Martin 156

Martin 156
Martin 156
	Martin M-156 "Russian Clipper"
General information
Type	Flying boat airliner
Manufacturer	Glenn L. Martin Company
Primary user	Aeroflot
Number built	1
History
Introduction date	1940
First flight	27 November 1937
Retired	1944

The Martin 156, referred to in the press variously as the "Russian Clipper", "Moscow Clipper", or "Soviet Clipper" was a very large flying boat aircraft intended for trans-Pacific service. The single example of the M-156 was designed and built in response to a request from Pan American World Airways to provide a longer-range replacement for the Martin M-130.

Design and development

Martin delivered three Martin Ocean Transport Model-130s (M-130) to Pan Am in 1935 which were flown as the China Clipper, Philippine Clipper and Hawaii Clipper.^[1] Pan Am rejected the M-156 in preference to the Boeing 314 for its replacement.

Pan Am was seeking to expand its trans-Pacific air service between San Francisco and Hong Kong in 1937. This route had been pioneered by the Martin M-130 and Pan Am was in need of a larger aircraft. The San Francisco to Hawaii flight was 2,400 miles (3,900 km) and took 18 – 20 hours. Pan Am would have configured the M-156 as a 26-berth sleeper. The trans-Pacific flights flying Hawaii -Midway Islands - Wake Island - Guam - Manila - Hong Kong were less than half the California to Hawaii leg. With a lower fuel load requirement, the M-156 could carry additional passengers. The M-156 would have been converted to a 33- to 56-seat day trip configuration. Pan Am and Matson Liners advertised an "Air-Sea Cruise" where Matson Liners carried passengers from San Francisco to Honolulu. Passengers would then transfer to Pan Am Clippers for westward flights to China and the Orient.^[2]^{[page needed]}

After Pan Am selected the Boeing 314,^[3] Martin negotiated a deal with the Soviet Union for this aircraft and the M-156 was never put into regular trans-Pacific service. The M-156 was sold to the Soviets and operated by Aeroflot on the Soviet Union's far-east routes under the designation PS-30.

Like the M-130, the M-156 was a four-engined, parasol wing design. While the M-156 retained the same length as its predecessor, its wingspan was increased by more than 27 ft (8.2 m) with the addition of flaps for increased control. The M-156 also differed from the M-130 by having a horizontal stabilizer mounted atop a pylon at the rear of the hull, with twin vertical stabilizers and twin rudders located atop the horizontal stabilizer.^[4]^{[page needed]}

Along with the increase in wing size, fuel capacity was expanded from the M-130's 3,165 gal (11,981 L) to a total of 4,260 gal (16,126 L) in the M-156/PS-30. Power for each of the four engines increased from 850 hp (630 kW) to 1,000 hp (750 kW) utilizing the more powerful Wright Cyclone G2 radials. ^[5]^{[page needed]}

The Soviet government purchased the M-156 from Martin in 1937. The sale included a set of production plans, engineering specifications and manufacturing licenses as the Soviets intended to mass-produce this aircraft. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 negated these plans.

The single M-156/PS-30 was put into regular service in 1940 by Aeroflot and was utilized in the Soviet Far East along the Pacific coast. In this role, Aeroflot configured the aircraft to carry up to 70 passengers. It was flown by Aeroflot until 1944, at which time it was scrapped.^[6]^{[page needed]}

Specifications (Martin 156C)

Data from ^{[citation needed]}

General characteristics

Capacity: 53 passengers (San Francisco - Hawaii)
26 passengers (San Francisco - Hong Kong)
Length: 92 ft 2 in (28.11 m)
Wingspan: 157 ft 0 in (47.87 m)
Height: 27 ft 2 in (8.29 m)
Empty weight: 31,292 lb (14,194 kg)
Gross weight: 60,708 lb (27,561 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-1820 Cyclone G2 radial piston engine, 1,000 hp (750 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 182 mph (293 km/h, 158 kn)
Range: 3,000 mi (4,830 km, 2,600 nmi)

