Marting P6M SeaMaster

Unless a company was very brave and willing to devote resources to a project that would have a hard time breaking even, (despite the need, how large of market is there? 100 ac? 200?)

Perhaps a consortium…. US/CAN/AUS/FR/GREECE … others.

(Though I’m not sure Australia would need an amphib.).

But hydrodynamics and aerodynamics research isn’t going to be cheap.

Perhaps costs would be lower if done in Korea or Brazil and used some existing hardware…cockpit structure, etc.

I live in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, not far from the Canadian border. It”s interesting to see the various types…(thankfully more on TV than in person)…DC-10, 747, DC-9, DASH-8,…locally based  are Firecats (SE AG aircraft on floats) and AVRO RJ/BeA146, CL-415s as well as helicopters, surplus Blackhawk and even Chinooks.

I suspect that new-build/new design amphibian water bombers are under consideration as we speak. Not so long ago there wouldn’t be so much urgency for this type of aircraft but with the escalation in climate-related wildfires (Jasper being just one high-profile example) availability of this type of aircraft must now be a high priority. Imagine what could be done if it were an optimised design, incorporating the latest technology and the best engines and airframe. I’m sure that even the way water is uploaded would benefit from a new set of eyes and some real investment. 

Duggy1

“A wonderful looking aircraft, maybe the “WEST” should look into something similar, as a water bomber ??”

R&D costs would be huge for the number of airframe required…unless one had access to the Semester plans, but even then with the necessary upgrades (engines, avionics)  to make it viable, the costs would be huge.

Good thing the CL-215 was designed 60 years ago, you probably couldn’t produce a dedicated water bomber today….unles.it was a government “make work” project (which the CL-215 may have been).

The only “off the shelf” amphibian would be the Japanese ShinMaywa US-2, A development of the 55 year old US-1 design. It’s currently in production.

If anyone is so inclined, the old 1956 Revell plastic kit of a Seamaster has been reissued by Atlantis.

It is in 1/136 scale..close enough to 1/144.Comes with alternate decal options and a nice base.

Very reasonably priced.

Back on topic, I put this together six years ago on my website. – link – http://axis-and-allies-paintworks.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopi…

A wonderful looking aircraft, maybe the “WEST” should look into something similar, as a water bomber ??

Mariner? I thought we were talking Seamaster??

IIRC that Mariner is no longer an intact airframe but a heap of wreckage. The Navy tried to lift it but things did not go well and it broke up.

Cheers

Cees

Photos of remnants of one of the P6M-2 Seamaster jet seaplanes which were scrapped can be found here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajw1970/18499935845

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajw1970/17877250694/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajw1970/18312172540/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajw1970/18312255150/in/photostream/

The Mariner which rests at the bottom of Lake Washington bore he designation PBM, not P-5 (the redesignation of the P5M Marlin after the 1962 Tri-Service aircraft designation system was established by the Defense Department).

Even as the P6M Seamaster was undergoing flight tests, Martin undertook design work on the Model 307 SeaMistress eight-engine transport derivative of the Seamaster but also two seaplane projects incorporating some design attributes of the Seamaster, the P7M Submaster open-ocean ASW seaplane and the Model 329 supersonic seaplane. Some of Martin’s Model 331 design studies for nuclear-powered flying boats were derivatives of the P6M Seamaster (the rest were supersonic aircraft), but like the SeaMistress, Submaster, and Model 329, they never saw the light of day.