Executive and Civilian Invaders - Main page

A comprehensive breakdown of U.S. and Foreign companies that flew the A-26

	Above is N202PP standing solitary and sand covered, on the Apron at Karachi since August 1965 is B-26 Invader which was the subject of a Pakistani High court case involving the owner Mr J P O'connor who has issued a writ challenging detention of the aircraft by customs authorities after it had been flown to Pakistan by Mr Walkott who it is alleged had disappeared with the aircraft from the USA that year. The above shots were sent in by Leif Hellström, on a trip he made to Karachi, to photograph AP-AVV in 1992 The above shot was supplied by Laurence Garey, who took the photo on 19th November 2006. visit Laurence's site here http://sites.google.com/site/lgarey/ Serial #: 44-34568 Construction #: 27847 Civil Registration:   N202PP   AP-AVV Model(s):   A-26B   B-26B Name: None Status: Storage Last info: 2000   History: Delivered to l'Armee de l'Air as 44-34568, 1955. - Returned to USAF. Purolator Products, New York, NY, 1959-1963. - registered as N202PP. J. P. O'Connor, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 1966-1969. - Reported involved with drug/gun running in Pakistan, 1965. M. Anwar Khan, Karachi, 1970-2000. - Registered as AP-AVV. - Withdrawn from use Karachi, put into open storage, 1981.

	Serial #: 44-35245 Construction #: 28524 Civil Registration: LN-AER    Model(s):   A-26B   RB-26C  RB-26C Name: Status: Last info:   History: Converted to RB-26C.  Registered Sep 13, 1958 to Norwegian civil registry as LN-AER with Wideroes Flyveselskap A/P of Oslo. Registration cancelled Jan 25, 1963 withdrawn and scrapped.   This was the first Douglas Invader enrolled in a European registry, LN-AER of Wide Flyveselskap Roes. This was a former USAF RB-26C Invader 44-35245 (c / n 28524) which on September 13, 1958 was registered on the Norwegian registry. The aircraft was only used for airborne mapping operations and was decommissioned in the early sixties

	This great shot above sent in by Ralf Manteufel shows D-BACA at Hanover Langenhagen in April 72 ( Click to enlarge) See Transport Photos.com for details of the above two shots The above shot was donated by Geoff Davidson and shows D-BACA at Hannover on 26th April 1970, in all her beauty Above, Courtesy of Bill Bailey The above shot comes from http://www.bsl-mlh-planes.net/ The above four shots show D-BACA at Zurich Airport in 1974 after she was used for fire-fighting practice Serial #: 44-35938 Construction #: 29217 Civil Registration:   N4203A   N510X   N516X   D-BACA Model(s):   A-26C   RB-26C   On Mark Marketeer Name: None Status: Wrecked Last info: 1973   History: 25 January 1951 - A B-26C-55-DT Invader, 44-35938, c/n 29217, of the Headquarters Squadron, 3201st Air Base Group, Eglin AFB, piloted by Carl A. Ousley, is moderately damaged in a landing accident at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C. Repaired.  G. C. Murphy Co, McKeesport, PA, 1959-1967. - Registered as N4203A. - Reregistered as N510X, June 1963. Ralph Tait, 1967-1969. - Registered as N516X. Marketeer Twin Cities Aviation Inc, Minneapolis, MN, 1969. Friederich Stetzler/Luft-Transport Dienst GmbH, Dusseldorf, Germany, Aug. 1969-1973. - Registered as D-BACA. - Damaged during wheels up landing, Stuttgart, West Germany, Aug. 11, 1970. - Crashed landing, Zurich, Switzerland, Feb. 23, 1973. -- Burnt for fire practice, Zurich, July 5, 1973. Additional information: The German building contractor Friedrich Stetzler bought this aircraft in 1969 from On Mark Engineering which had been converted to A-26C Invader Marketeer to N516X. This was a former USAF RB-26C (ex 44-35938), later sold as N4203A The aircraft was then registered which as D-BACA in the name of the Luft-Transport Service GmbH Stuttgart. The aircraft was registered on 23.1.1970 but was haunted by bad luck. On August 11, 1970, on a local flight to Stuttgart, a belly landing had to be made. The aircraft was then transported by road to Basel, where it was repaired on June 2, 1971 and re entered service. On the night of 22 to 23 February 1973 the aircraft was en route from Agedir to Stuttgart. During the landing at Stuttgart, the right gear refused to go down and so it was decided to divert to Zurich, where two layers of foam were laid by the fire service and it made ​​a belly landing. the aircraft was so badly damaged that it was written off, stripped of all usable parts and donated to the local fire department. On July 5, 1973 the D-BACA was used in an exercise and destroyed by flames.

