The first medium bomber in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and North West Europe. The plane distinguished itself as "the chief bombardment weapon on the Western Front" according to an U.S. Army Air Forces dispatch from 1946, and later variants maintained the lowest loss record of any combat aircraft during World War II. Its late-war loss record stands in sharp contrast to its unofficial nickname "The Widowmaker" — earned due to early models' high rate of accidents during takeoff.