The Flying Prostitute

by Lawrence Hunter

The Flying Prostitute was one of many pseudonyms given the B-26 Martin Marauder bomber in WWII by those who flew them. This plane cremated so many crewmen that newscasters were afraid to write or talk about it for fear it would cause a morale problem with the men charged to fly them. With the high number of men being killed in horrible crashes crewmen wore their Air Force Wings as bracelets on their wrists so their bodies could be identified, “just in case.” Combat in the skies over Europe followed, and so did the crashes. Pilots did not know the mammoth tail could, and had separated from this airplane while in flight. Pilots knew that they risked being cremated with their crew in a disastrous, fiery crash. What they did not know is that the manufacturers of parts of this airplane were falsifying reports and Congress knew it. The Flying Prostitute is the dramatic, true story is shocking in its detail and documentation. The refusal to write about this airplane remains an enigma for writers even to this day. The author recites his cadet life at Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas, The West Point of the Air, where he became the top-ranking cadet officer. He then earned his wings at Ellington Field, Texas where he along with others of his class, was assigned to be an Instructor Pilot of this aircraft for seventeen months.

252 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The war time reminiscence of a B-26 Marauder pilot, this was quite an entertaining and informative narrative. The pilot and his wife were such a photogenic couple that were featured in The Ladies Home Journal article. Many of tales of McDill air force base and crashes on takeoff will be familiar to B-26 aficionados. Hunter gives information about the use of the B-26 in night operations in which Marauders that were painted black lit up targets with flares.

Uniquely, among B-26 narratives I have read, Hunter had no affection for The Flying Prostitute as the Marauder was nicknamed due to its short wingspan (It flies without visible means of support). His unit switched to A-26s with great enthusiasm.