	The above photo was supplied by David Weiss via the "Collection Waldemar Winkler" at http://falcons-gallery.me109.info The above shot was kindly donated by Manfred Meyer The above two shots were sent in by Leif Hellström The above 3 shots come from http://www.bsl-mlh-planes.net/ Serial #: 44-35622 Construction #: 28901 Civil Registration:   N9658C   D-BELE  D-CELE Model(s):   A-26B   B-26B  RB-26C Name: Status: Last info:   History: USAF 1944 RB-26C 44-35622 first civil registered N9658C was then registered as the D-BELE on 4/3/1962, after which it was registered on 27.6.1962 as the D-CELE and flew with Prakla Seismos AG and was used for survey work in Africa. Shortly after hiring the aircraft it crashed on 22/11/1963 at Cotonou Dahamey (now Benin) when the aircraft crashed due to the altimeter showing an incorrect height of 1000 meters Understood to have been used/owned by the PRAKLA / BND German Secret Service, but not confirmed.   Serial #: 43-35638 Construction #: 28917 Civil Registration: N7824B, D-BELI, D-CELI Model(s):   A-26B   B-26B Name: None Status: Unknown Last info:   History: To civil registry as N7824B, then was registered as D-BELI on 06/03/1963 in the name of W. Rall and was re-registered as D-CELI on 03/27/1963 in the name of Photogrammetrie München GmbH and was used for aerial reconnaissance and research on mineral resources in the Middle East.  Note regarding the above two aircraft: Both aircrafts (c/n 28901 and 28917) were at first registered D-BELE and D-BELI resp. The “B” was for aircrafts between 14 t and 20 t TOW. At  4.3.62 and 27.3.62 resp., both aircrafts regs. Were changed to D-CELE and D-CELI. “C” stands for aircrafts between 5,7 t and 14 t, because these RB-26C’s without weapons, ammunition and armour fourteen tons was enough, even when carrying full fuel load. Generally: The owner of D-CELE, D-CELI and D-CADU was Walter Rall and the aircrafts were operated for the survey companies PRAKLA Seismos AG, Hanover and Photogrammetrie München GmbH. There were also contracts from time to time for the West German Luftwaffe Test Establishment 61, Manching and some secret and clandestine jobs for the German Federal Intelligence Service BND.

	The above two shots was kindly donated by Manfred Meyer Serial #: 44-35682 Construction #: 28961 Civil Registration:   N5181V   D-CADU Model(s):   A-26C   RB-26C   Monarch 26 Name: None Status: Derelict Last info: 1970   History: Registered to R.F. Todd. - Registered as N5181V. John M. sliker, Wadley, GA, 1963-1964. Was bought 18.9.1964 by Aircraft Krautheim GmbH, Nürnberg and W. Rall bought it from this aircraft dealer, reg. 29.7.1964 for him as D-CADU. Walter Rall/Prakla-Seismos AG, Hanover, Germany, May 1964-1967. - Registered as D-CADU. - Converted for survey operations. - Grant CoA Sept. 19, 1964. - Operated for Luftwaffe EsT61 Unit for test flying. - Survey Operations, Africa and South America, 1967. D-Cadu was sold on May 13, 1967 for an amount of 2,100 U.S. dollars to Trans Peruana in Peru and abandoned in scrapyard in Lima, Peru, 1969-1970. Note: This aircraft was purchased as a replacement for the crashed D-CELE on September 19, 1964 for a sum of 76,000 D Mark.

