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Posts:
2,714
From:
Washington state
Registered:
9/10/99
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(1 of 12)
Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Nov 6, 2007 12:25 PM
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This is slightly off-topic, but these are too good not to share.
These wonderful photos were passed on to me by a friend - he didn't take them, and I don't know who originally took them. They show one of the two surviving WW2-era Martin JRM Mars firebombers, operated out of Sprot Lake near Port Alberni in south central Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. The Mars were involved in fighting the recent fires in southern California, although I am unclear as whether these photos were taken in the last couple of weeks, or whether they are from an earlier visit. In any case, they really show how low these pilots get on their approach runs to landing on water. Remember - this is a huge aircraft, with a wing span of 200 ft!
One has to wonder what the dog thought!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/baclightning/whosaysflyingboat.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/baclightning/whatwater.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/baclightning/thatsjustclose.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/baclightning/holdattitude.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/baclightning/flapsup.jpg
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Posts:
12,575
From:
Hampton Roads, Virginia
Registered:
1/3/03
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(2 of 12)
Re: Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Nov 6, 2007 3:24 PM
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Wow! That is one HUGE bird.
I didn't know there were any MARS still flying. Thank you Robert.
Be well.
Bob
--
2008 - Year of the Jackass
"In it's most basic form the right to keep and bear arms is nothing less than the right to maintain the means of one's own self-defense. If a man chooses not to arm himself, that is his choice and right. It is NOT his right to force HIS choice upon ME." -- The OldSailor.
"There are few men who can look out from the deck of his ship at the power of the sea and remain an atheist." The OldSailor
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Posts:
6,344
Registered:
2/27/03
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(3 of 12)
Re: Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Nov 7, 2007 6:16 AM
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Not sure about the Mars specifically, but some flying boats used as firebombers actually scoop up a load of water while skimming across the surface of a lake, so they can make repeated drops in one flight. Wonder if that what was this one was doing?
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Posts:
6,921
From:
Billings MT.
Registered:
2/11/03
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(4 of 12)
Re: Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Nov 7, 2007 8:45 AM
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Great pics, thanks for sharing them!! A number of years ago, (1980s) when I was still on the farm in central Mt. we had some firefighting planes filling up on the lake near our farm. Actually the man-made lake is literally in the middle of our place. It is about a mile and a half long by two miles wide, and there were planes which would dip down on the surface and fill up their tanks using a huge scoop.
I don't think it (or they) were MARS units, but something else. They were painted bright yellow, and not as large it seems in my memory.
--
Happy Trails,
Clint
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Posts:
2,714
From:
Washington state
Registered:
9/10/99
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(5 of 12)
Re: Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Nov 7, 2007 10:36 AM
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> Great pics, thanks for sharing them!! A number of
> years ago, (1980s) when I was still on the farm in
> central Mt. we had some firefighting planes filling
> up on the lake near our farm. Actually the man-made
> lake is literally in the middle of our place. It is
> about a mile and a half long by two miles wide, and
> there were planes which would dip down on the surface
> and fill up their tanks using a huge scoop.
>
> I don't think it (or they) were MARS units, but
> something else. They were painted bright yellow, and
> not as large it seems in my memory.
Sounds an awful lot like a Canadair CL-215 firebomber. The CL-215 (and its successor, the CL-415) is one of the few aircraft specifically designed as a firebomber. They are widely used by the Canadian government, and sometimes assist in fighting fires in neighboring US states, of which Montana would certainly qualify. The ones in Canadian government service are indeed painted yellow overall.
Here's a page with photos of the CL-415 and CL-215.
http://www.oognok.com/415/photos/gallery.shtml
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Posts:
2,714
From:
Washington state
Registered:
9/10/99
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(6 of 12)
Re: Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Nov 7, 2007 10:47 AM
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> Not sure about the Mars specifically, but some flying
> boats used as firebombers actually scoop up a load of
> water while skimming across the surface of a lake, so
> they can make repeated drops in one flight. Wonder
> if that what was this one was doing?
