Composite) of the 1st Air Commando Wing, had also had their old B 26s grounded in February. By the end of April most had gone to Davis Monthan for temporary storage or directly to On Mark for conversion to B 26Ks, with the last stragglers leaving Hurlburt in late June. This left only three B 26Bs (44 34350, 34596 and 35428) in squadron hands, with the 605th Air Commando Squadron at Howard in the Panama Canal Zone, but on 12 October 1964 the last of these also arrived at Davis Monthan for storage. Thus ended the twenty years of first line service of the B 26B/C and the RB 26 with the US armed forces.
Although really outside the scope of this book, it may be appropriate to give some details of the few B 26s, other than On Mark conversions, remaining on USAF strength after this date. Five former Air Commando B 26Bs remained in storage at Davis Monthan until October 1969, when they were authorized for reclaimation, together with JB 26C serial 44 35627 used for testing at Detroit until July 1965, and B 26C N800W (44 35725) employed by the Weather Bureau until February 1965. The three VB 26Bs of the Air National Guard Headquarters at Andrews AFB were struck off charge on 19 November 1969 (44 34665), 10 December 1970 (44 34360) and 12 October 1972 (44 34610), respectively.
But these were all outlived by B 26B serial 44 35232 used as an instructional airframe by the Inter American Air Forces Academy at Albrook in the Canal Zone since the 1950s. Admittedly, the aircraft had not flown for many years by the time it was terminated as 'obsolete' on 17 June 1974, but it had been kept in flyable condition and was not re designated as a GB 26B (meaning 'permanently grounded') until November 1973. It did, in fact, even outlive the last A 26A on USAF charge by more than a year.