B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

[NImrodA26]

........So did the nape have a battery for arming after release? JR
====Up between the lugs on the nape was a recessed, threaded well. This silver, cylinder looking thing screwed down into this well, and had a wire on it that attached to the shackle on the wing rack. Worked the same as the bomb bay, could be dropped "safe". When the nape was released, this wire did something inside the cylinder, and caused a battery to charge up. I believe this took 4 or 5 seconds. Thee were also a coax type cable that attached to this battery, and these ran to the front and rear of the nape. In each end of the nape was a recessed, threaded well that a white phosphorus igniter screwed into, and an electrically fired fuze screwed into the ignitor. Then the end cap was installed for aerodynamics, which the original canisters didn't have! (I think in 1967 they started flying finned napes and they had better ballistics.) After the battery charged up, it only took an impact to detonate the WP, and when the thin nape canister impacted it of course ruptured and the show was on. In this photo taken over one of the Eglin ranges, you can see the ignitors streaking through the air, as they sometimes did. I remember one time, not sure where, that a pilot swore that he dropped the nape low, and one of those ignitors shot up across each wing. Scared the bejesus out of him!
I always had a healthy respect for WP--nasty stuff! It spontaneously combusts once in contact with air, and is darn difficult to put out.

[A26 Special K]

Thanks for the nape explanation, Randy. Think I got it figured out now. Sooooey pig pig pig... come to papa. I don't suppose they had much of a pig problem out there on the range at Eglin, huh? JR

[NImrodA26]

I don't suppose they had much of a pig problem out there on the range at Eglin, huh? JR

=======Can't imagine they had a problem with any air breathing creature on the ranges, but funny you should mention the hogs. We did have some wild hogs around the perimeter of the bomb dump at Hurlburt. Keep in mind this was 1965, and the bomb dump was located a pretty remote distance from the main base, for obvious reasons. Actually saw some while I was there.
Below is the only known picture I have of me finishing up arming a nape at NKP. How do you like that $40,000 step-ladder I'm using!! (Don't think OSHA would have approved!) Don't know who sneaked the pic, probably Walt. They didn't like pics taken then. Later on, they apparently lightened up on that rule.
BTW, was snooping through the A-26 manual, and that solenoid bomb release thingy is an A-4 Bomb release, according to the book. Randy

[A26 Special K]

Randy, these are two incredible pictures. We are very fortunate you have these to share. Thanks very much for doing so. So that was you 65 lbs ago? How time flies!! And you had pigs on the range.... well, see, it is our destiny to resolve some of that problem out at the ranch!! I don't know that we will have a $40 K ladder as cool as yours, but we have an ice cream wagon that we are thinking of putting a reinforced top on so we can work on the airplane or load ordnance from it!! Should be a good day to work on K today. Will let yall know how it goes. JR found the special bolts we need for the torque tube at the bottom of the rudder out in Tehatchapi,CA yesterday. Anatase Products manufactures them. Has all kinds of fittings etc and their aircraft parts are certified. Good day!! The other JR PS: Noticed we now have over 32,000 views on this thread. We have gone from 26,000 since 24 January. Many thanks to all who have dropped by to see how we are doing on the restoration and finding out the story of the guys who were involved with A26's in SEA.

[A26 Special K]

Interesting day here at the hangar... 26 deg this morning. Couldn't open the doors for sunlight due to breezy wind. Still had 11 brave souls come out to work on the K. Interesting discovery this morning. The CAF A-26 guys were out working on their bird today also and they found a data tag from On Mark in the 8 gun nose that is exactly like ours. Our airplanes are kissin cousins so to speak, but I think their executive conversion was not done by On Mark. Probably a change made after the CAF acquired it most likely. Anyway, JR got a good handle on the vertical spar problem and thinks we can fix it in place. Also the rudder booster tab mechanism needs some clean up and inspection so he was deep into that. Clay and Miguel were hammering on the sheet metal for the horizontal stab. Tim and Mark borrowed the aileron gap seals from the CAF guys to measure against our K and then make a template for new seals to be made. The first set we made didn't work out quite right. David and Rand got the other rudder brackets cleaned and ready for JR to inspect. Dave L. helped JR on the rudder clean up. Denis worked on engine baffles to get them all ready to paint. Brian got the cart ready to paint for our new Halon hangar fire extinguisher. Tim built another work table for the horizontals. Two of our folks were not feeling real good so we will give them a shout out to get well soon... Big Mike and Amy. Missed yall today. Magnificient job these folks are doing. The A26 guys will be very proud of their bird when we get her all finished. The other JR

[A26 Special K]

Well now, here is a shot of the forward end of the bomb bay area. There are several things missing, but the major thing is________________? This is a fill in the blank quiz!! I have discovered there are a lot of sharp guys on this forum who know a lot about A26's. So have at it? This will probably be a another stumper. The last one.. the smiley face with Amy... nobody got that one. She is holding a template for making a doubler for the carry thru structure of the horizontal stab spars. Purty Kewl, huh? This was a repair done for some small areas of corrosion in that section. Manual called for this doubler to be built and installed. Amy took on that project and spent a lot of time in the tail section measuring, cleaning and making it ready for the installation. If fact she spent so much time in there, we told her she needed to give the Post Office a change of address form when she moved out.... Jim R.

