The official Air Corps designation for the B-26 medium bomber was the Martin Marauder, but the plane was better known as The Widow Maker. The B-26 was a ?Çÿhot aircraft being flown by low time pilots, and its safety record in training was lethal. After graduating from Aviation Cadet flight training, Charles OMahony requested the Marauder, the hottest plane in the Allied arsenal. After nine weeks of training he received his First Pilot diploma in the B-26, on his twentieth birthday.Charles OMahony flew 71 combat missions in The Widow Maker, 27 of them as Squadron or Group lead. After serving as Operations Officer, he became the Squadron Commander over a complement of 472 men. At age 21, he was the youngest bomber squadron commander in the European Theater. While participating in six major campaigns, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters. The Widow Maker is the story of nine of Charles OMahonys missions, when he found himself a wing span from disaster.