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Martin PBM Mariner

In the years of World War II, a worthy stablemate of the workhorse Catalina was the Martin PBM Mariner series of patrol boats. The prototype made its initial flight in December 1939; before production ended 10 years later, 1360 examples of the Mariner, including many different versions, had been constructed. The last Mariner was retired from the U.S. Navy in 1958. Early versions of the PBM incorporated retractable tip floats similar in concept to those employed on the PBY and the PB2Y. Because of difficulties experienced with them, however, all versions of the Mariner beginning with the PBM-3 were equipped with fixed, tip-mounted floats. Perhaps the most unusual feature of the PBM configuration was the gull shape of the full cantilever wing, with the engines located at the juncture of the wing break on either side of the hull. This particular wing-engine arrangement was intended to minimize spray passage through the propellers and, together with the relatively deep hull, served as an alternate to the shallow hull and pylon wing mounting of the PBY. Another distinctive feature of the Mariner configuration was the two vertical-tail surfaces mounted at the tips of the horizontal tail. And like the PB2Y, dihedral was incorporated in the horizontal surface. This particular empennage design probably gave improved directional control with one failed engine, as compared with a single fin configuration, and assisted in minimizing spray impingement on the tail. Of modern all-metal construction, the PBM also had trailing-edge flaps and controllable-pitch propellers. Although most versions of the Mariner were pure flying boats, a few were completed as amphibians in 1948 and 1949. A number of transport versions were also built. The PBM-3D was a larger aircraft than the PBY-5A. For example, the Mariner was 52 percent heavier and had 58 percent more power than the Catalina, but the two aircraft had about the same wing and drag areas. As would be expected, both the maximum and cruising speeds of the Mariner were somewhat higher than those of the Catalina, as was the value of the maximum lift-drag ratio. The PBM-3D had eight .50-caliber machine guns and 1058 pounds of defensive armament and could carry either bombs or depth charges housed behind the engines in lengthened nacelles in the PBM-3D and later versions of the Mariner. A total of eight 325-pound depth charges could be carried. The range potential of the aircraft varied with the payload. For example, the ferry range with no payload was 3000 miles, and with four 325-pound depth charges, the aircraft was capable of a range of 2580 miles. Like all highly successful aircraft, the Mariner was produced in many versions, with different engines, different equipment, and different capabilities.