Hobby Master 1/72 HA3211 Douglas A-26B Invader 44-34298, 89th BS/3rd BG, August 1945

In 1941 Douglas Aircraft Company began work on their twin-engine medium-bomber A-26 Invader. By the end of production there were 2,452 aircraft produced for all variants. The A- 26/B-26 was the only U.S. bomber to take part in three wars, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. The confusion with the use of the designation B-26 began when the Martin B-26 Marauder was retired and in 1948 the USAF dropped the "A" (Attack) designator so the Douglas A-26 Invader became the B-26 Invader. The A-26 made its first European appearance in late 1944.

In June 1945 the 3rd BG began to convert from the A-20 Havoc to the A-26 Invader. A-26B 44-34298 c/n 27577 was delivered to the 89th BS/3rd BG in March 1945. In early August 1945 the group moved to Okinawa and unfortunately on August 11th A-26 44-34298 piloted by Captain Harvey Truesdale was forced to make a belly-landing on Okinawa after suffering a loss of hydraulics due to enemy fire during a mission to Kyushu. During the winter of 1945 the 3rd BG became part of the Occupation of Japan Forces.