B26 Marauder
- Thread starter Malo83
- Start date
Interesting to watch him pulling the props through before starting. Probably for several reasons, but I am sure one of those reasons is to be sure the bottom cylinders are not hydro-locked form oil leaking into them.
Those windows in the fuselage beside the engines are to watch for oil leaks and smoke or flames coming from the engines. Some engine designs during WWII were known for major oil leaks. My dad once told me that when he was in training during WWII to become a bombardier that they would sometimes take rides on some of multiengine aircraft as volunteers to keep an eye on the engines for oil leaks, and other signs of problems. He said some makes of engines were known for having problems and that with some makes those rides sometimes did not last very long before a problem with an engine caused them to land.
Those windows in the fuselage beside the engines are to watch for oil leaks and smoke or flames coming from the engines. Some engine designs during WWII were known for major oil leaks. My dad once told me that when he was in training during WWII to become a bombardier that they would sometimes take rides on some of multiengine aircraft as volunteers to keep an eye on the engines for oil leaks, and other signs of problems. He said some makes of engines were known for having problems and that with some makes those rides sometimes did not last very long before a problem with an engine caused them to land.
One a Day in Tampa Bay, 
One a Day in Tampa Bay - HistoricWings.com :: A Magazine for Aviators, Pilots and Adventurers
Published on November 25, 2012 On this date in aviation history, November 25, 1940, the Martin B-26 Marauder made its first flight. A radical design, it was a sleek, bullet-shaped medium bomber that had powerful engines and an extremely small wing. Relying on speed, it was offered to the US Army...
fly.historicwings.com
I wonder how many hours a bomber lasted. Could very well be that if the engines lasted 100 hours on average, that was good enough. That is likely why so many got early issues aswell.
