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Martin P5M Marlin

1952 COLD WAR VIETNAM WAR

Martin P5M Marlins History

World War II demonstrated the value of large airships in long-range maritime patrol and anti-ship roles. Founded in 1912, the Glenn L. Martin Company was already building aircraft before World War II and sold various military services worldwide with its 1940 PBM airship design, the "Mariner". A total of 1,285 of these aircraft were produced, the last of which was retired from Uruguay in 1964.

In the post-war years, Martin tried a modernized version of his Sailor, which would later become the P5M "Marin" (Type 237). Overall, the aircraft is an improvement, with only 285 of them procured by the USN/USCG and the French Navy.

Design experience has resulted in an elegant airship through smooth lines and aerodynamically refined forms. The aircraft features a boat-like fuselage common to other aircraft in this class.

Other traditional features were also retained - high wing main aircraft, forward engine nacelles, outboard wing pontoons. The cockpit is located high on the fuselage to allow for a good view from the cockpit. There are two engines - 3,450 hp Wright R-3350 Radials - housed in the streamlined cabin.

With a single vertical stabilizer, the horizontal plane is set low. In its original form, the aircraft was equipped with machine gun turrets for defense on the nose and tail, as well as a dorsal turret with 2 x .50 caliber machine guns.

The first flight of the XP5M prototype was recorded on May 30, 1948.

The aircraft was accepted as P5M-1 by USN/USCG, with an initial order of 167. To this point, the finished aircraft has been partially modified from the prototype - most notably the removal of the nose turret (replaced by the AN/APS-44 series radar under the cone assembly) and back turret, and the introduction of a raised drive Cabin cockpit for improved visibility and extended engine nacelles.

Production of this form began in 1951, and the service was officially launched in 1952.

Martin's engineers have yet to complete the evolution of their Marlin design. The P5M-2 variant appeared in 116 examples, the most notable difference being a change to a "T" tail configuration, with the horizontal plane positioned high on the vertical tail.

The tail turret was also removed and an AN/ASQ-8 MAD ("Magnetic Anomaly Detector") boom assembly was added. Other equipment added includes AN/APN-122-DNS ("Doppler Navigation Device"). The lines of the hull have also been redrawn for better water performance.

While the USCG was the original recipient of the Marlins (for search and rescue missions), the aircraft did not meet service requirements, resulting in approximately 11 machines being handed over to the US Navy, which reorganized them as Training platform name TP-5A. The original USCG designations were P5M-1G (seven examples) and P5M-2G (four examples).

From 1957 to 1959, the French Navy lent (and returned) at least 10 U.S. Navy P5Ms for service over Senegal.

The P5M Marlins served with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War (1955-1975), where they performed maritime patrol and surveillance missions to stop the tide of supplies reaching the enemy via waterways. Operations continued until the late 1960s.

In 1962, the US military modified its aircraft nomenclature system, resulting in the P5M-1 becoming "P-5A" and the P5M-2 becoming "P-5B". Other variants follow (see the list of variants for a full breakdown).

The P5M-2S brand is an upgraded P5M-2S with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) equipment and upgraded electronics. The P5M-3 (Type 313) is a turbojet-powered airship proposed in 1956. It failed to compete with a proposal from Lockheed that would later become the P-3 Orion series.

Many marlin production stocks were scrapped after the flight period. The only known surviving example is at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, USA.

On November 6, 1967, the aircraft in question made a salute flight for USN airship operations as it flew over North Island at the US Naval Air Station (NAS) and landed in the waters of San Diego Bay.