TheMartin PBM Mariner is a twin-engine Americanpatrol bomberflying boat ofWorld War II and the earlyCold War era. It was designed to complement theConsolidated PBY Catalina andPB2Y Coronado in service. A total of 1,366 PBMs were built, with the first example flying on 18 February 1939, and the type entering service in September 1940, with the last of the type being retired in 1964.
A Mariner, otherwise noted for its WW2 and post-War service, was the type that vanished searching forFlight 19. Flight 19 vanished in the Bermuda Triangle; it and the Mariner that searched for it were never found with its 14 crew, though it was thought to have suffered a mid-air explosion. Another noted crash was the1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash in December 1946.
To test the PBM's layout, Martin built a three-eighths scale flying model, theMartin 162ATadpole Clipper with a crew of one and powered by a single 120 hp (89 kW)Chevrolet engine driving two airscrews via v-belts; this was flown in December 1937.[3][4] This was followed by an initialproduction order for 21 PBM-1 aircraft on 28 December 1937.[5]The first genuine PBM, the XPBM-1, flew on 18 February 1939.[2]
Theaircraft had multiple gun positions including single mounts at each midship beam and stern above the tail cone. Additional guns were positioned in the nose and dorsal turrets, each fitted with two-gun turrets. Thebomb bays were in the enginenacelles. Thegull wing was ofcantilever design, and featured cleanaerodynamics with an unbracedtwin tail. The PBM-1 was equipped with retractable wing landingfloats that were hinged outboard, with single-strut supported floats that retracted inwards to rest beneath the wing, with the floats' keels just outboard of each of the engine nacelles. The PBM-3 had fixed floats, and thefuselage was three feet longer than that of the PBM-1.Martin also developed the even larger 4-enginedMartin JRM Mars in this period.[6]
A U.S. Navy PBM-1 ofPatrol Squadron 56 (VP-56) in 1940.A PBM-5 on the deck of USS Norton Sound in April 1945 off SaipanA U.S. Navy PBM of Fleet Air Wing 6 is hoisted aboard theseaplane tenderUSS Curtiss (AV-4) after a mine-hunting patrol offNorth Korea during theKorean War (1950-1953).PBM Mariner leaves a wake (August 1943)
TheUnited States Coast Guard acquired 27 Martin PBM-3 aircraft during the first half of 1943. In late 1944, the service acquired 41 PBM-5 models and more were delivered in the latter half of 1945. Ten were still in service in 1955, although all were gone from the active Coast Guard inventory by 1958 (when the last example was released from CGAS San Diego and returned to the U.S. Navy). These flying boats became the backbone of the long-range aerialsearch and rescue efforts of the Coast Guard in the early post-war years until supplanted by theP5M Marlin and theHU-16 Albatross in the mid-1950s.[9]
PBMs continued in service with the U.S. Navy following the end of World War II, flying longpatrol missions during theKorean War.[10] It continued in front line use until replaced by its successor, the P5M Marlin. The last Navy squadron equipped with the PBM,Patrol Squadron Fifty (VP-50), retired them in July 1956.[11]
Improved version. 1,700 hp (1,270 kW) R-2600-12 engines; 32 built.[17]
PBM-3R (Model 162B)
Unarmed transport version of PBM-3. 18 new build plus 31 converted from PBM-3.[17]
PBM-3C (Model 162C)
Improved patrol version with twin .50 in machine guns in nose and dorsal turrets, and single guns in tail turret and waist positions. AN/APS-15 radar inradome behindcockpit; 274 built.[18]
PBM-3B (Model 162C)
Designation for ex-RAF Mariner GR.1A after return to U.S. Navy.[18]
PBM-3S (Model 162C)
Dedicatedanti-submarine aircraft with reduced armament and weight for improved range. Six were prototyped from the PBM-3C with radar and standard armament less the dorsal turret. Later a light weight nose armament was fitted (2× fixed 0.50 in machine guns in nose. Retained were single machine gun in port waist position.; 62 conversions plus 94 built as new plus .[19][20]
PBM-3D (Model 162D)
Patrol bomber with increased power (two 1,900 hp (1,417 kW) R-2600-22s) and increased armament (twin 0.50 in machine guns in nose, dorsal, and tail turrets, plus two waist guns). 259 built.[19]
PBM-4 (Model 162E)
Proposed version with two 2,700 hp (2,015 kW)Wright R-3350 engines; unbuilt.[21]
A 41 Sqn RAAF Mariner in 1944A 524 Sqn RAF Mariner I at Oban, Scotland (UK), in October 1943.A U.S. Coast Guard PBM takes off from the water assisted byRATO.Martin PBM Mariner in US service in 1942
PBM-5 BuNo59172 lies upside down underLake Washington. It crashed on 6 May 1949, and after a number of unsuccessful attempts to recover the wreck over the following decades, it is now used as a training site fordivers.[31][32]
A damaged PBM Mariner is loaded onUSS's aft deck inApia Harbor,Samoa, on 15 February 1943.
