A-26 Lady Liberty Lady Liberty Squadron

Our Lady is the oldest flying Invader, the 130th one produced, being accepted in Aug, 1944, at Long Beach, CA. It was flown to Great Dunmow, England arriving 20 Sep, 1944. It was assigned to the 9th AF, 410th BG and began combat operations in early 1945. The 410th was initially assigned 4 A-26?s. Each squadron was given one aircraft. They were painted completely black and initially used as night interdiction aircraft ranging all over Germany. Our aircraft is currently painted in 13th AF markings although this aircraft never saw service in Korea. After WWII it was flown to Hobbs, NM and stored. After some refurbishment it was assigned to a USAF Reserve unit for three years. It was declared surplus and sold in 1958. After serving as a radio research aircraft for Texas Instruments in Dallas it was sold to Bill Dempsey in Kansas and used as a fire bomber. Tanker 105 was rarely flown and was eventually sold. It was later seized by DEA for drug running. It was purchased at auction and donated to the CAF. After some time with the Panhandle (Texas) Wing it was transferred to the Nevada wing in Las Vegas. After some restoration it was transferred to the A-26 Sponsorship Group and returned to flight status. In 1999 it was relocated to OKC. It has since been a regular on the airshow circuit.

The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is a twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft that was built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II which also saw service during several major Cold War conflicts. A limited number of highly modified United States Air Force aircraft served in Southeast Asia until 1969. It was a fast aircraft capable of carrying twice its specified bomb load. A range of guns could be fitted to produce a formidable ground-attack aircraft.