My dad was stationed at NKP, Thailand during the Vietnam War. NKP had a squadron of A-26's stationed there along with A-1 skyraiders.....despite the heat, that had to be an exciting place to be for my dad when he was 19-20 years old. He always told me about the A-26's there and stories about the "secret war" they were running out of that base.
Beautiful. My Dad flew 26's for Standard Oil. Last certificate he got from them said 9,725 hours left seat. Yeah, he was my hero. And as a 15 year old kid, I got seat time. Take offs, landings and just wonderful fun in between. We picked up one in Washington DC, and brought it back to Tulsa. One trip Tulsa to Marco island, Florida and return. There's just really nothing like it. I'm 69 now. Got to fly over 300 different types of airplanes. It will always be number one for me, but my Dad taught me his favorite was whatever he was in at the time. Even if it was a 150. He taught me early on how to not die in an airplane. Once you've learned that it's a never ending voyage of discovery.
I was stationed at NKP Thailand, assigned to the 609th SOS, the A-26 Squadron, 1968 to 69. I was a weapons specialist loading the plain giving it it's teeth. One day a napalm bomb broke one of it;s shackles and started to leak napalm onto the hot tarmac. I de-armed the bomb and removed it from the aircraft. I was awarded the Airmens Medal along with Airman Beam for, in the words of the award order " we saved the base". Indeed the A-26 was a beautiful, and might I say a sexy aircraft. I saw many get shot up pretty bad and still make it back to base. Thanks for the memories.
In the summer of '72, I had a summer job in a very small town, and time on my hands. One day, in peak fire season, an A-26, converted for dropping retardant, was flying off a mile of old bypassed highway in the forest and I went to look. A little mixing plant, well-covered in pink, was pumping mud into the plane's belly tank; a few minutes later the plane rumbled to the far end of the asphalt strip. It turned on one wheel and stopped. The huge props became glassy discs as the radials roared with brute power, the plane rocking with the need to fly; the pilot must have been standing on the brakes. The wartime heritage of the plane was so obvious! Suddenly it shot down the runway toward me, the pilot's white-helmeted head rigid in concentration. The thunder of the engines seemed to fill the world, grabbing me and shaking as it passed. With its heavy load, the A-26 used the entire runway, lifting only as it reached the last few yards and the ground dropped away to the local river. I let out a soft "Wow." The plane climbed and banked toward a curl of smoke on a mountainside down the valley. A cloud of pink exploded under it, smothering the small fire, and the pilot banked away and headed south.
Ah, Sweden. Good to see that there are Swedes who appreciate a fine old airplane that helped in keeping the Japanese and the Germans from ruling the Earth. A great video, and thank you Mr. Andersson.
Fabulous restoration of an awesome plane. Great flying and photography. Could you please at some point place a camera in the cockpit and film a flight? Thanks
Thanks to Denny And Tom Palmersheim for originally saving this bird I spent my misguided youth at Rocky Mountain Flying Services , maintaining , Fire-eater she brings tears to my eyes , thanks for reserecting her
Was this aircraft an OnMark conversion? I was looking at the shots of the luxury interior where the gunners station and bomb bay would have been and was curious. It sure is a beautiful airplane. Thank you for sharing the wonderful video.
Hi, Very nice and wonderful video, Thanks for posting! Say how is Anders Saether doing these days ? He brought that plane to Norway and operated it for many years.... Best Regards from Alaska!
@@wirelessone2986 The ''XB-27'' designation was already allocated to Glenn L Martin Company for an upgraded Marauder. It only existed on paper. In May of '66, for political reasons the designation B-26K was changed back to ''A-26A'' because Thailand objected to having 'bombers' based at Nakhon Phanom. Attack aircraft were Ok, somehow. Go figure.
I'm not sure about Howard Hughes, but a bunch of A-26's were turned into executive planes. A good way to tell on the Invader is on the fuselage behind the wings. If there are windows there, chances are it was at one point converted.
