![]() Demand for this aircraft was destined to increase. PBM was also the first US Navy aircraft to be equipped with British made AVS surface search radar to improve its mission. Those 21 where heavily used in patrolling coastal North America, at first doing “neutrality patrols” hunting for enemy submarines and raiders in territorial waters and shadow allied convoys. There was also an adapter to carry two torpedoes just below the nacelle (similar to the Martin produced B-26).Īlthough a sound design, only twenty one of the "-1" was built before the improved "-3" was put into production. Not immediately visible is the triangular shaped doors under the nose, which opened for the bomb sight station. ![]() 50 cal machine gun, considered very powerful in 1939. The doors under the nacelle and inner wing look like they are for landing gear, but are instead for the internal bomb bay! Able to carry a sizable bombload without the performance drag penalty of external mounts, the PBM-1 had a notable performance advantage over the PBY. Defensive armament was 5 turrets, nose, dorsal, tail, and both waists in unique round windows, each a single. Like the PBY the wing floats retracted, but not to the tips but instead into the wing (like the BV 238). It was also larger, more complex, and 50% heavier.Īfter testing with a 3/8 scale flying model (Martin 162A Tadpole Clipper), the XPBM-1 prototype first flew in 18 February 1939 proving a solid design, except for stability issue with the horizontal stabilizer and twin tails. To solve this the production PBM-1's horizontal stabilizer was given a dihedral to match the wing but maintained the 90 degree angle to the vertical stabilizer, resulting in an inward cant of the vertical/rudder tail (unlike nearly any other aircraft, like the Be-6). Martin company leveraged its considerable flying boat and bomber aircraft experience to design a new aircraft for the requirements of long range with considerable offensive ability and bomb load. In many ways similar to the PBY, it was superior in having internal bomb bay, providing a performance advantage when fully loaded (commonly posted stats often do not list fully loaded performance). Advances in technology lead the US Navy created a few new “system designation” in 1935, with “PB” for “Patrol Bomber” being one of them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |