A rare Martin B-26 Marauder restoration project first featured by Vintage Aviation News in 2018 is returning to the market through Platinum Fighter Sales. Further restoration work has taken place since that report, particularly around the aircraft’s nose, and the fuselage now presents a more complete appearance. For a prospective owner, the offering represents an unusual opportunity to take on the restoration of one of WWII’s scarce surviving Marauders.
The project centers on fuselage and wing components from B-26 serial number 40-1370, supplemented by components from B-26 40-1381. As documented in VAN’s original coverage, it also included a separate cockpit section believed to have come from B-26B 41-31748, which survived through its use as a movie prop. Together, these components formed the basis of a project being restored toward airworthy condition.
Built by Martin in Baltimore, Maryland, 40-1370 served in Alaska with the 73rd Bombardment Squadron, 28th Bombardment Group, under the Eleventh Air Force. On August 16, 1942, with Lt. Benjamin F. Schoenfeld at the controls, the aircraft crashed at Naknek, near present-day King Salmon, Alaska. Two people were killed, and the bomber was written off. B-26 40-1381 was also lost at the same location that day.
The remains spent decades in Alaska before their recovery in 2000 for the Hill Aerospace Museum in Utah. The museum intended to assemble a Marauder from the recovered components, but eventually parted with the project in 2016. Pat Rodgers of Aircraft Restoration Services subsequently acquired it, and restoration was underway at French Valley Airport in Murrieta, California, when VAN reported on the aircraft in March 2018. According to the latest information supplied by Platinum Fighter Sales, work has continued since then, with substantial attention devoted to the nose. That progress has helped bring the forward fuselage closer to its recognizable Marauder form, providing a visible change from the project shown in the earlier article.
The aircraft remains a substantial restoration undertaking. Its renewed availability offers a new owner the opportunity to continue the work already invested in preserving this historic bomber. Platinum Fighter Sales, a supporter of Vintage Aviation News, is brokering the project. Interested parties should contact the company for pricing, the current inventory of included components, and further information about the restoration.
