HISTORY

• The Douglas Aircraft Invader was originally designated the A-26, the last "attack bomber" to be so designated. The A-26 first flew in July 1942 exceeding every performance guarantee and able to carry twice the bomb load specified. The Invader retains the distinction of being the only U.S. bomber to fly missions in three wars: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
• The museum's aircraft was built in Tulsa, OK and delivered to the USAAF in March 1945 as A-26C/#44- 35323. It was delivered to the ETO (European Theater of Operations) in April 1945, but arrived too late to see any combat service.  It returned to the United States in July 1945 and spent the next several years at a number of Air Force installations.
• In 1948, it was re-designated as a B-26C and in 1951 it was in Japan where it was converted into a reconnaissance aircraft (RB-26C) by adding a camera in its clear nose as well as other reconnaissance gear in the bomb bay.  It also saw a reduction in its defensive armament.  It was then sent to Korea and assigned to the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS) "Blackbirds."  As an RB-26C, it flew a number of recon missions during the Korean War, primarily to identify potential targets or to provide photographic confirmation of damage following bombing missions.
• The aircraft returned to the U.S. in 1956 and was transferred to Davis-Monthan AFB for storage.  It was sold as surplus in 1958 and flown by various corporations as a fire-bomber/air tanker in the United States and Canada for the next twenty years.
• The aircraft was donated to the Air Museum by Dr. Don Rogers of Anchorage, AK in July 1980 and was flown as the solid-nosed Ginny Sue. The aircraft underwent a second reconstruction beginning in 1987 and is now based at our Valle, AZ facility flying as the glass-nosed RB-26C "A-Haulin Ass" (with appropriate donkey nose art on the port side) and carrying the insignia of the 12th TRS "Blackbirds" (on the starboard side).
• As of 2022, this aircraft is being restored to flight in its original version as an A-26C and it will be renamed "Miss Victory", 

SPECIFICATIONS