It looks to me like it's coming in for a normal landing n the final photo, although I can't say for sure. The Mars does indeed have scoops - the website of Coulson Flying Tankers, the owner of the Mars, gives this description of the process:
"The Captain executes a normal landing, keeps the the aircraft "on the step" and allows the speed to decrease to 70 knots. He then passes engine power to the Flight Engineer and selects the scoops to the "down" position. The ram pressure for injecting the water into the tanks is such that the aircraft is taking on water at a rate in excess of a ton per second. To account for this added weight, the Flight Engineer must advance the throttles to maintain a skimming speed of 60-70 knots to ensure the aircraft remains on the step. Pickup time is, on average, 25 seconds. When the tanks are full, the Captain will have the scoops raised, call for takeoff power from the Flight Engineer and carry out a normal loaded takeoff. Once airborne, the foam concentrate is injected into the water load (normally, 30 US gallons of concentrate into the 7,200 US gallon water load) where it is dispersed and remains inert until the load is dropped. Once dropped, the tumbling action causes expansion which converts the water load into a foam load. This process is repeated for each drop. In other words, this vital team work is carried out, on average, every 15 minutes per aircraft. For a Gel drop , the concentrate is injected during the scooping process to allow even mixing."
Pretty amazing!
Since posting them, I've found out that the photos were taken on October 25, at Lake Elsinore in California. I still don't know who took them, though!
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Posts:
4,563
From:
Southern California Foothills
Registered:
9/10/99
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(7 of 12)
Nov 7, 2007 2:09 PM
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Although it is one of those memories that was TOLD to me because I was so young, my uncle (Lt.Commander Richard Williams, USN) flew one of the Mars' into San Diego and orbited low over our house on Point Loma as we ran outside at the sound of huge engines.
During a huge fire a decade or so back, near my former home town of Murphys, California, the Mars' came to New Melones reservoir to fill up. Unfortunately I did not get to see them then (even though I "staked out" the reservoir with binoculars and camera), nor most recently when the Mars' were once again called into service for drops on the recent fires around my current home in Ramona, California. Damn!
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Posts:
1,507
From:
southern bc
Registered:
11/12/07
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(8 of 12)
Re: Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Aug 20, 2008 2:11 PM
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Sounds an awful lot like a Canadair CL-215 firebomber. The CL-215 (and its successor, the CL-415) is one of the few aircraft specifically designed as a firebomber. They are widely used by the Canadian government, and sometimes assist in fighting fires in neighboring US states, of which Montana would certainly qualify. The ones in Canadian government service are indeed painted yellow overall.
Here's a page with photos of the CL-415 and CL-21
Robert you nailed it on the head, these are the little guys they use mainly around here. They are extremely powerful machines.
Last summer my parents were visiting me we noticed that a lightning strike had started a fire on a mountain ridge about 6 miles North. For the next four hours Mom, Dad and me and mine watched the Bombardier CL-415s bomb the hell out of the fire. Great fun, beer, bbq, family, and a fire being fought with water bombers.
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Posts:
1
From:
Lancaster, CA
Registered:
11/1/09
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(9 of 12)
Re: Martin Mars flying boat - firebomber photos
Nov 1, 2009 5:52 PM
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Just stumbled onto this thread. I took the sequence at Lake Elsinore. The largest iamge was taken at 48mm. 
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Posts:
4,563
From:
Southern California Foothills
Registered:
9/10/99
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(10 of 12)
Nov 1, 2009 7:12 PM
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I saw the Mars at Lake Elsinore this September! I only got a long-distant shot of it. Your pics are FABULOUS, and I will share them with the son of my uncle who flew them!
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Posts:
5,015
From:
Seattle Area
Registered:
5/6/03
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(11 of 12)
Nov 1, 2009 9:03 PM
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When this was originally posted, I sent these to a pilot friend of mine. He was impressed, commenting "Just goes to show how important it is to know how much aircraft you have between you and the ground."
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Posts:
1,507
From:
southern bc
Registered:
11/12/07
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(12 of 12)
Nov 2, 2009 12:36 PM
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I'll be in the Sproat Lake area in about three weeks. If any of you like I can get some close up shots of these bombers at there home base if you like.
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