| Model 167 Maryland | |
|---|---|
 RAF Marylandsc. 1941 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Light bomber[1] |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Martin |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 450 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1940 |
| First flight | 14 March 1939 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Developed into | Martin Baltimore |
TheMartin Model 167 Maryland was an Americanlight bomber[1] that first flew in 1939. It saw action inWorld War II with France and the United Kingdom.
In response to a December 1937United States Army Air Corps requirement for an attack aircraft capable of carrying a bombload of 1,200 lb (540 kg) over a range of 1,200 mi (1,000 nmi; 1,900 km) at a speed of 200 mph (170 kn; 320 km/h)[a], theGlenn L. Martin Company produced itsModel 167, which was given the official designationXA-22, competing with designs fromBell Aircraft (the Model 9),Douglas (theDouglas DB-7),North American (theNA-40) andStearman (theStearman XA-21).[2][3] Martin's design was a twin-engine all-metal monoplane, capable of around 310 mph (500 km/h) with a crew of three. The XA-22 was not adopted for operational service in theUnited States, because the contract was won by theDouglas DB-7, which became the A-20 Havoc, but Martin received foreign orders, and about 450 of the fast, twin-engined bombers were built.
The prototype Model 167W was powered by twin-rowPratt & WhitneyR-1830-37 Twin Wasp engines, which were replaced in French production aircraft by single-row nine-cylinderWright R-1820 Cyclone engines, although the Twin Wasps were then restored for the British Maryland. All versions of the Model 167 were armed with six machine guns, four fixed guns in the wings (mainly for ground-attack), one dorsal gun and one ventral gun. In the prototype, these guns were all 0.30 inBrowning machine guns. The dorsal gun was mounted in a fully retractable turret. The French aircraft used license-built BelgianFabrique Nationale FN-Brownings, and used a lighter semi-retractable dorsal turret. The weight saved helped to increase the top speed to 288 mph (463 km/h).
The Model 167 was a fairly typical twin-engined bomber of the period. The most unusual feature of the Model 167 was the very narrow fuselage, although it was shared with a number of late prewar contemporaries. The crew of three was carried in two isolated compartments: thebombardier sat in the nose below the pilot and the gunner was in the mid-upper twin-machine gun turret in a separate rear compartment, isolated by a bulkhead.
Glenn L. Martin doubled the size of the Baltimore factory, and built all 115 aircraft in six months, but they were prevented from delivering them by a US governmentarms embargo. Despite that, the French placed an order for an additional 100 aircraft. The embargo was lifted in October 1939, and the 115 aircraft from the first order were delivered by late November 1939. Deliveries then slowed, and only 25 of the second batch reached France before theFrench surrender to the Germans.
Facing a massiveGerman arms buildup and desperate for modern aircraft, theFrench Air Force purchased U.S. aircraft of numerous types in the late 1930s. Martin received an order for more than 200167 Fs which incorporated French equipment such as metric instruments. French officials expected deliveries to begin in January 1939 but the type, locally called theGlenn Martin 167 A-3 entered service only in early 1940.
Because of the U.S. embargo on arms exports after the beginning of the war, many aircraft were impounded for two months before being shipped to Europe. When theBattle of France began, there were only fourGroupes de bombardement (bomber squadrons) equipped. TheGlenns were quickly sent to the front lines where they performed well with their adequate speed and excellent manoeuvrability for an aircraft in this class.[4] In about 400 sorties, they suffered a 4 per cent loss rate, much better than the 16 per cent endured byLeO 451 crews against similar targets.
Immediately before theJune 1940 Armistice, units flying the Glenn Martin 167 were evacuated toFrench North Africa to avoid capture by the Germans. One of them landed in Spain and was interned, being tested by theSpanish Air Force.[citation needed] Some examples were transferred to theAéronautique Navale. DuringVichy rule of theFrench empire, French Martins bombedBritish Commonwealth forces, most notably during theSyria–Lebanon campaign of 1941.[5] FollowingOperation Torch in 1943, M.167s were replaced with more modern Allied types, including theMartin B-26 Marauder. Approximately 215 Martin 167s were delivered to France.
Just before theFranco-German Armistice, the remaining 75 aircraft on the French order were signed over to the United Kingdom; 32 Marylands had been completed to French specifications and were converted to British requirements in the UK. Engines were changed from theCyclone 9 to thePratt and Whitney Twin Wasp and various weapons and instruments were replaced. The last 43 of the order were completed as required by Glenn Martin. All these aircraft became theMaryland Mk.I. A further 150 aircraft had been ordered directly by Britain with two-speedsuperchargers on their Twin Wasps as theMaryland Mk.II.[1]
Many of the aircraft were shipped toEgypt andMalta in time for the 1941 fighting there. The RAF used the aircraft mainly for photo-reconnaissance operations inNorth and East Africa, it being faster than theBristol Blenheim. A Maryland bomber photographed the Italian fleet before and after theBattle of Taranto on 11 November 1940.[6] The pilot,Adrian Warburton, scored his five confirmed kills with the Maryland's forward-firing guns.
Seven Maryland Mk.Is were transferred to the BritishFleet Air Arm[7] and were mainly used fortarget towing duties.[8] On 22 May 1941, a Maryland of771 Naval Air Squadron based atHatston in theOrkney Islands, reported that the GermanbattleshipBismarck had leftBergen, confirming that she was breaking out into the Atlantic.[9]
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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