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Video: Mars Water Bomber

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At 80 mph, the Mars Water Bombers can take on 6,000 gallons of water in 26 seconds. The four-engine firefighter is a wonder to marvel.

Originally a bomber, it became a transport, and now lives on as a firefighter.

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  2. Neat plane, terrible firefighter!

    Talk to the people that use them and see what they say. It may carry more water but takes 4 times as long to get it to the fire from the lake.

    Junk!

    Not even a Canadian company.

    Why does everyone care so much. Go tell your city FD what trucks they should use. Because you all obviously will have an opinion on that too.

    • Phil, my older brother Frank a Fallen Wildland FF, and his Wife who was a Fire Capt. Also now deceased fought fires for better then 25 years, Frank started off as a Firefightet Paramedic but was forced to retire after a heart attack at 27, became a Wildland FF, him and his wife were the First Husband and Wife Faller Team in the U.S. ,, as not only Frank and many Wildland FF have said the plane may not be as fast as some would like it but it sure can drop a load when needed. Frank also was a smoke jumper, and a Hot Shot, for a while. We have used many different planes and helicopters there is always going to be some who are not happy, but if we had to go back to before we had these, helicopters and airplanes to help us on fires we would not have a chance in hell.

  3. Agree, excellent video… glad to learn that at least one has been maintained to be able to fly water bombing runs again. Sure hope it is used wisely and well…

  4. Fire Boss Skimmers are toys for the hinterland of B.C. 3000 liters capacity compared to 21,000 liters capacity of the Martin Mars. If the Mars is getting old, lets build some new ones. We need bombers that can carry large amounts of water at a time to put the fire out. Going cheaper does not always turn out cheaper.

    • i think we should own these as a provence and not be contracting off some company…. that is all i can say about that.

    • Wrong. Have a look at fire retardant vs foam/water mix. There is a difference. Arm chair quarter backs please stand down.

      Mars are old and out dated. Please spare me the oh the mars is flying. The Airspray electra can blanket 3000g of fire retardant..

      I love how the general population knows so little about fire protection.

  5. Amazing aircraft. Why not build some new ones, there must be a way to upgrade the power area and avionics. If cost is the biggest factor there are many billionaires out there who could be tapped. Corporate ownership, advertising and use when not needed for fighting fires is a possibility. What has happened to the “can do” sprit that made this country great?

    • i wholeheartedly agree with pete!! let’s get after canada!! we the people have spoken…and besides our summers are getting hotter and our water is getting smaller (we need to quit giving it away) the mars works!!

  6. Unfortunately, old planes like this one become maintenance intensive and the cost of operation prohibitive. But I agree that replacing it with a less capable aircraft is nuts. I can personally attest to that with the P-3 Orion. Many of them went from Maritime patrol to fire fighting. Their replacement in the U.S. Navy is with the B-737 Poseidon – a far less capable substitute from turboprop to fan jet. Try spending ten hours on mission at below 10000′ with the fan jet; won’t happen unless there is inflight refueling. Not terribly efficient since the Air Force owns the gas and they always refuel their planes first.

    But I sound like sour grapes so I’ll stop now.

  7. Great video, but Big White Dog is correct.
    http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/martin-mars-water-bomber-grounded-after-53-years-in-b-c-1.624458

    They have been replaced by four Fire Boss Skimmers that each carry 1/7 the water capacity (3000 liters vs. 21,000), and together carry about 1/2 the amount of the Mars. If they can’t carry enough water to quench many bigger fires, then what good is any savings?
    http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/martin-mars-water-bomber-grounded-after-53-years-in-b-c-1.624458

    2014 saw a lot of fires in B.C. and the people felt the loss of the Mars.
    http://bc.ctvnews.ca/calls-to-bring-back-mammoth-mars-bomber-as-fires-menace-b-c-1.1921417

    Picture of the new little fire fighters:
    http://www.vancouversun.com/news/cms/binary/9998732.jpg?size=620x400s

