P6M SEAMASTER AMPHIBIOUS STRATEGIC BOMBER FLIGHT TEST FOOTAGE REEL 2 82334
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2018
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This silent footage dates to the time of the Martin P6M Seamaster flight test program, with the prototype the third P6M-2 production aircraft featured. At the start of the film you will see this incredible amphibian in the air on a test flight. The aircraft is seen taxiing at :58 and then starting high speed taxi runs. At 5:00, the Seamaster's retrieval dolly is seen being positioned. At 5:16 the cockpit area of the aircraft is seen indicating it is "Ship 9", but it is unclear what this means since only five aircraft were built. At 6:40 the aircraft is seen in position to be mated to the retrieval dolly. Some of the frogmen who perform this task are seen on the docks. At 12:00, the aircraft is seen entering the water on the dolly. Additional taxi tests are then shown.
The Martin P6M SeaMaster, built by the Glenn L. Martin Company, was a 1950s strategic bomber flying boat for the United States Navy that almost entered service; production aircraft were built and Navy crews were undergoing operational conversion, with a service entry about six months off, when the program was cancelled on 21 August 1959. Envisioned as a way to give the Navy a strategic nuclear force, the SeaMaster was eclipsed by the Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile. Due to the political situation at the Pentagon, the Navy promoted the P6M primarily as a high speed minelayer.
The first pre-production YP6M-1 was completed about a year later, with testing resuming in January 1958. Five more were built in 1958 when the Navy announced that Harvey Point Defense Testing Facility in Hertford, North Carolina, would serve as the testing grounds for the fleet of Martin P6M SeaMasters. These aircraft were fitted with test versions of the full combat equipment suite and were used for bombing, mine laying and reconnaissance evaluations. The J71 engines were unreliable and the aircraft had spray ingestion problems at higher gross weights, which limited takeoffs to ideal conditions.[6] The P6M-1 also had a serious control deficiency due to porpoising under some trim settings. These deficiencies resulted in the P6M-1 program being cut as it was no longer considered possible for it to be successfully developed.
The Navy and Martin felt that a new version, the P6M-2, would provide a useful aircraft. The first was rolled out in early 1959. Changes included new, more powerful Pratt & Whitney J75 engines, an aerial refueling probe, improved avionics, and a canopy with better visibility. A buddy refueling drogue kit had also been developed to fit in the bomb bay. Three had been built by summer 1959 and Navy crews were moving them through operational conversion when the program was abruptly canceled in August of that year.
The P6M-2 was an impressive aircraft; its Mach 0.9 (1,100 km/h) performance "on the deck" could be equaled by few aircraft of the time. The aircraft were heavily built, with the skin at the wing roots over 1 in (25 mm) thick. The normally docile and pleasant handling characteristics of the P6M-1 were replaced by some severe compressibility effects above Mach 0.8. These included rapid changes in directional trim, severe buffeting, and wing drop requiring high control inputs to counter. Until those problems were fixed, the P6M-2 could not be considered for use by the Fleet. The problems were identified as being caused by the larger engine nacelles required for the J75s. There were also problems on the water, including a tendency for the tip floats to dig in under certain situations, and engine surges. These problems were eventually solved, but time had run out just as the first crews were training for its operational debut. Eisenhower's administration was making major defense budget cuts that forced the Navy to make choices. In August 1959 Martin was told to halt operations and the program was about to be canceled. Seaplanes were a small community in Naval Aviation, and the P6M was significantly over budget and behind schedule and competing with aircraft carriers for funding. The Navy also had a potentially superior system for the nuclear strike role, the Ballistic Missile Submarine.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com
what a beautiful design of a aircraft , looks amazing
Military engineering during this time was amazing. Do or die type of mentality. I love it. I love it all.
wait for Gaijin to bring this bomber to WarThunder
Awesome footage. Thanks so much. What a novel concept - a transonic amphibian nuclear bomber operating from coral atolls. Love the Seamaster. Wish Allison had their act together and it had entered service on time. Notice the larger nacelles and increased angle on them on these Pratt and Whitney powered P6M-2 variants.
Did it ever actually take off from water though?
They were never running out of stupid ideas at this time....
And now we see where the Ekranoplan KM was inspired from !