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technique
The A-26 ... Our Newest Attack Bomber
By Col. V. R. Haugen, Proieet Officer XA2(" Aircraft Proiccts
SCCtioll, EIl£;lJIecrilli; Di,'i,ioll, ;\ TSC
Out of this war has come a new respect for the att.rck
airplane, The bo~'s whn come in low, hit hard and getthe-hell
out, have chalked np an enviable record agaimt
the cncmv,
The G~rmans started it with the Stub dive-bomber. But
eventually the Stub died O\'lT the western front and Britain,
Although it did a devastating job against nndefended targets,
its lack of defensive armament made it a clav pigeon for fast
Allied fighter'>, Om own A-2-1s met a similar fate, Yet, the
mission for wh ich the dive-bomber was intended-to knock
out gronnd instalbtions p;l\'ing the way for troops-still was
NOVEMBER,1944
;1Il important play in the game of modern war. There was
hilt one nltcruativc-c-fu-t light bombers with hCI\'Y firepower
;lttaeking at low altitudes, an adaptation of attack aviation
wh icl: the AAI' had originated years before with the Curtiss
Falcon and the A-17,
Thus did the attack bomber come into its own, In England,
Africa, the Sonth Pacific, 1\-20s and Beaufighters
strafed and bombed the enemy and fought their wav hack
to bases. Then came the A- ")0, a rcv.unpcd J\ r nstang used as
;111 attack plane in Sicilv. 1\ "new terror" they called it.
Other types of planes soon pressed horne the new tactical
offensive: B-2os with a dozen gnns skimming low on sneak
raids, B-2 'is with a 75 nun cannon smashing [up shipping,
even B-17s used for low-Hving attack missions in New
Cuinca. (Cout inucd on \,'l,,,t Page)
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