    You can follow their status here:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/485606878127670/

    • As the newspaper article states – the Coulson Flying Tankers have been decommissioned which in the eyes of this long time admirer of both the service and the planes, let alone the people who worked so diligently to make the forests of B.C. and elsewhere safe is a very sad state of affairs. This winter has been terribly dry, and I can equivocally state that there will be fires in the province this year, fires that put millions of dollars of natural resources at risk, in addition to the incalculable costs of human lives that are put at risk as well. This was a very poor politically driven decision, that I am sure we will find was motivated by nepotism and greed.

      • I would like to happily announce that the one remaining water bomber has been re-activated in light of tremendous public and some industrial pressures to be sure. Currently just a few miles from where these bombers were stationed a significant fire is burning and the public has demanded of the provincial government to re-contract the one plane – it will be in the air on Thursday July 9th, 2015 if all goes well to tackle the fires currently burning. Owner Wayne Coulson announced a contract today. http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/311838091.html

        The provincial government used the following fact sheets to defend their position – https://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/factsheet-bcs-airtanker-fleet-and-the-martin-mars

        However many argue that multiple planes and smaller drops over time are not adequate for the size and quickness to burn to size fires that regularly occur on Vancouver Island and elsewhere. We need only to look to Lake Shasta in California and to Mexico – where this beautiful beast put out very large fires very quickly.

      • How much is it costing us to bring Australian firefighters? How many have come and how long are they staying. Thank you

        • Hi Donna
          The Rural (Wildland) fire fighters are all volunteers so they would cost airfares, food and lodging. The paid staff add wages ???

          Rod

  8. Great video, but Big White Dog is correct. While the B.C. government may have deemed them too expensive to maintain and operate, the newer replacement planes are more efficient but have much less capacity. If dropping a lot less water is not enough to quench many of the bigger fires, then what good is the savings? If you have to operate 2-3 times as many planes to transport

  9. When camping near Lake Vancouver and watching these beautiful machines practicing, I was reminded of a company that was proposing to sell the similar services of a PBY-5A Catalina to my small, forested Alabama town. The local dignitaries arrived at the airport, the Cat had already taken on its load, but somehow there was a miscalculation in windage. The airplane dropped its water while flying down the runway centerline as promised, but most of it ended up drenching the local dignitaries. No sale!

  10. WOW !! After 50 yrs plus in aircraft engineerig that still is impressive !

  11. What a great stunning video,after more than 50 years in aircraft engineering aircraft like this still make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

  12. I was fortunate to grow up in Alameda, CA, home of the Alameda Naval Air Station. I was able to watch all of The Mars Flying Boats land and takeoff on San Francisco Bay. Of course, at that time they were painted in Navy Insignia Blue. Also, Mariners, and Catalinas would come and go! This video is great! I believe at one time, there were 5 Mars. Now, even the Air Station is gone!

  13. I had the truly awesome experience as a kid of having these planes fly right above me multiple times at Cowichan Lake in Honeymoon bay. When I heard these flying, me a a couple of friends would ride our bikes down to Ashburnham Beach as they made a habit of flying low right over it. They were so close, HUGE, and LOUD! Almost 30 years ago now. Wow.

  14. i used to live in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, and whenever I went to Sprout Lake, there’s always be water bombers there. It was amazing and many people would try to get somewhat close to the planes. They are truly amazing machines.

    • We swam around the Mars planes as kids in Sproat Lake in the early 1950s and watched them at work. Amazing, efficient!

  16. This is a bit out of date. The Philippine Mars has been retired for a few years, been converted back to it’s original configuration (including paint) and is supposed to be headed to P-cola’s museum. The Hawaii Mars lost it’s firefighting contact in 2013 and it’s future is up in the air (no pun intended).

  17. Thanks for sharing that Ben. I really enjoyed the videography and especially like the narration of the retired fire-fighting pilot.