As a long time enthusiast of historic military aircraft, I couldn't pass on a visit to the newly opened
Lyon Air Museum on a recent trip to Southern California. Among the many excellent exhibits this WW2 vintage, Douglas A26 Invader light bomber stood out from the pack. The Invader mostly served in a ground attack role. It wasn't as pretty or as innovative as the iconic
DeHavilland Mosquito from which it drew some inspiration but had great longevity. The US military retained the aircraft through the Korean and Vietnam wars and and was used by various airforces around the globe until the 1980s.
Douglas A26 Invader beautifully restored and looking quite menacing with its black paint and shark's teeth nose.
Poster from the exhibit. I'm not sure if you can see this but some of the forward firing machine guns were mounted in the cockpit by the co-pilot's (right seat) legs. Firing them must have been unbelievably noisy for the crew and the cabin would have become very hot and smoky.
Head on view of the plexiglass nose showing the famed Norden bomb site.
This particular aircraft survived 22 missions: its targets included three convoys and a train.
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