Hi Martin,

I finally received some definitive information concerning how the expended cases and links in the solid nose 8 gun A-26B Invader were handled. I posted my question on the Yahoo A-26 forum, which you had listed on your web site, and Rick Elwood from the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa, CA responded that "The 8-gun nose collected spent shells and links in a canvas bag in the lower rear part of the nose. They were removed after each flight through a large access door in the bottom aft of the nose."

I asked him if he could send me the pages which covered this in the technical document that he referred to (Maintenance and Erection Manual AN 01-40AJ-2) and I recently received this excellent information.

I scanned the three pages and thought I would send them to you and you could post them in the "Drawings/Illustrations" section of your web site if you wished. I checked with Rick to ensure it was okay with him, and he gave me the green light. I am therefore enclosing the three pages from the Maintenance Manual for your information.

In the e-mail that you sent me on April 14 2008, which contained Don Vogler's comments from a B-26K armament crewmembers, it sounded like the cases and links were not collected in a bag, but rather just piled up in the nose of the aircraft under the guns. I sent Don a subsequent e-mail to try and get some further clarification, but as of yet, I have not heard from him. If I do, I will let you now.