JRM Mars

infobox Aircraft
name = JRM Mars
type = Flying boat transport Water bomber
manufacturer = Martin



caption = The "Caroline Mars" JRM-2 Mars in Navy service.
designer =
first flight = 1941
introduced = 1945, U.S. Navy
retired = 1956, U.S. Navy
status = 2 survive as water bombers
primary user = United States Navy, 1945-1956
more users = Flying Tankers, 1959-present
produced = 1945-1947
number built = 6
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The Martin JRM Mars was the largest flying boat ever to enter production although only 6 were built. The U.S. Navy contracted the development of the XPB2M-1 Mars in 1938 as a flying dreadnoughtFact|date=September 2008 for ocean patrol.

Navy service

The Martin Company effectively scaled up their successful PBM Mariner patrol bomber design to produce the prototype XPB2M-1 Mars.cite web | title=The Martin Mariner, Mars, & Marlin Flying Boats | work=Air Vectors | author=Goebel, Greg | url=http://www.vectorsite.net/avmars.html#m5 | accessdate=2006-05-06 | year=2004-06-01 ] After flight tests with the XPB2M between 1941 and 1943, she was passed on to the Navy. The original patrol bomber concept was considered obsolete by this time, and the Mars was converted into a transport aircraft designated the XPB2M-1R. The Navy was satisfied with the performance, and ordered 20 of the modified JRM-1 Mars. The first, named "Hawaii Mars", was delivered in June 1945, but the with the end of World War II the Navy scaled back their order, buying only the five aircraft which were then on the production line.Ref Jane's|The Martin Model 170 Mars|244-245] Though the original Hawaii Mars was lost in an accident on Chesapeake Bay, the other 5 Mars were completed, and the last delivered in 1947.

Named the "Marianas Mars", "Philippine Mars", "Marshall Mars", "Caroline Mars", and a second "Hawaii Mars", the 5 production Mars aircraft entered service ferrying cargo to Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. The last production airplane (the Caroline Mars) was designated JRM-2, powered by 3,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines, and featured a higher maximum weight and other improvements. On 5 April, 1950, the "Marshall Mars" was lost near Hawaii when an engine fire consumed the airplane after her crew had evacuated. The remaining "Big Four" flew record amounts of Naval cargo on the San Francisco-Honolulu route efficiently until 1956, when they were parked at NAS Alameda.

Civilian use

In 1959, the remaining Mars were sold for scrap. Dan McIvor, who represented a consortium of British Columbia lumber companies, recognized their potential value as water bombers and had them converted. A company called Flying Tankers Inc. was formed, and purchased the "Big Four" for aerial firefighting. The "Marianas Mars" crashed near Northwest Bay, British Columbia on 23 June, 1961 during firefighting operations; all four crewmembers were lost. Just over a year later, on 12 October, 1962, the "Caroline Mars" was destroyed by Typhoon Freda while parked onshore. The remaining "Hawaii Mars" and "Philippine Mars" had their conversions to water bombers accelerated and entered service in 1963.

