Thread: Martin B-26 Marauder torpedo attacks?

A second Group, the 38th Bombardment Group was planned to be sent to the South-West Pacific later in the year, to be equipped with B-26Bs fitted with more auxiliary fuel tanks and provisions for carrying aerial torpedos.[10] Four of these aircraft were deployed to Midway Island in the build-up the Battle of Midway, and carried out torpedo attack against the Japanese Fleet on 4 June 1942. Two B-26s were shot down with the remaining two badly damaged, while their torpedoes failed to hit any Japanese ships, although they did shoot down one A6M Zero fighter, and killed two seamen aboard the Aircraft carrier Akagi with machine gun fire.[10][13]

from wikipedia

Originally Posted by Pioneer

and for some strange reason, I had some trouble explaining – the Messerschmitt Me-262 in the Pacific?

Not quite as bizarre as it might seem. Nakajima Ki-201 Karyu and Nakajima J9Y



Although it should be noted that the Japanese twin-jet engine fighters and the Me-262 were similar only in general appearance for the most part.

My question to the forum members is this:
‘During WWII was the B-26 Marauder ever used in any torpedo attack mission against any Axis shipping?
If so does anyone have details in the form of target, dates, and their success………etc?

Not only the Marauder but also the PBY Catalina were jury-rigged with torpedoes and sent off to attack the Japanese 'Midway Occupation Force'.

Despite the crews being already exhausted, attacking at night and with zero prior experience with dropping torpedoes, they still managed to put a fish into the oiler Akebono Maru,

Unfortunately though she was able to shrug off the damage and continue with the task force. (Wiki's entry says she was sunk )

As far as I know, neither the B-26 nor the PBY dropped torpedoes again.
Midway was very much an emergency situation and the island's air group bizarrely mismatched composition and improvised roles were clearly indicative of this.

The Midway Island air group was a real grab-bag, consisted of Marine fighters and divebombers, Navy torpedo planes and flying boats and Army Air Force heavy and medium bombers.


32 Consolidated PBY-5 and PBY-5A Catalina
6 Grumman TBF Avenger

20 Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo
7 Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat
11 Vought SB2U-3 Vindicator
16 Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless

19 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (augmented further, during the battle)
4 Martin B-26 Marauder

Note: The Dauntless and Wildcat aircraft were "carrier castoffs" that were not comparable to the Navy versions. The SBD "Dash Two" especially was inferior to the SBD-3 that the Navy flew.

Ironically though, the situation was reversed with the handful of Avengers, which were to become the hottest torpedo plane of the war, a far cry from the obsolete Devastator still being flown by the USN carriers at that time.

Originally Posted by TopHatter

Not quite as bizarre as it might seem. Nakajima Ki-201 Karyu and Nakajima J9Y



Although it should be noted that the Japanese twin-jet engine fighters and the Me-262 were similar only in general appearance for the most part.

The rumor is that a complete Me 262 was smuggled to Japan in '44 aboard a German U-boot, and reverse-engineered for use against US B-29's. Obviously, that never happened and, given the then-current state of Japanese technology, it was highly unlikely that the Japanese would've been able to produce an aircraft comparable to the Me 262, especially in the area of gas-turbine technology (the only country very far along in gas-turbine technology, ironically, was the US, with GE's extensive experience in producing high-temperature turbines).

Originally Posted by Stitch

(the only country very far along in gas-turbine technology, ironically, was the US, with GE's extensive experience in producing high-temperature turbines).

Starting all the way back in 1918, I've found out much to my surprise.

Although in terms of turbojet engine technology for aircraft, Great Britain and Germany were far ahead of the United States during the war..."helped", no doubt, by the prescient US attitude of "why bother?".