A-26 Invader Units of World War 2

Osprey Combat Aircraft #82

by Jim Roeder, Janusz Światłoń (Illustrator)

Osprey's study of the A-26 Invader Units' participation in World War II (1939-1945). Designed to combine the bombing capability of the B-26 Marauder with the versatility of the ground-attack A-20 Havoc, the A-26 Invader would become the USAAF's attack bomber par excellence. Capable of flying low-level strafing or conventional bombing missions by simply changing the nose configuration of the aircraft, the Invader first saw action in 1943 in the Pacific Theater attacking Japanese-held islands. Arriving in Europe several months later, the A-26 served with distinction for the remainder of World War II. In fact, the design proved so successful that it would go on to fly combat missions for a further two decades. Written by military aviation expert Jerry Scutts and illustrated with brand-new color profiles and rare photography, this is the first book to focus exclusively on the A-26's missions in World War II.

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The particular virtue of this booklet is as an operational chronicle of this machine, particularly with the U.S. 416th Bombardment Group, as the author seems to have made serious efforts to get in contact with the surviving men who flew this machine. If nothing else, Roeder does do a good job of capturing the attritional grind of the whole enterprise.

I can't judge the claims that Roeder made a significant number of factual errors, but that does put me off this booklet to a degree. What I can regret is that Roeder seems to allude to producing a book about this machine's use in the Korean War, which I doubt we'll see at this point, as there is no in-depth examination of that service that I know of.

Actual rating: 3.5.

[J.J. Clayborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a decent source of information for the casual reader or person with a passing interest in military aviation or these planes. However, the numerous technical and factual errors that exist within the text of the book make is less-than-useful to the serious historian. There are many photos of planes with captions assigning them to the wrong unit, or with the wrong dates listed for accidents. There are also general factual errors. As one example, the book asserts that the four A-26 Invaders sent to the Pacific for combat testing were painted in OD green and that no photos exist of these aircraft. I know for a fact that these planes were unfinished aluminum because I have photos of 3 of them. As a general source of conceptual information, the book is suitably fine, as it probably will be for most readers.

[Randall Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough, if short, overview of A-26 Invader units, active during WW2.