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.
The B-26C Invader 44-35911 was built in 1945, in 1950 was sent to the l' Armee de l' Air GB 1\19 "Gascogne" during the French-Indo War of the early 1950’s. In 1954 the Plexiglas bomber-nose was replaced with the machine gun attack-nose. By October 1955 it had flown over 300 missions and returned to the U.S. and in 1957 it sold to the private sector. In 2000 it was painted black with red lettering and named “Spirit of North Carolina” dedicated to Invader personnel who lost their lives in conflicts.