*Across his long flying career Uncle Howard had lots of different aircraft both personal and corporate, including a plushed-out Martin 404 which was hangared at Hercules Campus just west of Building 25. I can find no record of him, Hughes Tool or HAC owning an OnMark. Cheers!*
+Martin Its actually an easy aircraft to move around in when you don't have the glass nose. I hear it's hard to get in and out of and it's really hot even when flying.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
It's beautiful !
One of the most beautiful planes ever designed.
This is such a beautiful design. One of my favorites.
My dad was stationed at NKP, Thailand during the Vietnam War. NKP had a squadron of A-26's stationed there along with A-1 skyraiders.....despite the heat, that had to be an exciting place to be for my dad when he was 19-20 years old. He always told me about the A-26's there and stories about the "secret war" they were running out of that base.
Beautifully restored A-26 must have cost a fortune and required patience and research to find pats. Thanks for sharing, love to take a ride.
This is hands down the best A-26 Invader video on RUclips, possibly on the internet. Thank you for sharing!
+TheGoldenCaulk Thank you sir :) Very happy to here that.
There’s another one of her from the early 90’s in here.Great passes.No idiot pa announcers.
Absolutely true!
Beautiful. My Dad flew 26's for Standard Oil. Last certificate he got from them said 9,725 hours left seat. Yeah, he was my hero. And as a 15 year old kid, I got seat time. Take offs, landings and just wonderful fun in between. We picked up one in Washington DC, and brought it back to Tulsa. One trip Tulsa to Marco island, Florida and return. There's just really nothing like it. I'm 69 now. Got to fly over 300 different types of airplanes. It will always be number one for me, but my Dad taught me his favorite was whatever he was in at the time. Even if it was a 150. He taught me early on how to not die in an airplane. Once you've learned that it's a never ending voyage of discovery.
Thanks and all the best from Sweden❤✈
I was a crew chief on one in 1967 and 1968. I loved that aircraft. It was shot down in April 1968.
Shot down in 68? Didnt think these planes were flying that long after ww2
@Dave Shaw A26 saw service in three wars! WWII, Korea, and kickin ass on the Ho Chi Minh trail!
I was stationed at NKP Thailand, assigned to the 609th SOS, the A-26 Squadron, 1968 to 69. I was a weapons specialist loading the plain giving it it's teeth. One day a napalm bomb broke one of it;s shackles and started to leak napalm onto the hot tarmac. I de-armed the bomb and removed it from the aircraft. I was awarded the Airmens Medal along with Airman Beam for, in the words of the award order " we saved the base". Indeed the A-26 was a beautiful, and might I say a sexy aircraft. I saw many get shot up pretty bad and still make it back to base. Thanks for the memories.
@@georgebecht6357 Thank you sir!🌹
Beautiful plane! Excellent camera work!
Beautiful machine, great video, thank you!
Great video..Wish RUclips had more unique, talented, original videos like this.
Beautiful!
If there was a "Love" button I'd be smashing it.
In the summer of '72, I had a summer job in a very small town, and time on my hands. One day, in peak fire season, an A-26, converted for dropping retardant, was flying off a mile of old bypassed highway in the forest and I went to look.
A little mixing plant, well-covered in pink, was pumping mud into the plane's belly tank; a few minutes later the plane rumbled to the far end of the asphalt strip. It turned on one wheel and stopped. The huge props became glassy discs as the radials roared with brute power, the plane rocking with the need to fly; the pilot must have been standing on the brakes. The wartime heritage of the plane was so obvious! Suddenly it shot down the runway toward me, the pilot's white-helmeted head rigid in concentration. The thunder of the engines seemed to fill the world, grabbing me and shaking as it passed. With its heavy load, the A-26 used the entire runway, lifting only as it reached the last few yards and the ground dropped away to the local river. I let out a soft "Wow."
The plane climbed and banked toward a curl of smoke on a mountainside down the valley. A cloud of pink exploded under it, smothering the small fire, and the pilot banked away and
headed south.
That was great, thanks.
