Ruler of the seas |
June 1943 The Martin PBM Mariner was a United States Navy patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War period. It was designed to complement the PBY Catalina in service. 1,285 were built, with the first example flying on February 18, 1939 and the type entering service in September 1940. The aircraft was fitted with five gun turrets and bomb bays that were in the engine nacelles. The gull wings was of cantilever design, and featured clean aerodynamics with an unbraced twin tail. The PBM-1 was equipped with retractable wing landing floats that were hinged inboard, while the PBM-3 had fixed floats. Also the fuselage of the PBM-3 was three feet longer than the PBM-1. The PBM-5a is an amphibian plane with retractable landing gear. Crew: Seven Length: 77 ft 2 in (23.50 m) Wingspan: 118 ft 0 in (36 m) Height: 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) Wing area: 1,408 ft² (131 m²) Empty weight: 33,175 lb (15,048 kg) Loaded weight: 56,000 lb (25,425 kg) Powerplant: 2× Wright R-2600-12 14-cylinder radial engines, 1,700 hp (1,300 kW) each Maximum speed: 178 knots (205 mph, 330 km/h) Range: 2,600 nm (3,000 mi, 4,800 km) Service ceiling: 19,800 ft (6,040 m) Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s) Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²) Power/mass: hp/lb (W/kg) Armament 4 × .50 in machine guns (one each in: nose and dorsal turrets, blisters amidships ) 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of bombs or depth charges or 2 × Mark 13 torpedoes USN 01 René Hieronymus Scale 1:72 Building time: approx. 84 hrs |