The Philippine Mars took its final flight. See photos of the flying-boat aircraft from WWII to its last 800-mile journey.

Yahoo

19-02-2025

The last Martin Mars flying boat completed its final flight last week.
Initially developed as a Navy patrol flying boat, the aircraft later served as cargo transport.
The Philippine Mars will be displayed at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona.
The last Martin Mars flying boat made its final flight last week, marking the end for a World War II-era seaplane so hulking it had rockets to assist with take-off.
Initially developed as maritime patrol flying boats for the US Navy, the Martin Mars fleet was later configured to operate as long-range transport aircraft. Some became water bombers to fight forest fires.
The Philippine Mars made its final landing at Lake Pleasant, Arizona, on February 10, where it is set to be partially disassembled and trucked to the Pima Air and Space Museum for installation as a permanent exhibition.
The Martin Mars fleet
Founded by aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin, the Martin Company developed and produced the Mars flying boat fleet for the US Navy. Best known for its contributions to military and commercial aviation, the American aircraft manufacturer was also behind innovative military bombers like the B-26 and B-10, which were widely used in World War II.
In the mid-1940s, seven Mars seaplanes were delivered to the Navy, scaled back from the 20 planes the sea service ordered following the end of WWII.
The first Mars prototype, dubbed "the Old Lady," was delivered in 1943. It was followed by the cargo variant of the Hawaii Mars, the Philippine Mars, the Marianas Mars, the Marshall Mars, the firefighting variant of the Hawaii Mars, and the Caroline Mars.
While most of the fleet has been scrapped, lost, or destroyed over the last eight decades, the second Hawaii Mars and the Philippine Mars survived to this day. The Hawaii Mars was donated to the British Columbia Aviation Museum in Canada, and the Philippine Mars will make its final home at the Pima Air and Space in Tucson, Arizona.
The Navy's largest World War II-era aircraft
The Mars flying boats were the world's largest operational seaplanes and the Navy's largest WWII-era aircraft.
It measured nearly 120 feet in length and 200 feet in wingspan — roughly the size of a modern-day Boeing commercial airplane.
After the flying boats were reconfigured from patrol boats to cargo planes, the massive flying boat had a max takeoff weight of over 85 tons — or about 165,000 pounds. It could accommodate a 32,000-pound payload, including up to seven military jeeps.
Rocket-powered takeoffs
Despite its hulking size, the four-engined flying boats had a maximum speed of over 200 mph. The aircraft had a service ceiling of up to 14,600 feet and a range of 4,900 nautical miles.
The aircraft were propelled by small rockets known as jet-assisted take-off bottles equipped under the wings. These small rockets provided extra thrust to help them get airborne quicker or take off with heavier payloads.
Setting world records
The Mars seaplanes were operated by a crew of four comprising pilots, engineers, and ground crew. It also had accommodations for a relief team.
The aircraft could also transport over 130 fully-equipped troops, or 84 litter patients and 25 attendants.
In March 1949, the Caroline Mars, set a world record for airlifting passengers on a single flight, carrying 269 people from San Diego to San Francisco.
But the youngest Mars flying boat didn't hold the title for very long — a little over two months later, the Marshall Mars broke the passenger load record by transporting 301 people from Alameda to San Diego.
A versatile transport aircraft
Though produced at the latter end of WWII, the Mars fleet supported US Navy operations by flying cargo between Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. The flying boats were later deployed as medical air transport lifts between Hawaii and California during the Korean War.
After the Marshall Mars was damaged by an engine fire near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the remaining four aircraft continued to transport cargo from San Francisco to Honolulu until 1956, when they were decommissioned and beached at the Naval Air Station Alameda.
Aerial firefighter
After retiring from military service, the remaining Mars fleet, which became known as "the Big Four," was sold to timber companies in British Columbia in the late 1950s, finding a new purpose as the world's largest water bombers to combat forest fires.
The four flying boats were modified with large tanks that could carry more than 7,000 gallons of water and up to 600 gallons of foam concentrate, which was used to create a fire retardant to smother the flames. The Mars tankers could make a drop every 15 minutes, loaded with enough water or foam to douse an area of up to 4 acres at a time.
Finding a final resting place
The Marianas Mars crashed in 1961 during firefighting operations in Vancouver Island, and the Caroline Mars was damaged beyond repair by a typhoon the following year.
The last surviving Mars flying boats — the Philippine Mars and the Hawaii Mars — were later acquired by Coulson Aviation in 2007 to "expand its firefighting capabilities," according to the company.
The Coulson Group said the aircraft underwent several upgrades and renovations to make it a safer and more reliable aerial firefighter, but officials in British Columbia replaced it with newer aircraft, like the firefighting variants of the Lockheed C-130.
But after sitting in storage for half a decade, the Coulson Group decided to retire the Philippine Mars in 2012, donating it to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida as a permanent exhibit. Its red-and-white paint scheme from its time as a water bomber was replaced with its original dark blue Navy colors, but the trade deal with the Navy was put on indefinite hold amid the 2016 presidential election.
Last April, Coulson Aviation announced that the Philippine Mars would instead find its final landing at the Pima Air and Space Museum.
As the aircraft's retirement approached, the Coulson Group offered experiences for aviation enthusiasts to get "up close and personal with their Martin Mars water bombers."
The program, which had packages ranging from $1,000 to $15,000, featured tours of the planes and the opportunity to observe maintainers working on them. The top-tier experience, which included an opportunity to taxi the plane on the water, sold out in three days.
End of an aviation era
Over the last few months, multiple attempts have been made to get the Philippine Mars airborne to make the 800-mile flight from Vancouver Island to San Francisco to commemorate its service with the US Navy.
After four engine and propeller changes with parts taken from the Hawaii Mars, the Philippine Mars successfully took off from Sproat Lake, making its final flight to San Francisco Bay on Sunday.
The next day, it departed the Alameda Seaplane Base and flew to Lake Pleasant, Arizona, where the plane is expected to be de-watered, dismantled, and towed to the museum.
"Against all odds, the team behind her has worked tirelessly to prepare her for this final journey to Arizona," Coulson wrote on social media. "She may be leaving the water, but her legacy will always ripple through history."
Read the original article on Business Insider