My late father flew along with an Air Force squadron that brought the A-26 from the United States to Brazil, back in the 1950's. 🙂
Ah, Sweden. Good to see that there are Swedes who appreciate a fine old airplane that helped in keeping the Japanese and the Germans from ruling the Earth. A great video, and thank you Mr. Andersson.
A beautiful aircraft to this day, over 60 years after its introduction.
So Nice to see Sugarland is still flying, usted to fly Thatcher Winther Anders Sæther years AGP. Great video Jesper. 👍😍
"Sugarland" Express...awesome vid!!
Great film work Jesper!
Matt Insley Thanks Matt! Cheers :)
Fabulous restoration of an awesome plane. Great flying and photography. Could you please at some point place a camera in the cockpit and film a flight?
Thanks
Thanks to Denny And Tom Palmersheim for originally saving this bird I spent my misguided youth at Rocky Mountain Flying Services , maintaining , Fire-eater she brings tears to my eyes , thanks for reserecting her
Great editing in this video
Thank you 👍😊
Love that sound . . . .
Super nice!
"What do you need Pete?" "Glider practice"... "Another hot shot, another by-god hot shot".
The huge landing gears and tires make this beauty look kind of cartoonish.
awesome vid, awesome plane. wow.
Was this aircraft an OnMark conversion? I was looking at the shots of the luxury interior where the gunners station and bomb bay would have been and was curious. It sure is a beautiful airplane. Thank you for sharing the wonderful video.
Yes, On Mark
A beautiful machine.
Hi, Very nice and wonderful video, Thanks for posting! Say how is Anders Saether doing these days ? He brought that plane to Norway and operated it for many years.... Best Regards from Alaska!
It’s like the US tried to make a Mosquito
Very nice.
Could you register it to haul passengers or cargo if you wanted to?
Where did it get it's name "Sugarland Express"?
my uncle loves planes he flew many many many many many times
Mycket fin video Jesper!
HERMOSO!!!
Are there any A-26C's still flying?
Air Force re-designated this aircraft the "B-26" but there was already a B-26 - the Martin Marauder - a completely different airplane.
I believe they were re-designated after the B-26 Marauder was struck from active service. It does add to some confusion.
Very good point
It wouldnt have been very hard for them to name it the B-27
@@wirelessone2986 The ''XB-27'' designation was already allocated to Glenn L Martin Company for an upgraded Marauder. It only existed on paper.
In May of '66, for political reasons the designation B-26K was changed back to ''A-26A'' because Thailand objected to having 'bombers' based at Nakhon Phanom. Attack aircraft were Ok, somehow. Go figure.
Why are both turrets missing? Those were ahead of thire time technology.
EXCELLENT
Where is this plane now
really looking good! best handsome!
Snyggt Jesper! Du vet hur det ska göras :-)
EXCELLENTE'...from the USA
Is this plane and pilot out of Danmark?
Didn't Howard Hughes have one of these converted to civilian use like a business jet would be today?
I'm not sure about Howard Hughes, but a bunch of A-26's were turned into executive planes. A good way to tell on the Invader is on the fuselage behind the wings. If there are windows there, chances are it was at one point converted.
*Across his long flying career Uncle Howard had lots of different aircraft both personal and corporate, including a plushed-out Martin 404 which was hangared at Hercules Campus just west of Building 25. I can find no record of him, Hughes Tool or HAC owning an OnMark. Cheers!*
Beautiful example of American engineering.
São lindos os aviões da 2a guerra mundial , gostaria de poder voar em todos eles .
Great Video! Not so great spelling, especially when "Sugarland Express" is spelled correctly on the side of the plane.
😍😍😍
Dam 14 guns.
if i plant a P38 in the earth, keep watering it daily, it will grow up and turn out to be a A26.
Amazing machine, it's like a Mosquito but not as beautiful.
8 x 50 cal concentrated in the nose would devastate anything in front of it....
They let you crawl all over that thing!
+Martin Its actually an easy aircraft to move around in when you don't have the glass nose. I hear it's hard to get in and out of and it's really hot even when flying.
How many parts and pieces of these were left lying in the swamps of Cuba after 1963's failed invasion ?? SMH .