In 1941 Douglas Aircraft Company began work on their twin-engine medium-bomber A-26
Invader. By the end of production there were 2,452 aircraft produced for all variants. The A-
26/B-26 was the only U.S. bomber to take part in three wars, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. The
confusion with the use of the designation B-26 began when the Martin B-26 Marauder was
retired and in 1948 the USAF dropped the “A” (Attack) designator so the Douglas A-26
Invader became the B-26 Invader. The A-26 made its first European appearance in late 1944.
Douglas RB-26C Invader 44-35581 c/n 28860 was manufactured as an A-26C-40-DT. The
363rd TRW originally was based at Langley AFB but in 1951 was moved to Shaw AFB, and
became the parent wing. The 363rd remained at Shaw AFB until December 30, 1993. The
unit flew the Douglas RB-26C until 1957 when they were replaced by the jet-powered
Canberra. In June 1958 44-35581 was sold as surplus and in 1976 was bought by Air Spray
Ltd. from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Registered as C-GWJG it became tanker #9 and on
July 1, 1982 the aircraft was destroyed in a crash killing the sole occupant.