.
B-26 Marauder Units of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by Imperial War Museum, U.S. Air Force and Elliottwolf Own work via Wikipedia