	The above shot was kindly donated by Manfred Meyer See Transport Photos.com for details of the above shot Try this link to the Brussels Air Museum Restoration Society, where you can see how reovation was undertaken on 44-34765 Serial #: 44-34765 Construction #: 28044 Civil Registration:   N67160   D-CAFY ? Model(s):   A-26B   On Mark Marketeer Name: Mission Completed Status: Display/Restoration Last info: 2002   History: Delivered to Reconstruction Finance Corp as 44-34765 - Immediately put up for dispossal, 1945. Sperry Gyroscope Co, Great Neck, NY, 1954-1964. - Registered as N67160. R.C. Johnson, Las Vegas, NV, 1966. International Commercial Aviaition Service, Kennedy International Airport, NY, 1969-1970. W. Rall, Munich, Germany, Aug. 1970. - This aircraft was never registered as D-CAFY. - was never registered as D-CAFY! Walter Rall had only reserved the reg. D-CAFY(2.) at 1.12.1968 for this plane, but the German authorities don’t certified the plane because it was a Marketeer conversion and the reg. D-CAFY where not taken up. The aircraft remained in service for the Antwerp Sea Food Company as N67160 until 1969. After then 1972 it was seized by Antwerp airport for non  paid bills. Note: Walter Rall 1968 had previously tried to buy another Invader ! c/n 28783 44-35504 was withdrawn from use as 807C by the French Air Force and W. Rall reserved at 23.1.1968 the reg. D-CAFY(1.) for these aircraft. But the deal fell thru and the reg. -Musee Royal de l'Armee, Brussels, Belgium, 1976-2002. - Undergoing restoration but still on display. Additional information: The aircraft was leased by Antwerpe Kreesten Central, which housed lobsters imported from all over Europe. Since transportation costs were also part of the price per lobster, it was decided in 1968 to transport lobsters from Europe to Antwerp using the companies own transport. The aircraft was bought in December 1968 and registered D-CAFY. In 1969, the company started with lobster flights between Turkey and France and Antwerp. At the end of 1969, it was parked at Antwerp for so long, that it was chained for failure to pay landing and parking fees. After more than ten years the aircraft was donated to the Brussels Air Museum.

	Another great shot above from the Mike Ody collection of CF-CCR at Toronto in 66 Above is CF-CCR in 1966 The above four shots were taken on September 30, 1962 at Mississauga, Ontario, CA. and were supplied via edk7's photostream on Flickr The above shot donated by Robin Walker shows HK1247P at Bogota - Eldorado in 1988 http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1015588/ The above two shots were very kindly sent to me by Diego Correa Restrepo and shows what's left of HK1247P after its crash at Bogota in 1988 Serial #: 44-34550 Construction #: 27829 Civil Registration:   N7769C   CF-CCR   N355Q   HK-1247W   HK-1247P Model(s):   A-26B   B-26B   On Mark Marketeer Name: None Status: Destroyed Last info: 1988   History: On Mark Engineering Co, Van Nuys, CA. - Registered as N7769C. Canadian Comstock Racing Team, 1962-1967. - Registered as CF-CCR. Orange County Airways Inc, Montgomery, NY, 1969-1970. - Registered as N355Q. J. R. Acosta & L. C. H. Lizcano - Registered as HK-1247W. - Reregistered as HK-1247P. - Crashed on take-off, Bogota-El Dorado, Sept. 21, 1988. Note: This aircraft crashed in the wetland of Córdoba, Pepe Sierra Avenue Suba, thanks to maneuver the pilot, it did not fall on any residential sector. It happened on climb after takeoff on a left hand turn... It crash landed on a waterline on north Bogotá... They say that the remains of the plane are still on site

