aircraft conservation

aviation history B-26 Marauder Flak-Bait Smithsonian warbird restoration WWII aviation WWII bombers

The Hangar Aug 24, 2026

Flak-Bait, the Martin B-26 Marauder That Flew Over Two Hundred Missions and Should Have Killed Its Crews, Now Being Pieced Back Together Rivet by Rivet at the Smithsonian

How the B-26 'Flak-Bait' flew a record 207 missions and why the Smithsonian is preserving her scars instead of restoring her.

Taildragger

The Hangar Aug 2, 2026

Flak-Bait, the Martin B-26 Marauder That Flew Two Hundred and Seven Missions and Came Home, Now Being Pieced Back Together at the Smithsonian

Flak-Bait, the B-26 Marauder that survived 207 combat missions, is being conserved - not restored - at the Smithsonian with every scar intact.

Taildragger