B-26 Invader Units Over Korea

Purchased this book for 14 pounds at the Duxford Imperial War Museum in Cambridge (2008) - a great book, but not worth the market prices being charged

Many of the Korean air war sorties flown were made by WWII vets flying similarly 'retreaded' aircraft like the P-51, B-29, T-6 and B-26. The Douglas B-26, which had seen WWII service as the A-26, proved to be a potent ground-attack platform for day or night missions. Armed with 10 or more .50-caliber machine guns and toting 4,000-6,000 pounds of bombs, rockets and naplam, the Invader proved to be the bane of Communist forces in Korea. The Invader's outstanding combat record is told in this Osprey 'Frontline Colour' volume by Warren Thompson. B-26s flew the first and last bombing strikes of the Korean War. Between those two missions, three Invader units - the 3rd, 17th and 452nd Bomb Wings - killed hundreds of thousands of enemy troops and destroyed thousands of trucks, tanks, artillery pieces, trains, bridges and other materials. Over 150 B-26Bs, -Cs and photo recce models were lost in return. As with his other 'Frontline colour' titles, author Thompson's B-26 book is an interesting blend of numerous first-person narratives from various aircrew and over 120 nicely reproduced color photographs of aircrew, aircraft, weapons, targets under attack and so on. Thirty-two pages are given over the the striking nose art carried by Invaders. Despite the significant role the B-26 played in the Korean War, few books have been written detailing the exploits of this formidable warplane. Thompson's book fills that gap with this exciting, well-researched and well-illustrated tribute to the B-26 and its intrepid crews. Recommended.