This is a semi-scale profile model of the A 26-A for twin .15 engines. The airplane has a 59” wingspan and 518 square inches of wing area. The kit is laser cut with CAD plans that have full size templates of all the parts. The ribs have asymmetrical profile for good flying characteristics. The kit includes the parts for horn boxes for the elevators. The kit does not include any control system parts. The first kits will sell for $175.00 postpaid in the continental US.
This airplane and my A-26A 1/2A profile scale airplane are in tribute to my Brother-in-law Paul "Hulk" Marschalk  609 S.O.S "Nimrods"

Douglas B-26K Counter-Invader, A-26A

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When the U. S. Air Force retired the Martin B-26 bombers the Douglas A-26 attack airplanes were re-designated as B-26 bombers. Later some B-26s were operating clandestinely in South Vietnam, supposedly serving with the South Vietnamese air force, but actually flown by American aircrews.
Unfortunately, these B-26s began to suffer frequent wing failures, forcing them out of service. Those that remained were provided with a strengthening wing strap along the bottom of the wing spars to prolong service life. The designation B-26K was applied and the name Counter Invader was chosen. The first B-26K flew on May 26, 1964.
In the spring of 1966, it was decided to deploy B-26Ks to Southeast Asia in an attempt to stem the flow of war material down the Ho Chi Minh trail from North Vietnam via Laos. Since northeastern Thailand was much closer to the intended area of operations in southern Laos, the US Government obtained permission for the Invaders to be stationed there rather than in South Vietnam. However, during the mid-1960s, Thailand did not permit the basing of bombers on its territory, and so in May 1966 the aircraft were reassigned the old attack designation of A-26A, thus bringing the Invader full-circle.
The A-26As deployed to Southeast Asia were attached to the 606th Air Commando Squadron, based at Nakhon Phanom Air Base in Thailand (NKP). The mission of the 606th was known as Lucky Tiger. The A-26A unit was officially known as Detachment 1 of the 603rd Air Commando Squadron on six months' temporary duty in Thailand. The operations of the A-26As over Laos were highly "black" and the national insignia were painted out in order to maintain some sort of plausible deniability if something went wrong and one of them were forced down. The area of the Laotian panhandle along the North Vietnamese border became known as Steel Tiger, and it became the primary target of the A-26As.
Most of the A-26A combat missions over Laos were interdiction missions flown at night, the North Vietnamese antiaircraft defenses that were installed along the Ho Chi Minh Trail making it too dangerous to fly slow-moving aircraft such as the piston-engined A-26A over the area during the day. The primary targets were truck traffic along the Trail. Sometimes the A-26As were equipped with AN/PVS2 Starlight scopes for enhanced nighttime visibility. Most of the time they were equipped with solid noses, but a few missions were flown with glass noses. By December 1966, the A-26As had claimed a total of 99 trunks destroyed or damaged. At the end of December, the aircraft were reassigned to the 634th Combat Support Group at Nakhon Phanom. In April of 1967, the A-26As were officially transferred over to the 609th Air Commando Squadron, which was part of the newly-formed 56th Air Commando Wing.
The A-26A could carry a maximum of 800 pounds underneath the wings plus 4000 pounds internally. However, the actual load carried on combat missions was usually somewhat less in order to gain maneuverability and to reduce stress loads.
In the summer of 1968, all Air Commando Wings were redesignated as Special Operations Units, and the 56th ACW became the 56th Special Operations Wing, with the 609th ACS becoming the 609th Special Operations Squadron.
The night interdiction tasks of the A-26A were gradually taken over by AC-130A and AC-130E gunships, and the Counter Invaders were phased out of active service by November of 1969. The losses had been fairly heavy, with no less than twelve out of the 30 that had served in Thailand at one time or another having been lost to enemy action. The “Nimrods” lost 30% of their aircrew. The 609th SOS was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary gallantry.
Following their withdrawal from service, most of the A-26As were immediately transferred to storage with the MASDC at Davis-Monthan. Five were handed over to the South Vietnam air force for use as instructional airframes. These were blown up at Nha Trang in March of 1975 as the North Vietnamese army was about to overwhelm the South. Several A-26As ended up in service with clandestine operations in the Congo. Ten were held in readiness just in case they might be needed again, and it was not until February of 1973 that the last A-26A was consigned to storage. Five of them ended up in museums in the USA and South Korea.
Serials of B-26K (A-26A):
64-17640/17679      On Mark B-26K Counter Invader
            
Specification of On Mark B-26K Counter Invader:
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-52W air-cooled radials, each rated at 2500 hp for takeoff and 1750 hp at 15,000 feet. Performance: Maximum speed 323 mph at 15,000 feet, 291 mph at sea level. Cruising speed 169 mph. Stalling speed 114 mph. Initial climb rate 2050 feet per minute. An altitude of 10,000 feet could be attained in 8.1 minutes. Service ceiling 28,600 feet. Combat radius 700 miles with 3518 pound bombload. Normal range 1480 miles, Maximum ferry range 2700 miles. Dimensions: Wingspan 71 feet 6 inches (over wingtip tanks), length 51 feet 7 3/16 inches, height 19 feet 0 inches, wing area 540 square feet. Weights: 25,130 pounds empty, 37,000 pounds loaded, 39,250 pounds maximum. Armament: Eight forward-firing 0.50-inch machine guns in nose. Six forward-firing 0.50-inch machine guns in the wings. An internal bomb load of 4000 pounds could be carried Up to 8000 pounds could be carried on the underwing pylons. Maximum total bomb load of 12,000 pounds.
Sources:

1.   United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989.
2.   McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press, 1988.
3.   American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner, Doubleday, 1982.
4.   Foreign Invaders--The Douglas Invader in Foreign Military and US Clandestine Service, Dan Hagedorn and Leif Hellstrom, Midland Publishing, Ltd, 1994.
5.   E-mail from Mark Sublette on Vietnamese A-26As.

 Very cool.