	The above photograph was supplied via Adam Gaus, Hauppauge, NY. Go to the original site. Above two shots, in the colour scheme of Minnesota Airmotive in Minneapolis Above, in the colour scheme of The Rexall Drug Co Serial #: 44-34524 Construction #: 27803 Civil Registration N558, N58Y, HK-999E Models: A-26, B-26B-61-DL   History: Constructed as an A-26B-61-DL by Douglas at Long Beach, Califoria, USA. Douglas A-26B-61-DL 27803 Taken on Strength/Charge with the United States Army Air Force with s/n 44-34524 Minnesota Aeromotive in Minneapolis Purchased by Rexall Drug Co. in Los Angeles in April 1959, repositioned back to Van Nuys on Sept. 2, 1959 untill Aug 1961/2. Converted while at Rexall by On Mark but to executive ( but not to a Marketeer ) to N58Y, then N588, Sold back to Minnesota Aeromotive later to unknown buyer in Colombia as HK-999E in 1962/3 Latest: Visited Prestwick Airport in 1957 as N58Y, belonging to Minnesota Aeromotive. It also visited Prestwick on 23rd September 1957 routing from Madrid to Iceland.   This A-26 was a one-off modification undertaken  by a previous owner, Stahmann Farms of Las Cruces NM circa 1964 when it was modified for extra long-range using a Marksman wing with tip tanks. It was salvaged from an unidentified Marksman badly damaged by fire at Phoenix AZ.         Nick's story, a wonderful addition.   I recieved a really interesting mail the other day ( March 2013 ) from a Nick Decker of St. Louis , Missouri, Nick wrote: My name is Nick Decker and I am writing to you from St. Louis , Missouri in the U. S. I have only just recently found your web site and am absolutely amazed by it. There is one Invader that is near and dear to my heart and it is N58Y.  However, as I look at your web site and a couple of other places there appears to be some confusion about the old bird. I am personally acquainted with the airplane and if you would like some updated information on it I would be happy to provide it. Best regards, Nick Decker   Nick continued: MY EXPERIENCES WITH DOUGLAS A-26 "N58Y" IN THE SUMMER OF 1959 BY NICK DECKER In your section on N58Y, you show a nice black & white picture of it when it was owned by Minnesota Airmotive in Minneapolis , Minnesota . According to internet discussions in 2001, this airplane had been seen in Prestwick about September 1957. In 1959, the Rexall Drug Company in Los Angeles purchased a plastics company in Chippewa Falls , Wisconsin . They wanted an aircraft that could provide fast and nonstop service between Chippewa Plastics and the Rexall home office in Los Angeles . Rexall purchased N58Y from Minnesota Airmotive in April 1959 and sent it to On Mark for updating. (I don't know who did the prior interior conversion.) At the same time, Rexall hired my Dad (Mark Decker) as the pilot and he followed the airplane through all the modification phases until it was finished. He did the first test flight on the 18th of June 1959. On Mark went through the entire airplane and also added the 103" nose with radar, installed the DC-6 landing gear with Hytrol anti-skid, and added the 165 gal, wingtip tanks. Nothing else was done to the cockpit or interior. The airplane was repainted in the colors of the Rexall company. The orange arrow, or dart if you will, on the side of the fuselage, was made part of the color scheme at the request of the president of Rexall Drug, Mr. Justin Dart. I remember an interesting comment my Dad made about the painting of the airplane. He was completely fascinated and amazed by the talents of the painter. He said the guy masked out the paint scheme from one side to the other without ever really measuring anything. Dad said the final paint job was flawless. The airplane was based at the Eau Claire , Wisconsin Municipal Airport (just south of the Chippewa Plastics facility) and the flight from there to Van Nuys , California could be flown nonstop in six hours.. just about as fast as anything could fly in 1959. However, once the managers discovered how fast the airplane was, they began crisscrossing the country daily with it. I was an 18 year old at the time working at the FBO, so I got to help Dad service the airplane and also flew right seat with him as often as I absolutely could. Saturday mornings were spent washing the airplane, especially the exhaust streaks on the nacelles. Often, we would "dry the airplane off" by practicing approaches and doing touch-and-goes. Sometimes we would make the 25 minute/100mile run over to Minnesota Airmotive for maintenance that we couldn't do at our FBO. The short exhaust stacks that would crack at the cylinders are a good example. One day we took it back up to Minnesota Airmotive for some electrical checks. It required carrying one of their mechanics with his meters while we did some take offs and landings so I got to fly right seat. Taxiing out to the active runway put us on a taxiway that took us by the Minnesota Air National Guard Base and each time we went by, at least a dozen Airmen would run out to chain link fence to wave and cheer us on. N58Y in her outstanding paint scheme with the orange wing tip tanks and those big R2800's with that wonderful loping sound at idle was enough to give anyone goose bumps (or chicken skin as some say). We did have a problem with the Hytrol anti-skid brakes one day. We were doing engine run-ups before takeoff when all of a sudden the airplane gave a huge lurch forward. We had lost the brakes!!!! Dad chopped the power and instantly flipped the two Hytrol switches to off. The brakes grabbed and we didn't move another foot. It was decided another trip to Minnesota Airmotive was necessary. I don't remember what was accomplished. One day in July, a horrific thunderstorm pounded it with 3-1/2 inch hail. My Dad was scared to death the airplane had been ruined, so he told me to climb on top to check her out. With that glossy paint, hail dents would really stand out, however, all surfaces were as smooth as glass. That was one tough airplane. (All light aircraft at the airport were totaled that day.) My Father flew N58Y daily until it was repositioned back to Van Nuys on Sept. 2, 1959. Dad and I visited the airplane at VNY in August 1961 and it still looked the same. Rexall operated it for one more year and then it returned to Minnesota Airmotive. I saw it on the ramp there, still in Rexall colors, in the summer of 1962. Sometime after that, we heard that Minnesota Airmotive had sold it and it went to South America still in the Rexall colors. (Minnesota Airmotive also sold their B-17 to someone in SA about the same time. Taking our 1945 mint condition B-17 manual with it!!! Still unhappy about that.) Your black & white picture of it in Colombia , HK-999E, is the last evidence of it that I know of. Everyone (except for myself) that was ever connected with the airplane in the 1950s and 60s has passed away. Even the retired old timer guys at Gopher Aviation south of Minneapolis in Rochester , Minnesota don't know anything of N58Y. I have never been able to identify the N588 registration. A couple of years after the airplane went to South America I found a statement that "N58Y" had been dropped from the FAA Registry and no other number had been assigned to the airframe. Sometime after that even that statement disappeared. So for me, the "N588" number remains a mystery. As I have already stated, when N58Y was updated in April, 1959, the cockpit and interior were basically left untouched. The interior looked to be several years old, however I always thought it looked like it was an early On Mark conversion with the seating, window configuration, and belly entrance door. In the summer of 1959, I was just 18 years old and now I am almost 72. My Dad flew N58Y for only three months, but I was so lucky to have been able to join him during that time. I learned so much that summer and we had so many interesting experiences with the airplane. N58Y was seriously powerful, seriously heavy, seriously fast, and you had to pay serious attention to everything you did with it, but OMG was it ever fun to fly. It was like pushing an overgrown fighter around the sky. My Dad went on to finish his corporate flying career in a Falcon 20 and Gulfstream II, retiring in 1974 with almost 20,000 hours in his log books. Above is Nick's dad who flew B-17's during WWII, in front of N58Y back in July 1959 Above, this is a picture of N58Y in June 1959 taken at the Eau Claire , Wisconsin Municipal Airport where the airplane was based. It is parked where we normally washed it. A puddle of water can still be seen under it. It was parked in this very same spot in July when a horrific thunderstorm pounded it with 3-1\2 inch hail. My Dad was scared to death the airplane had been ruined so he told me to climb on top to check her out. With that glossy paint hail dents would really stand out, however, all surfaces were as smooth as glass. That was one tough airplane. (All light aircraft at the airport were totaled that day.) The Rexall Company had purchased a plastics company in Chippewa Falls , WI, about ten miles north of the airport. The original intent for the airplane was to provide direct fast and nonstop service between Chippewa Plastics and the Rexall home office in Los Angeles . They quickly discovered the big Doug could also quickly whisk them all over the United States.     Above two shots, these were taken at Van Nuys Airport in California , August 1961, the airplane was still owned by Rexall and we were visiting the West Coast Chief Pilot of Rexall. The engine nacelles are severely exhaust streaked, we never let it get that dirty when we had it. Above, Nick's dad in front of N58Y back in July 1959

