Rendered is a Martin B-26 Marauder with her P-47 Thunderbolt escort. The B-26 was rushed into production at the beginning of the war. From issuing a requirement in January of 1939 for a speedy, long-range, light to medium bomber, to it's first flight in November of 1940, the Marauder saw itself in service within a year. 200 units were ordered and produced without a prototype aircraft or even a single pre-production model being made. Although the Marauder was initially plagued with some serious problems, mostly due to its very high speeds on landing and poor low speed handling (think landing speeds of between 120 and 135 mph) it turned out to me a very competent and useful machine in experienced pilot hands. The high speeds exceeded the initial requirements, but the accidents before it became controllable earned the bird the nickname "Widowmaker". The Marauder saw limited service in the Pacific theater, seeing some action in the Battle of Midway, but showed it's stout colors Europe and the Mediterranean, notably in action in North Africa during Operation Torch. The B-26 also saw distinguished service in the RAF in Africa in two squadrons as the Mark I through III series. With around 5,000 units produced from its inception until 1945 it was certainly recognized for its combat effectiveness. The B-26's racked up an impressive service record, flying over 110,000 sorties. It had the lowest combat loss rate of any American aircraft used during the conflict, in part due to it's design but also to the excellence of her crews. All good reasons to fondly remember the "Flying Torpedo" and its contribution to the war effort. B-26 Marauder: Nice model from Gunpoint-3d with a good deal of deconstruction work in C4d and some select re-texture work on the slab down in the lab to tame the beast. I blame it on the dangerously high landing speeds, you know. P-47 Thunderbolt: Sweet classic by Neiwil available on sharecg, generously for free. Thanks Neil!. A bit of texture work in the way of some reflection map experiments. Pilots and crew: Epici low poly Lw0R1 enemy soldier and adh3d USAAF pilot gear all available here on rendo. Cinema C4d6XL+CE, Poser 7, Vue6Infinite, Ps Cs3.