[NImrodA26]

If I remember correctly, (and probably don't!) I remember that there were some sort of "spoilers" that came down into the airstream in front of the bomb bay when the door were opened, to, as I was told, disturb the airflow so the stores would fall out cleanly. I don't remember seeing them on 679 when I was down there. Seems to me that they were called "Strakes" or something. I think it was 3 flat pieces of aluminum, maybe 3" wide and 18-24" long. Probably not what you're talking about, but just a guess.

[NImrodA26]

For clarification, this is what I was referring to. This pic was taken of 666 at Hurlburt years ago when it was on a concrete pedestal. I sure don't recall these ever being extended when the bomb doors were closed though.

[Dewayne Doud]

looks like one of the two bomb bay door switches is missing

enjoying these part quizes and the maint updates

thanks!

[A26 Special K]

Ding Ding Ding... we have a winner... Randy, just shows experience counts!! Yes, strakes were added in front of the bomb bay to create turbulent air flow in the bay. They extended when the doors opened and retracted automatically when they closed again. Above a speed of 240, the airflow might just keep the bombs stuck in the top of bay instead of letting them drop out. The strakes corrected this problem and allowed the release of weapons up to the redline airspeed. These are missing on 679. What is really unusual is that the strakes are designed to come out of slots in front of the bay, not from it. 679 does not show any evidence the slot was ever there. To read more about this, may I suggest looking at the most complete A-26 website out there.... http://napoleon130.tripod.com/id839.html
The above picture is from this site along with a complete explanation and illustrations from the parts manual. Would be great if we could figure out how to make this happen on 679, but it appears to be a major undertaking to create the slot in the structure. Jim R PS.. Thanks for the kind comment, Dwayne!

[RickH]

There are valves that direct fluid into an actuator that works the "BLADES ". They are sequenced so that the blades deploy prior to the doors opening and retract prior to the doors closing. Two blades are linked together so that they only require the one actuator for one side. If the regulator valves aren't set right they will not work in the correct sequence. I have seen some slots that were sheet metaled over that looked pretty professional.

When I get back from Heli Expo I'll try to get some uninstalled pictures of the blade components.

[NImrodA26]

Although I never worked on any of the fast movers, we did study that type of wing station in tech school. Some of those actually had "kickers" that upon weapon release, would drive the weapon away from the wing. Some of them took some kind of a cartridge that resembled a short shot gun shell. When I was at Udorn in 67-68, there was an F-4 that this kicker mechanism didn't work when he released a 750, and it rolled around under the wing and beat it up pretty good before departing the aircraft, thankfully before the arming cycle was complete.

[CAPFlyer]

The Kickers on the F-4 were a problem that plagued not just that airframe, but its follow on airframe types that used the same system (namely the F-15 and F-14) because it was difficult to accurately control the kicker force. This problem is what led to a large number of the failures of AIM-7 Sparrows during Vietnam, not that they failed to track, but that they were either "soft launched" by the kickers and failed to properly arm/fire, or that they were "hard launched" and damaged. Apparently with the early model AIM-7's, they were very sensitive to this and with the inconsistency of the kicker charges, it made AIM-7 employment just as fault-ridden as the AIM-9.

I wish I could find it online, but there is video on a VHS tape I have of a "soft launch" of an AIM-7 from one of the YF-15's at Eglin where the missile actually impacts the belly of the aircraft after launch because the forward kicker fails to fire properly while the aft one fires normally.

[A26 Special K]

Speaking of ailerons, one of the special things about the A26 is the attention that was paid to designing the wing for speed. The ailerons have gap seals... as do the rudder and elevators. We are making a template from the CAF's airplane next door to build up some new ones. Interestingly enough, the tip tanks shorten the end of the gap seal just a bit. Not only this, but the tanks also act as end plates and lower the stalling speed about 5 or 6 knots. Handy in an airplane this hot. We won't have autofeather to help out, but then we won't have water injection or 115/145 fuel to boost the power up to where you absolutely need autofeather. The Dash One manual (which can be downloaded from our website...www.a26k.org and go to the INFORMATION button) says that at full power and with the loss of one engine without autofeather or feathering, it takes 300 lbs of force on the rudder pedal to maintain heading. Below 125 knots, it ain't happening unless the power is reduced. Oh fun... now where did I put that parachute??

[A26 Special K]

Well, ok, why hasn't somebody asked about gun cameras on a gunship?? huh?? huh??? If you check out the Pilot's Dash One manual on our website, http://www.a26k.org, you will find a reference after the Exterior Inspection checklist to make certain the gun camera switch is in the off positon on the Before Engine Start Interior Inspection among many other switches like armaments, bomb bay doors etc. Where is the curosity tonight?? Gun camera footage is good stuff... Jim R