	Bill baldwin who supplied the six shots above wrote:   "I'm a big fan of A-26s! I cut a deal for N7705C back in 1974-1975 and wasn't able to do much else but hold off the aluminum scappers as I never really paid-up on the deal, but it worked and even though it sat for 11 years it finally got restored"   I offered $5000 for it at Rusk Aviation and was accepted but Couldn't put together a plan to move the plane to my property to do the work. As the months rolled by, we went over the entire plane's systems except for the starboard engine it was pretty much flyable. Someone else made an offer from Chino, CA and I gave up on the idea. I gained a lot of knowedge on the plane and A-26s in general.The previous owner was a construction supply outfit in Gulfport, Mississippi. It spent 11 years in Chino before anyone got around to restoring her. Above, 7705 at chino in Oct 81 Additional information by Richard E Fulwiler, N7705C was parked adjacent to David Tallachet's newly refreshed B-26 Marauder at Chino, California in the early '90's ( one of three he pulled out of the Canadian tundra [ Million Dollar Valley ] combined to make one good one ). I photographed the Marauder that day capturing the dilapidated Marketeer in the background of some of my shots. Did not think too much about the Marketeer because it was so tired looking ( faded blue stripes over severely oxidized white ) next to that fresh looking Marauder in 1940 Mil. Spec. paint. The Marauder deteriorated at Chino until Aero Traders prepped it to fly cross country to join the Kermit Weeks collection in Florida ( 1994 if memory serves ). I did an extensive walk around photo study of the Marauder as it is so rare ( 103rd of the first production batch of 201 B-26 Marauders built = Serial Number 40-1464 ) before it left Chino. Serial #: 44-35710 Construction #: 28989 Civil Registration:   N7705C   OO-INV Model(s):   A-26C   B-26C   On Mark Marketeer Name: Hard To Get Status: Airworthy Last info: 2002   History: Delivered to USAAF as 44-35710. - BOC: May 1945. - SOC: June 16, 1956. - Stored at Davis Monthan AFB, AZ, 1956-1958. - Sold as surplus for $2,084, Mar. 1958. Les Bowman, Balboa, CA, Mar. 1958. - Registered as N7705C. Mayhew Supply Inc, Gulfport, MS, 1963. Appliance Buyers Credit Corp, St. Joseph, MI, 1964-1969. Rusk Aviation, Kankakee, IL, 1972. Eugene H. Akers, San Diego, CA, 1977-1988. - Open Storage, Chino, CA, 1978-1994. - Attempted delivery to USAFM, 1986. -- Engine failure forced return to Chino and storage. David C. Tallichet/MARC, Chino, CA, 1989-1994. Pacific Fighters, Chino, CA, 1994-1995. - Restored to airworthy started, 1994-1995. Richard Nivo/Historic Invader Aviation Corp, Las Vegas, NV & Amsterdam, Netherlands, Dec. 1, 1995-2000. - Restoration completed, 1996-1997. - First Flight, Dec. 1997. - Flew as 435710/58/Hard TO Get. Note: Restored to original bomber configuration from executive transport for Richard Nivo of Holland. Judged Best Bomber at Oshkosh 1998, then flown to Holland via Canada and Iceland. J. Schattman/Historic Invader Assoc., Amsterdam-Schiphol, Netherlands, May 19, 2000-2001. - Registered as OO-INV. Historic Invader Aviation Corp, Las Vegas, NV, July 9, 2001-2002. - Registered as N7705C. - Flown as #58/Hard to Get