On 11 November 1942 a U.S. Navy PBM-5 (BuNo 1256)Naval Air Station Banana River, Florida. In unknown circumstances, while flying in the vicinity of the Banana River NAS, the seaplane caught fire and crashed. All 11 occupants were killed.[34][35][36]
On 6 August 1943 a U.S. Navy PBM-5 (BuNo 6713) (VP-205 USN/P-4) (Trinidad and Tobago) was shot down by the German submarineU-615 with no survivors among the 12-man crew.[37][38]
On 16 June 1944, a U.S. Navy PBM-5 exploded and crashed in San Francisco Bay, California, killing the pilot, Lieutenant William Hess, and eight other Navy crewmen.
On 30 November 1944, a U.S. Navy PBM-5 crashed intoMount Tamalpais in northern California, killing eightnaval aviators and navalaircrewmen. The aircraft had taken off fromNaval Air Station Alameda and was part of a larger flight headed for Hawaii when it developed engine trouble shortly after takeoff.[citation needed]
On 31 October 1955, a PBM-5 Mariner (registration 59232) crashed on takeoff fromNaval Station Coco Solo near thePanama Canal, resulting in the deaths of eight personnel.[43] Contemporary news reports indicated a ninth person on the aircraft survived.[44]
On 10 September 1958, Mariner P-303 was being ferried to the Netherlands from Biak, Indonesia. Due to technical problems, a forced landing was carried out atAbadan, Iran. About two weeks later, repairs had been accomplished, and the aircraft took off. Shortly after takeoff, an oil leak was observed on engine number one. While on final approach for landing atAbadan airport, the aircraft suddenly lost height and crashed, killing all aboard. It appeared that the remaining propellerreversed thrust, causing the crew to lose control.[45]
On 9 November 1958, a PBM-5 Mariner (CS-THB, namedPorto Santo) of the Portuguese airline ARTOP (Aero-Topográfica) piloted byHarry Frank Broadbent and co-piloted by Thomas Rowell, carrying four other crew and 30 passengers, disappeared on a scheduled passenger flight fromCabo Ruivo,Lisbon, Portugal toFunchal, Madeira. The last communication from the aircraft (when it was about 13°W) was a radio message code "QUG", meaning "I am forced to land immediately".No trace has ever been found of the aircraft, nor its six crew or 30 passengers.[46][47]
Bridgeman, Leonard. "The Martin Model 162 Mariner."Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946.ISBN1-85170-493-0.
Donald, David, ed.American Warplanes of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995.ISBN1-874023-72-7.
Dorr, Robert F. "Variant Briefing: Martin Flying Boats: Mariner, Mars and Marlin".Wings of Fame, Volume 7, 1997, pp. 114–133. London: Aerospace Publishing,ISBN1-874023-97-2.
Green, William.War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Five Flying Boats. London: Macdonald, 1968.ISBN0-356-01449-5.
Hoffman, Richard A. "Dutch Mariners: PBMs in Service with the Netherlands Navy".Air Enthusiast, No. 97, January/February 2002, pp. 73–77. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450.
Hoffman, Richard A.The Fighting Flying Boat: A History of the Martin PBM Mariner. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press, 2004.ISBN978-1-59114-375-8.
Hoffman, Richard A. "South American Mariners: Martin PBMs in Argentina and Uruguay".Air Enthusiast, No. 104, March/April 2003, pp. 29–33. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450.
Jefford, C. G.RAF Squadrons. Ramsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, UK, First edition, 1988.ISBN1-85310-053-6.
March, Daniel J.British Warplanes of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1998.ISBN1-874023-92-1.
Martin PBM-3C US Navy Pilot's Handbook (MTPBM3C-POH-C). Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, 1944.
Martin PBM-3D 1943 Pilot's Handbook of Flight Operating Instructions (AN 01-35QF-1). Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, 1944.
Martin PBM-3D 1945 Pilot's Handbook of Flight Operating Instructions (AN 01-35EE-1). Washington, DC: The Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, 1944.
Martin PBM-5 1947 Navy Model Pilot's Handbook (AN 01-35ED-1). Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, 1944.
PBM-3S PNM-3D Handbook of Structural Repair Navy Model (A.N. 01-35QG-3). Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, 1944.
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