The two surviving tankers are now operated by the Coulson Group, based at Sproat Lake near Port Alberni, British Columbia. When converted, the original powerplants were replaced with four Wright R-3350-24WA Cyclone engines of 2,500 hp (1,860 kW) each. The aircraft can carry up to 7,200 US gal (27,250 litres) of water, enough to cover an area of 4 acres (16,000 m²).cite web | url=http://www.martinmars.com/mars.html | title=Aircraft Fleet | work=Flying Tankers Inc. | accessdate=2006-05-06] They are used to fight fires along the coast of British Columbia, and even sometimes in the interior. They also make appearances at local airshows, demonstrating their water-dropping ability. Flying Tankers Inc. also flies the water bombers to other hotspots around the world if a need develops, such as in August 2003 when a large forest fire threatened the city of Kelowna, British Columbia. On 10 November 2006, TimberWest Forest Ltd. announced that they are looking for buyers of the Mars. A condition of this sale is that the purchasers will donate one back to Port Alberni when they are retired as a historical attraction.cite web | url=http://www.timberwest.com/PDF/FTI_Media_Release_11.10.06.pdf | title=TimberWest Seeks Buyers For Martin Mars Water Bombers | work=TimberWest Forest Ltd. | accessdate=2006-11-12|format=PDF] The Maryland Aviation Museum and British Columbia Aviation Council have initiated a joint effort to preserve the aircraft, one in Maryland and the other at their current location in Canada. cite web | url=http://www.marylandaviationmuseum.org/mars/Alliance_Martin_Mars_Water_Bombers_Press_Release.pdf | title=Canadian Aviation Organization and U.S. Museum Create Alliance | work=Maryland Aviation Museum | accessdate=2006-11-12|format=PDF] On 13 April 2007, TimberWest has announced the sale of both Martin Mars aircraft to Coulson Forest Products, a local forestry company in Port Alberni. The Mars will remain in the Alberni Valley operating from their base at Sproat Lake.On 25 October 2007, "Hawaii Mars" ("Redtail") arrived at Lake Elsinore in Southern California, negotiated through a private contract, to assist with the firefighting efforts containing the California wildfires of October 2007.

pecifications (JRM-3 Mars)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II
crew=four (with accommodations for a second relief crew)
capacity=133 troops, or 84 litter patients and 25 attendants
payload main=32,000 lb
payload alt=15,000 kg
payload more=of cargo, including up to seven jeeps
length main=117 ft 3 in
length alt=35.74 m
span main=200 ft 0 in
span alt=60.96 m
height main=38 ft 5 in
height alt=11.71 m
area main=3,686 ft²
area alt=342.4 m²
empty weight main= 75,573 lb
empty weight alt=34,279 kg
loaded weight main= 90,000 lb
loaded weight alt= 40,820 kg
max takeoff weight main=165,000 lb
max takeoff weight alt=74,800 kg
engine (prop)= Wright R-3350-24WA Duplex Cyclone (JRM-1 aircraft were originally powered with this engine, but modified by the Navy with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major "corncob" radial engines and designated JRM-3; civilian operators converted them back to Wright R-3350s)
type of prop=18-cylinder radial engines
number of props=4
power main=2,500 hp
power alt=1,865 kW
max speed main=192 knots
max speed alt=221 mph, 356 km/h
range main= 4,300 nautical miles
range alt=5,000 mi, 8,000 km
ceiling main=14,600 ft
ceiling alt=4,450 m

ee also

aircontent
related=
*PBM Mariner
similar aircraft=
*Blohm & Voss BV 222
*Kawanishi H8K
*Saunders-Roe Princess
sequence=
* Martin model 162 - 170 - 179 - 187 - 202
lists=
*List of flying boats

References

External links

* [http://community.webshots.com/photo/362079242/1130922055048918155JiQrMd Promotional flyer for the Martin Mars ‘flying hotel’]
* [http://www.martinmars.com/ Flying Tankers, Inc.]
* [http://www.marylandaviationmuseum.org/mars/index.html Martin Mars Page of the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum]
* [http://www.marylandaviationmuseum.org/mars/Alliance_Martin_Mars_Water_Bombers_Press_Release.pdf Museum-Canadian Mars Alliance Created]
* [http://www.oldwings.nl/content/mars/mars_a.htm Martin Mars Page including photos and a full, detailed production list of all seven aircraft built]
* [http://www.oldwings.nl/content/mars/mars_l.htm Photo page showing how a Martin Mars is launched]
* [http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=171666 NBC News video of "Hawaii Mars" arriving at Lake Elsinore]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tailspin_tommy/sets/72157602748676787/ Collection of Martin Mars images on Flickr]
* The two surviving Mars at Sproat Lake are at coordinates coord|49.2878|-124.9352|type:landmark
* [http://cargolaw.com/2007nightmare_marlin.html A Martin Mars battles wildfires in California in 2007]