Martin PBM Mariner
The Martin PBM Mariner was a United States Navy patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War period. It was designed to complement the PBY Catalina in service. 1,285 were built, with the first example flying on February 18 1939 and the type entering service in September 1940.
The aircraft was fitted with five gun turrets and bomb bays that were in the engine nacelles. The gull wing was of cantilever design, and featured clean aerodynamics with an unbraced twin tail. The PBM-1 was equipped with retractable wing landing floats that were hinged inboard, while the PBM-3 had fixed floats. Also the fuselage of the PBM-3 was three feet longer than the PBM-1.
The British Royal Air Force acquired 32 Mariners. They were not used operationally and some were returned to the United States Navy and twelve were transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force for transporting troops and cargo.
The Dutch Navy acquired seventeen PBM-5a Mariners at the end of 1955 for service in former Dutch New Guinea. The PBM-5a is an amphibian plane with retractable landing gear. The engines are 2100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34. After several incidents the Dutch scrapped the aircraft in January 1960.
Operators
- Marine Luchtvaartdienst - PBM-5a. (1955-1960)
Specifications (PBM-1)
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Data from Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: Seven
Performance
Armament
- 4 × .50 in machine guns (one each in: nose and dorsal turrets, blisters amidships )
- 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of bombs or depth charges or 2 × Mark 13 torpedoes
References
- ^ "Martin PBM-3/5 Mariner". United States Coast Guard. January 2003. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ Bridgeman, Leonard. "The Martin Model 162 Mariner." Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. p. 245. ISBN 1 85170 493 0.
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists