The A-26 Invader was a twin-engined light bomber which used by the US Army Air Forces during World War II and the Korean War, and by the French Air Force during the First Indochina War. It was designed and manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Co., with the XA-26 prototype performing its first flight on July 10, 1942. The Invader entered service in August 1943, as the A-26B, with the Fifth Air Force and first saw action in the Southwest Pacific theater on June 23, 1944, when they bombed Japanese-held islands near Manokwari. The Douglas A-26 was withdrawn from military service in 1972. The redesignation of the type from A-26 to B-26 in 1948 has led to popular confusion with the Martin B-26.

Specifications

Engine: two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 "Double Wasp" radial piston engines, 2,000 hp each.
Maximum speed: 355 mph (570 km/h).
Range: 1,400 mi (2,300 km).
Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,700 m).
Length: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m).
Wingspan: 70 ft 0 in (21.34 m).
Crew: three
Weapons: eight 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the nose; eight 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in four optional underwing pods; two 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in remote-controlled dorsal turret; two 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in remote-controlled ventral turret; the A-26 Invader could carry up to 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) of bombs.