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The first of these big amphibious transports arrived at very end of the war. Amazing that they can still fly!
You can see it if you are lucky when it flies to Arizona via San Francisco and San Diego.

https://www.timescolonist.com/local-new ... na-9770644

From Wikipedia
The Glenn L. Martin Company scaled up their PBM Mariner patrol bomber design to produce the prototype XPB2M-1 Mars.[4] The XPB2M-1 was announced on 8 November 1941. Delayed by an engine fire during ground runs, the aircraft first flew on 23 June 1942. After flight tests with the XPB2M between 1942 and 1943, she was passed on to the Navy. The original patrol bomber concept was considered obsolete by this time, and the Mars was converted into a transport aircraft designated the XPB2M-1R. The Navy was satisfied with the performance and ordered 20 of the modified JRM-1 Mars.[4] The first, named Hawaii Mars, was delivered in June 1945, but with the end of World War II the Navy scaled back their order, buying only the five aircraft which were then on the production line.[5] Though the original Hawaii Mars was lost in an accident on the Chesapeake Bay a few weeks after it first flew, the other five Mars were completed, and the last delivered in 1947.

An aircraft I've never heard of until now. They had a varied and long life.

I think some of them were modified to carry fire retardant mixture to fight wildfires. They could carry a lot of weight and fly fairly slowly while dropping their mix.

And when firefighting, obvious advantage was ability to land on water to "top up".

Did some reading on Wiki

This is just one of the ac. The model was the Martin JRM Mars and 7 where built, with 5 in servives with one lost in 1944. They served in the USN from Nov 43 until 1956. The four remaining were purchased by the Canadians in 1929 and did become firefighing tankers and served until Apr 2024. Two were lost and one was last used for passengers. Fasinating plane.

Flying boats are for some reason my thing.

I think the Catalina was the best airplane of WW2, because it could do EVERYTHING any other plane could do.

Ambulance plane? check.

Spying plane? check.

torpedo bomber? yup.

horizontal bomber? sure.

air to air combatant? of course.

transport plane? main use.

reconnaissance over water and land? sure?

insert agents covertly into enemy territory? sure, you want them to parachute or swim to shore?

oh and it can land on water.

Versatile aircraft for sure, but all planes can land on water just some of them float

Timotheus wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2024 12:37 am Flying boats are for some reason my thing.

I think the Catalina was the best airplane of WW2, because it could do EVERYTHING any other plane could do.

Ambulance plane? check.

Spying plane? check.

torpedo bomber? yup.

horizontal bomber? sure.

air to air combatant? of course.

transport plane? main use.

reconnaissance over water and land? sure?

insert agents covertly into enemy territory? sure, you want them to parachute or swim to shore?

oh and it can land on water.

There are plans to build a new version of the Catalina with turboprop engines!