	Above, From the Collection of Charles M. Daniels See Transport Photos.com for details of the above shot Paris Texas May 1982     Serial #: 44-34156 Construction #: 27435 Civil Registration:   XB-COM   XC-CAZ   N190M Model(s):   A-26C   TB-26B Name: Snow Queen Status: See History Last info: 1988   History: Altos Hornos de Mexico - Registered as XB-COM. Petroleos Mexicanos - PEMEX, 1960-1967. - Registered as XC-CAZ. JRT Aero Service CO, Wichita Falls, TX, 1969. - Registered a N190M. John E. Morgan, Las Vegas, NV, 1970. Antonio Ortiz, Santee, CA, 1976. Joseph Morgan, Leucadia, CA, 1977. - Flew as 434156/Snow Queen. Toni Windham, 1981. I. N. "Junior" Burchinall, Paris, TX, 1984. - Withdrawn from use and stored in open, Paris, TX, 1982-1985. Jim Ricketts/Aero Nostalgia Inc, Stockton, CA, Aug. 1985-1988. - Crashed ontake off for delivery, Paris, TX, Aug. 17, 1985. - NTSB Accident Report. - Planned deliverery to USAFM, Frago, ND apparently not completed. - Fuselage and parts trucked to Stockton, CA. - Used in restoration of 43-22523, 1986-1988. Note NTSB Identification: FTW85LA324 . The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number 29580. 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Saturday, August 17, 1985 in PATTONVILLE, TX Aircraft: DOUGLAS TB-26B, registration: N190M Injuries: 2 Minor. THE ACFT HAD NOT FLOWN FOR TWO YEARS AND WAS BEING CHECKED OUT FOR A FERRY FLT TO THE U.S. AIR FORCE AIR MUSEUM IN FARGO, ND. DURING INITIAL CLIMB FROM COX FIELD AT PARIS, TX, THE LEFT ENG LOST TOTAL PWR AND THE RIGHT ENG LOST PARTIAL PWR. AN OFF ARPT FORCED LANDING WAS ATTEMPTED, HOWEVER, THE ACFT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN AND TREES. THE REASON FOR THE PWR LOSS WAS NOT DETERMINED. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: REASON FOR OCCURRENCE UNDETERMINED Contributing Factors OBJECT..TREE(S) AIRPORT/FACILITIES..NONE SUITABLE

