The A-26 made its combat debut in July 1944 with the Fifth Air
Force on New Guinea. Four early aircraft were tested out, and the feedback was overwhelming poor.
The streamlined cockpit put the pilot between the engine nacelles,
greatly limiting visibility. This meant that the A-26 was unsuitable for the low-level formation flying needed in the Pacific,
and also made it difficult to spot well hidden Japanese positions in the jungle. General George Kenney, the commander of the
Fifth Air Force, stated that 'We do not want the A-26 under any circumstances as a replacement for anything'
Douglas responded to this feedback by producing a new raised
cockpit canopy, which improved visibility, and by the summer of 1945 Kenney was willing to take the A-26.
In May 1945 the Army Air Force decided that seven A-26 groups
would redeploy to the Pacific from Europe, while all existing medium and light bomb groups in the Pacific, with the exception
of three B-25 units, would convert to the A-26. In the event the war in the Pacific ended before this ambitious program began,
and only a handful of A-26s played an active part in the war against Japan.