References

^ Barry Taylor, Pan American's Ocean Clippers, TAB Aero, 1991. pp. 112, 116, 120–121. ISBN 0-8306-8302-X.
^ Daily, Robert (1990). An American Saga – Juan Trippe and His Pan Am Empire. Random House.
^ Barry Taylor, Pan American's Ocean Clippers, TAB Aero, 1991. pp. 160. ISBN 0-8306-8302-X. "On July 31, 1936, [Pan Am and Boeing] signed a contract for six aircraft, designated the B-314."
^ Davies, R.E.G. (1987). Pan Am – an Airline and its Aircraft. illustrated by Mike Machat. Paladar Press.
^ Davies, R.E.G. (1987). Pan Am – an Airline and its Aircraft. illustrated by Mike Machat. Paladar Press.
^ Davies, R.E.G. (1987). Pan Am – an Airline and its Aircraft. illustrated by Mike Machat. Paladar Press.

External links

Media related to Martin 156 at Wikimedia Commons

[1] Barry Taylor, Pan American's Ocean Clippers, TAB Aero, 1991. pp. 112, 116, 120–121. ISBN 0-8306-8302-X.

[2] Daily, Robert (1990). An American Saga – Juan Trippe and His Pan Am Empire. Random House.

[3] Barry Taylor, Pan American's Ocean Clippers, TAB Aero, 1991. pp. 160. ISBN 0-8306-8302-X. "On July 31, 1936, [Pan Am and Boeing] signed a contract for six aircraft, designated the B-314."

[4] Davies, R.E.G. (1987). Pan Am – an Airline and its Aircraft. illustrated by Mike Machat. Paladar Press.

[5] Davies, R.E.G. (1987). Pan Am – an Airline and its Aircraft. illustrated by Mike Machat. Paladar Press.

[6] Davies, R.E.G. (1987). Pan Am – an Airline and its Aircraft. illustrated by Mike Machat. Paladar Press.

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v t e Martin and Martin Marietta aircraft
Model numbers	57 60 63 66 67 70 71 73 74 75 77 83 85 117 118 119 120 122 123 125 127 129 130 133 139 145 146 156 158 162 166 167 170 179 182 187 189 190 193 202 205 210 219 223 234 237 247 259 270 271 272 274 275 290 303 307 313 316 317 321 327
Airliners	M-130 Clipper M-156 Russian Clipper 2-0-2 3-0-3 4-0-4
Attack aircraft	A-15 A-22 A-23 A-30 A-45 AM
Bombers	B-10 B-12 XB-13 XB-14 XB-16 B-26 XB-27 B-33 B-48 XB-51 B-57 XB-68 BM MB-1 NBS-1
Maritime patrol	PBM XP2M P3M P4M P5M P6M P7M
Military transports	C-3 JRM RM
Military trainers	T/TT N2M
Scout/Torpedo bombers	S TM T2M T3M T4M T5M T6M
Reconnaissance aircraft	MO-1 M2O-1 MS-1 RB-57D RB-57F
Observation aircraft	XO-4
Martin Marietta	845 SV-5J X-23 X-24A/B

v t e Soviet transport aircraft designations, 1923–1940
Cargo (G)	G-1 G-2
Passenger (P)	P-1¹ P-2¹ P-3¹ P-4¹ P-5 P-6
Passenger aircraft (PS)	PS-1¹ PS-2¹ PS-3 (I) PS-3 (II) PS-4 PS-5 PS-6¹ PS-7 PS-8¹ PS-9 PS-10 through PS-29¹ PS-30 PS-31¹ PS-32¹ PS-33¹ PS-34¹ PS-35 PS-36¹ PS-37¹ PS-38¹ PS-39¹ PS-40 PS-41 PS-42 PS-43 PS-44 through PS-83¹ PS-84 PS-85¹ PS-86¹ PS-87¹ PS-88¹ PS-89 PS-90 through PS-123¹ PS-124
Passenger seaplane (MP)	MP-1 MP-2 MP-3¹ MP-4¹ MP-5¹ MP-6
Passenger maybach (PM)	PM-1
Descriptors	Cargo transport GST
¹ Unknown/not assigned

Martin 156

Design and development

Specifications (Martin 156C)

See also

References

External links