THIS INVADER, THE LAST MILITARY EXAMPLE, LED A MOST INTERESTING LIFE

It was a warm and humid day out in the weeds at Toncontin Air Base, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. During December 1982, I had traveled south with a group of pilots to ferry out some former Honduran Air Force T-6s and a lone B-26. The Invader (A-2613 s/n 44-35918) looked just about like most of the others I had seen in Latin America - pushed out from the operational ramp and a bit dusty and faded. However, as we worked on the aircraft in preparation for its ferry flight north, I found this was an Invader with a most interesting history.

The failure of the Central Intelligence Agency, Brigada 2506, and the Ferza Aerea de Liberacion in the Bay of Pigs invasion had sparked a world of subterfuge and intrigue through Latin America and the southern portion of Florida to which many Cuban refugees had fled. In smoky bars and cafes, hundreds of plots were hatched on how to topple the hated Castro but few came to fruition.

However, one plot - and a strange one at that - did actually take on a form of substance and involved an Invader. The Bacardi rum empire had large holdings in Cuba which, of course, were confiscated by Castro. The family-held business had revenge on its mind and intended to inflict a lesson on Fidel that could also possibly topple the communist government.

In the United States, Beech Aircraft Corporation had just finished up testing a new aerial refueling rig with a leased Invader. Upon completion in April 1962, the Invader was returned to its original owner who, in the next month, was approached by a representative of an insurance company who was, in reality, acting on behalf of the Bacardi Corp. In Miami, two Cuban pilots who had flown Invaders in the Bay of Pigs fiasco were also approached and sounded out on their interest to fly a strike into Cuba.

The Invader, registered N7953C, was relatively stock and the bomb bay was mostly intact - a strong point for the prospective buyers. The aircraft was purchased by the Bennett & Bennett Insurance Co. for $14,000 and was flown to California. Obviously, with the political climate in southern Florida, the arrival of any Invader would immediately have made the authorities very suspicious.

In California, some surplus military equipment was installed in the Invader while most systems were quickly inspected and repaired where needed. After this work was done, the plane was flown to Texas. At this point, the registration had been altered to N79580 - a spurious number to apparently confuse American authorities. It must be remembered that, at this time, computer checking did not exist and numerous ex-military aircraft were smuggled out of the country in this manner. On 8 June, the aircraft was sold - probably just a paper transaction - to Panefom SA located in San Jose, Costa Rica. Pilots Gonzalo Herrera and Gustavo Ponzoa then flew the plane from Texas to El Coco Airport in San Jose.

In July 1962, the two pilots flew the Invader from El Coco to La Llorona and landed on a beach, which must have been quite interesting. The complex plan called for the arrival of a C-47 from Guatemala which would be carrying a half-dozen bombs. The bombs would be transferred into the bomb bay of the Invader and the aircraft would then takeoff to strike the Cuban oil refinery and then fly on to recover in Miami where facilities were set up for the pilots to hold a press conference, extolling their "freedom" raid against the communists.

The pilots sat by their Invader and waited for a promised crew of bomb loaders. They also waited for the C-47. Neither ever showed up. With tide rising, they decided to get airborne to save the airplane and flew back to El Coco. One can only imagine what the various parties had to say to each other once they were reunited.

Even though this attempt to bomb Cuba was almost farcical, the group pressed on with their plans and the Invader was flown to a sugar cane plantation near the border of Nicaragua but apparently suffered some minor damage on landing. By this time, an A-26 flying around Costa Rica started to draw attention and information was supplied to the US government. The two pilots were visited by representatives from the American government who informed them that the mission would not be allowed to proceed.

At this point, the Costa Ricans would not let the A-26 takeoff from the airport - citing a problem with the paperwork. The two pilots left the Invader and took an airline back to the United States. Reports indicate that the Invader was used on several clandestine smuggling flights while at El Coco but had received some further damage.

In 1963, the Costa Rican government put the airplane up for auction and it was purchased by Frank Marshall who applied the Costa Rican civil registration TI-1040L. From that point, little is known about the aircraft and its operations, if any, until it was sold to buyers in Honduras in 1970.

In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador had gone to war in an action that became known as the "Soccer War." Ostensibly, the conflict was set off by a contested soccer game between the two nations but, in reality, the war came about from years of tension between the two governments. It was the last battle of World War Two piston-engine fighters as Corsairs and Mustangs attempted to gain control of the airspace. Honduras did not have any bombers and, after the conflict concluded, there was an arms race between the countries to acquire new military equipment.

At this point, middlemen arrived on the scene and assured Honduran officials that the Invader was just the aircraft they needed. They stated it could easily be returned to full combat configuration while also failing to mention that it had received some damage during its anti-Fidel escapades. The plane had received Honduran civil registration of HR-276 but it is thought that this may have been fictitious.

Transferred to Toncontin Air Base, mechanics went to work on the Invader and attempted to get it into offensive condition. This involved a lot of work on the bomb bay plus an attempt to take rocket launchers from the Corsairs and mount them under the Invader's wings. Also, the Hondurans were very interested in restoring the nose guns to the A26 which would make the plane a very potent weapon in the eyes of the Salvadorians just across the border. This rearming was met with limited success and, at one time, black-painted broom sticks were mounted in the aircraft's nose!

Painted an overall dark blue, the Hondurans made it known in numerous public displays that the Invader could strike Salvador at night. The plane was also given full national markings and the military serial FAH 510. Problems plagued the aircraft and included an unsafe gear warning light which resulted in a landing at Toncontin in which the gear collapsed. The faithful FAH mechanics managed to rebuild the aircraft into flying shape and at this time a Vietnam War-style tactical camouflage was applied.

Soon after our arrival at Toncontin, Mike and Dick Wright (collectively known as the Wright brothers) were assigned to get the A-26 back into the air. FAH crewmen showed them various points on the aircraft and we were a bit surprised to see that the plane had flown just a bit over 70 hours in FAH service. It turned out that the aircraft was in fairly decent shape and a power cart was soon attached and the base reverberated with the sound of running P&W R-2800s.

After a day's work, the Wright brothers were taxiing past a row of FAH C-47s and heading for the active. After a thorough power run, they pointed the Invader down the runway and the bomber gracefully lifted into the air. FAH mechanics had painted out the national markings and removed the under wing gun pods prior to the flight. Mike and Dick set up a tight orbit of the airfield to test out the plane while I attempted an intercept in a Texan in order to get a few aerial photos. However, the A-26 rapidly started descending while Mike dumped the gear and flaps and headed for the runway. Once back on the ground, it was found that a major hydraulic leak had developed. The brothers and FAH mechanics went to work on the problem. The Invader attempted to fly a few more times that day, but some form of mechanical squawk stopped each flight.

Next morning, it was back to work at the field and the Invader eventually got airborne for an hour flight. Everything went well and it was decided to launch the four aircraft early next morning for the flight to America. Initially, a direct flight route had been planned that would have taken the four aging warriors over some hostile jungle but after FAB pilots showed us photos of jungle natives roasting some children from a contesting tribe over a large open fire, we decided to take the longer coastal route back home. According to the FAH pilots, the natives had a distinct taste for human flesh.

The flight went well and the Texans went to a new owner in California. And what of the Invader? The A-26, which was the last Invader still in military service, had received the American civil registration N2871G and made it to Belize where the crew were guests of the small Royal Air Force Harrier unit then based in that country. It was then on to Kelly Air Force Base in Texas where the Invader was put on display in the field's air museum.

Challenge Publications Inc. Oct 2002