	Fuerza Aerea Mexicana used 4 examples of A-26B Invader aircraft from 1949 until 1975 Mexico has the curious tradition of using civilian-owned aircraft to haul military and government officials, thus giving the aircraft a quasi-military identity. Knowing that B-26s were modified into fast executive aircraft which carried a certain prestige, officials felt that such a machine would enhance their importance. Accordingly, B-26B N65121 was purchased in Los Angeles and became XB-PEK with some form of passenger interior, although it is not known if this was done in the US or Mexico. Assigned to haul the president of Mexico, the plane also wore the Fuerza Aerea Mexicana serial 1300 but was never completely the property of the FAM. In the early 1950s, a wealthy businessman obtained another three Invaders and put them at the disposal of military and government officials - almost appearing to be some form of bribe. These three aircraft were El Fantasma Z001, El Indio Z002, and Jarocho Z003. By 1953, Z001 and Z002 had been sold in France. Oddly, it appears that the French utilized these non-standard serials and then added a few more in that sequence with other Invader purchases. Serial #:   Construction #: Civil Registration: N65121 / XB-PEK Model(s):   A-26B   B-26B Name: None Status: Last info:   History: FAM 1300 was the only B-26 Actually owned by the Mexican Govermnent and was last seen flying from Mexico City in 1971. Last seen in a derelict condition at Mexico City circa 75 and assumed to be in open storage for display at Museo de Talleres de la Fuerza Aerea Mixicana

	History "says" that the Z001 "Ghost" was purchased by the same businessman who bought the XB-PEK with Z002 "El Indio" and Z003 "Jarocho" Z001 this was operated by Mexican Government unofficially as executive transport aircraft.   Above, B-26B Invader (having been redesignated in 1948 from an A-26B). This aircraft of the French Air Force, with call-sign F-ZJNX, visited on 6.1.60 routing f&t Bretigny, on weather diversion from Warton. This was not the only B-26 to visit Liverpool during the Sixties, as civilianised VIP transport N400E called during 1968. The aircraft below also routed through Liverpool and Tenerife ( shown ) on its way to the Algeria. This aircraft is not F-ZJNX  Serial #: 44-34763 Construction #: 28042 Civil Registration: Z001 N(L)65779 Model(s):   A-26B, B-26B  Name: Z001 El Fantasma Status: Last info: 2010   History: Sold on civilian market as N65779 To CEV in France in 1951 as Z001 from Mexican A.F. then 779. Renumbered with USAF serial Mar 1959.  SOC c1968

	Serial #:   Constr #: Civil Registration: El Indio Z002 Model(s):   A-26B   B-26B Name: El Indio Status: Last info:

