B-10/B-12 Martin 139 Foreign Sales & Service
One aircraft under the designation Martin 139WR with engine R-1820-F53 and Hamilton screws was purchased by the Soviet Union for evaluation tests. Apparently, the machine of the Martin company of the Soviet specialists was not surprising, since nothing is known about the fate of this aircraft.
In 1937, China bought five Martin 139WC airplanes. The machines were immediately transferred to the 30th squadron of the 5th BG and on July 25 the entire squadron was thrown into battle with the Japanese under Nanking. Until 1938, of course, not one bomber survived. Argentina supplied Martin in 1937-1938. 22 bombers version 139WAA and 139WAT (for the Navy).
Turkish supplies comprised 20 Martin 139WT bombers (with R-1820-62 engines). All the aircraft were transferred to the 1st regiment of the two-squadron convoy and served until the end of the 1940s.
Before the war, three B-10 bombers were transferred to the Air Force of the Philippines, which at that time still did not have sovereignty, but already had a relatively small army and aviation under American control. In addition to the B-10, the Americans transferred at least one old P-26 "Peashooter" fighter and several auxiliary aircraft. Philippine bombers did not wear camouflage and were painted according to the American standard of the mid-1930s. The B-10 fuselage was light blue, and the wings were painted yellow, while bombers carried the identification marks of the Air Force of the Philippines (green diamonds in a wide white edge). The fate of these aircraft was unenviable. Immediately after the outbreak of the war with Japan, the Philippine B-10 remained at the airfield and two of them were destroyed during the raid on December 10.
But all the same, only the bombers sold to Thailand and the Dutch East Indies went into real battle. Thai machines Martin 139WS \ WSM in the number of 6 copies were 50th squadron, based in Bangkok. In 1940, Thailand, on its own initiative, launched a war with French Indochina, which ended badly for the much stronger Thai Air Force. Nevertheless, the squadron Martin did not incur losses. On December 15, 1940, the first combat sorties of these bombers took place. A bomber trio, under the cover of six H-75 fighters, struck at Bansin airfield, where part of the colonial aviation of the French was based. It was not possible to significantly weaken the enemy's power by this bombardment, but the Thais got a very definite idea of the French desire to fight for their territory.
The combat sorties continued until early February, until the fighting was officially over. After the Japanese attack on Thailand and the transfer to their side, the Allies transferred in 1942 nine surviving Martin 139WH-1 \ WH-2 from the Dutch colonial aviation. They were part of the 61st Squadron and were destroyed in 1945. The last surviving Martin flew until 1949.
In Holland, the first Martin 139WH began to arrive from the autumn of 1936. Bombers were distributed between the squadrons of 1VA, 2VA and 3VA - each with 13 aircraft. The Colonial Air Force also liked the new bomber. In 1939, the East Indies purchased 80 Martin 139WH-1, 39 Martin 139WH-3 and 40 Martin 139WH-3A (brand name Martin 166) for their own air forces. Later, in August 1940, the 7th Air Group was added to them. Dutch airplanes, in addition to other improvements, differed from the "Americans" by the common long cockpit of the pilot and the navigator. At the end of 1941, VLG III was transferred to Singapore to help besieged Englishmen.
On December 16 the bombers went into battle, bombing the Japanese from the island of Borneo. The next day the Dutch sank the minesweeper "Sinome", and on the 24th they succeeded in putting the ship on the bottom. Nevertheless, the number of Martin bombers steadily decreased. Even the excellent survivability of the aircraft did not save them - so, in one of the flights, the plane received 300 hits. The domination of Japanese aviation was too obvious. By February 15, 1942, only 15 aircraft survived, which were urgently evacuated to Australia. As a trophy, a little more than a dozen aircaft went to the Japanese. Three of them were intensively tested until May 1942.
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