The Douglas A-26 Invader has the distinction of being the only American combat aircraft to serve in World War II, the Korean Conflict, and in the Vietnam War. Its story is one of strength, versatility and adaptability. The design and construction of the Douglas A-26 Invader was the result of the U.S. Army Air Force's request for a multi-purpose light bomber, with a capability for fast attack operations at low level, as well as precision bombing from medium altitudes, while carrying a powerful defensive armament. Experience gathered in the World War II battle fronts demonstrated what was needed in an attack bomber. Production A-26Bs were introduced into the European Theater of Operations with the Ninth Air Force in 1944.  The A-26B was the solid-nosed version of the Invader and could carry 4,000 pounds of bombs internally with dorsal and ventral turrets for defense. The forward firing weapons system was further modified to carry eight 50-caliber guns that were later harmonized with six additional wing mounted machine guns. Although its World War II service was short, the A-26 series of aircraft earned the respect of the men who used them in combat, and was one of the more outstanding airplanes to emerge from the Second World War. Before production ended in 1953, a total of 2,446 Invaders were built at the Douglas plants in California and Oklahoma.

The Museum’s A-26C Invader was built at the Tulsa, Oklahoma manufacturing facility and completed on May 25, 1945. Being too late in the war to see combat, the aircraft was placed in storage. In March 1952 the A-26 was dropped from the U.S. inventory and transferred to the French Air Force’s 1/25 Tunisie Bombing Group. This bombing group participated in the battle of Dien Bien Phu during the French Indo-China War, so it is quite likely that this aircraft saw combat at the time. In November 1955 the aircraft was returned to the United States Air Force, spending the next three years in storage in the Philippines. In 1963 the aircraft was acquired by On Mark Engineering and converted into a civilian transport. The aircraft was then purchased by the Raytheon Missile Division in 1969 who used it until October 25, 1976 when it was sold to Air Spray Ltd. of Canada for $25,000. In May 2006, the airplane was sold to the Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum of Hillsboro, Oregon who subsequently loaned the aircraft to the Tillamook Air Museum.