	Above, San Antonio - San Antonio International 29th Oct 1979     The above shot was supplied by Peter Nicholson via Airport data.Com   The above photograph was taken by Gordon Reid at Alberquerque, New Mexico in Oct 72, when the aircraft was owned by Westernair   The above shot was kindly donated by R.A.Scholefield, Lancashire and was taken at San Antonio in October 1975. The above shot was supplied by Peter Nicholson, click here to see more of his work at Airport Data.com   Darcy Hankins ( See feature ) who sent in the above four shots wrote: The aircraft pictured is of "Koba Wiki", unfortunately with this article there are so many Invaders operated by Airspray that I missed including any info on this A/C which would probably be a story in itself.. what I know of it is that it was the pressurized LAS that was converted by Lockheed Air Services back in the days of conversions (although I see conflicting info?) Maybe someone at Airspray who may read this or someone with more info could pass it on too you . It was ferried to Airspray in the mid 80’s with a cracked rear spar that had been reinforced with a welded steel angle for the trip home, the aircraft incorporates a fuselage ring spar.. Engines were used on other aircraft and the one good wing went to Tanker 4 after an inflight fire. The wing with the cracked spar went to a static rebuild in California (Aero Nostalgia??) A very knowledgable individual who passed through the hangar in the 90’s had told me he new of the airplane well and the fibreglass nose had underwent extensive wind tunnel testing to lead to the best design. Unfortunately with the hangar fire Koba Wiki was parked with the nose closest to the hangar and whateve the story was, died with it melting to the ground (as seen in your picture..noseless).. As of today the aircraft has been heavily canibilized but at least gives you an idea of its shape and design. I’ve inlcluded pics I took aprox 2000 beside the hangar. It would be great if someone could help with some history on this A/C.   Serial #: 44-35999 Construction #: 29278 Civil Registration:   N5052, N52NM, XB-SIJ, CG-QPZ Model(s):   B-26C   LAS Super26 Name: None Status: Destroyed at Red Deer in hangar fire Last info: 2000   History:  Sold to Mexico as 1302.  To civil registry as N5052N, converted to Lockheed Air Services Super 26, later to N52NM, XB-SIJ, then to Air Spray (67) Ltd of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada as C-GQPZ.   It had been a parts source, but was also damaged in the Oct 16, 200 hangar fire.  The serial number for this plane must be wrong, since this batch did not exist.  The serial number 44-35999 and the c/n are based on the assumption that 1302 is the fuselage number. (JBAUGHER)

	The above shot was donated by Tom Singfield, of the Gatwick Aviation Society The above shot was supplied by Guy Leitch, Editor and Publisher of SA Flyer.  Serial #: 44-34567 Construction #: 27846 Civil Registration:   N9412Z,   ZS-CVD Model(s):   A-26B   On Mark Marksman Name: None Status: Stored Last info: 1992   History: On Mark Engineering Co, Van Nuys, CA. - Registered as N9412Z. South African Iron & Steel Industrial Corp, Wonderboom, and flown by Col Bob Preller, Co Chairman and Carl Reck.   South Africa, Feb. 27 1962-1971 - Registered as ZS-CVD. - Damaged in belly landing in at Omaruru, Jan 13, 1971. - Repaired. - Withdrawn from use, 1976-1977. Vern McWilliams, Durban, South Africa, 1977. - Acquired for engines. SAAF Museum, Snake Valley AB, South Africa, Aug. 9, 1977-1992. - Stored in Museum storage Hanger, Feb. 1982. Note: The wheels up incident happened in the early 70's. The incident happened at UIS mine which the belonged to Iscor for mining tin. This plane was lying on the runway for months before it was jacked up and new propellors fitted and flown back to Wonderboom. It also once caught fire at Uis on start up.. I had a wonderful email recently (August 2015 ) from a Wayne Allen-White, here is what he had to say. Dear Martin, I was looking online at some of the aeroplanes my dad Carl used to fly over many years and found your web site. I thought you may be interested in seeing the Marksman pictures that Carl Flew all those years ago. The black and white one was to show that even the boys upfront used to smoke in the cockpit. My own father died when I was 2yrs old and Carl took over. Recently I met a man by the name of Tinus Le Roux and he helped me to  do a tribute to  my first dad Angus Allen-White a fighter pilot of the SAAF 2 squadron. WW2. He has over time done tributes to other SAAF fighter pilots and interviewed some who are still around mostly in their 90's. Take a look at his web site sometime, it is: saafww2pilots.yolasite.com. Wayne continues: Hi Martin, I hope that the attached Photographs are what you want . If not I will keep trying. My dad Carl was a pilot and engineer his whole flying life. Not only could he fly the planes but he could fix them when they broke. My early recollection was  when Carl was asked with a few other pilots and engineers to go to Israel to set up and Airline . I was about 6yrs old at the time but remembered it well. We flew in Constellations and stayed there for two years. After that as a commercial pilot he flew Marksman ,Lear jets, Citations, Challengers and before his retirement Bombardier Global Express. Carl unfortunately died two years ago and was well respected in the aviation world, they even organized an aircraft for our family to scatter his ashes and a small scotch whiskey over Lanseria Airfield. Please let me know if the pictures are OK! Regards, Wayne.