The most celebrated of classic air tanker aircraft, the two surviving Martin JRM Mars water bombers are both headed to retirement in museums.
Coulson Aviation recently announced plans to place the air tanker Hawaii Mars in the British Columbia Aviation Museum (BCAM), not far from where the huge seaplanes flew, while Philippine Mars will go to the world-class Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
No dates have been released for the transfers, but officials with the Pima museum say it will be in 2024, while BCAM officials indicate it will be in the fall of 2024.
The Martin JRM Mars seaplanes represent the pinnacle in American flying boat transport aviation technology. With a wingspan of 200 feet — that’s two-thirds the length of a football field — the huge Mars is powered by four R-3350 engines, each generating 2,300 horsepower.
Derived from a bomber prototype, the JRMs flew Pacific transport routes for the Navy from 1945 to 1956.
In 1959, a consortium of Canadian logging interests formed Forest Industries Flying Tankers (FIFT) and purchased the four remaining JRMs from a surplus buyer for modification as firefighting air tankers.
One was lost fighting fires, one was considered irreparably damaged in a 1962 storm, and the last two of the named JRMs, Hawaii Mars and Philippine Mars, served as giant firefighters from the mid-1960s well into the 21st Century. They were based on Sproat Lake at Port Alberni located in the southern third of Vancouver Island.
Hawaii Mars was last on fire call in 2015; Philippine Mars ended service a few years earlier, and has been stored at the company’s flying boat base.
Hawaii Mars is set to make a fly-by tour of Vancouver Island on delivery to the museum.
“Vancouver Islanders are in for an amazing aerial treat because the Mars arrival is going to be like a big blockbuster movie weekend as everyone from Nanaimo to Victoria will get to watch the massive, majestic Hawaii fly low and slow overhead with its immense 200-foot wingspan and wonderfully loud radial engines,” said Richard Mosdell, who led the team securing Hawaii Mars for the Canadian museum.
The delivery flight will end with the Hawaii Mars landing in the saltwater at Patricia Bay beside the Victoria International Airport (CYYJ). The red-and-white water bomber will be pulled up onto the Coast Guard base near the World War II hangars where it was originally converted into a water bomber. A slow overland move to the museum will follow.
How the Philippine Mars will make the journey to the Pima Air and Space Museum’s desert home remains unknown at this time.
Will it be disassembled for shipment to Arizona?
Philippine Mars retired in 2012; Coulson officials are not saying whether it can be made ready for a ferry flight which, at best, could place the huge flying boat on a body of water in Arizona, much closer to Tucson, with some disassembly and overland travel still required to finish the delivery.
An article by Darron Kloster in the Times Colonist newspaper on Vancouver Island said mechanical work and permitting are being accomplished on both Mars aircraft, suggesting a final flight is in store for Philippine Mars.
A Coulson spokesperson said her company and the museums are not answering media questions about the Mars project, including how Philippine Mars will make it to Arizona, referring queries to published news releases.
It is ironic that after a decade of Navy service, most people expected the anachronistic Mars flying boats to fade away. But FIFT’s vision gave these mammoth machines five times the life they had as naval aircraft.
As scoopers, the Mars seaplanes used a trick their terrestrial counterparts could not — filling their firefighting tanks on the fly.
To maintain proper level in the water, FIFT crews could takeoff from a standing start at an aircraft weight of 148,500 pounds. On a high-speed pass skimming the surface, the Mars could scoop enough water to finish loading the tanks and attaining a weight of 162,000 pounds. Of that weight, Mars could heft 6,000 Imperial gallons of water, equaling more than 7,200 U.S. gallons.
For more information: CoulsonAviationUSA.com, PimaAir.org, BCAM.net
Is there a confirmed date for moving the Mars plane to Sproat Lake? If not, where can I track the date?
With all the fires they need these planes it was the bc government who had contracts with buddies so they did everything they could to not use them anymore but Conair
I don’t care how much it cost; if one can afford to do so, keep them flying and not rusting away and/or collecting dust somewhere.
Saw it in operation a few years back in southern California. It took to the sky from Elsinore Lake then flew 200 feet over my head. It was a great sight and sound.
Your conclusion ties everything together nicely.This is a topic that deserves more attention