P-6M Seamaster Jet Seaplane: Faster than today's B-2s, B-52s

[fireplanes]

Beriev took this concept to a functional level in the A40 and Be-200.

[rogerstill71]

The most beautiful aircraft are the flying boats, IMO. And I agree with what you say about the military mafia.

[fuck5ofu]

did the say mock 8?

[g25a25c]

@fuck5ofu mach 0.89

[PeetPeeet]

Dynamicpara: You actually talk some sense here. You make some excellent points on your webpage too, the Navy castrates itself by failing to utilize this excellent technology. I'm still not convinced about your 'air cushion gear' for land ops though!

[Ramstein1982]

Imagine the Martin Seamaster fuselage with a Beriev Be-200 landing gear and modern engines.

[megashegem]

Just like all the early naval jets...We had the airplane but not the engine for it.

[kolbpilot]

The 1950's, what a time for aviation and innovation. The Seamaster is a fine example.

[ZedAlfa273]

In the Navy, the Carrier Admirals rule the roost.

It continues even to this day, they were the ones that killed the Missile Ship.

[Jaiv74]

Why it doesn't just fly?

[FedRebel]

You mean why was it canceled?

It would've given us a decisive edge, those in charge wanted "parity" instead, Plus the military mafias were after it

Carrier & Sub mafias saw it as a threat, and SAC wanted it all to itself

The Navy as a whole didn't want SAC to expand it's monopoly (the squids have only managed to keep the subs by the skin of their teeth), then internal Naval politics made the P6M an easy kill for "parity" seeking politicians

[dynmicpara]

We have entire web page on why it was cancelled. Seaplane bombers would give us a decsive edge--an ability to patrol and attack from long ranges without a huge aircraft carrier! Can refuel by submarine etc.

[humvee600]

its at the washington DC air & space mueum

[Grommo]

the Chinese Dong Feng missile now illuminates the forward thinking of the guys who developed this and the convair seadart.

[FelNoobs]

damn she need 100 kilo to fly

[Ailechamp]

Too bad there are none left. The Seamaster could have revolutionized naval warfare and transportation in my belief.

[cwillis500]

i like the albatross more

[getplaning]

The ekranoplan was not a bomber, it was a transport.

There is no comparison between the Sea Master strategic bomber and the ekranoplan.

[dynmicpara]

Not exactly true; some WIGs were fitted with missiles. These could "bomb" their targets. There is similarities between an OUT OF GROUND EFFECT seaplane and one that flies within it.

[ajjs02]

No but i think the ekranoplan drew from this proto type. the ekranoplans were in the mid 60's. this plane is flying in the mid 50's!You can definetly see the similarity in the hull.the fusalage and in the tail. Very interesting.

[safetychoice]

I worked at the Martin Company when they were building this thing. I was in a different section but I used to walk by it and look at it. It struck me that the engines were angled inward in such a way that the exhaust would strike the fuselage and the tail,causing material damage and interfering with stability and control. But I was a young engineer on my first job. What did I know. The plane subsequently crashed on a test flight, killing the entire crew.

[dynmicpara]

You show even an engineer can be ignorant. The engine angle had nothing to do with the CONTROL SYSTEM HYDRAULICS that failed--that caused the crash.

[safetychoice]

You did not read my post carefully. I did not say the engine angle had caused the crash. I was right about the engine angle because on flight tests the engine exhaust did indeed strike the rear fuselage when the afterburners were on. As a result, the engine angles were changed on subsequent models.

[dynmicpara]

Very well. I did read your post carefully and did not want the jet seaplane to get a bad rap by your abrupt conclusion (I realize space here is tight). I'm delighted you are here as an actual Martin P-6M engineer and look forward to more insights so the younger generation can be more can-do.

[pinz2022]

@safetychoice

I've got the story in "Raise Heaven And Earth: The Story of Marin Marietta People and Their Pioneering Achievements", by William Harwood; an official history of the company.

The first two prototypes came a cropper because the original wind tunnel data on the "T"-tail was bad. An in-depth examination of the data revealed the mistake.

[kylemcevoy]

why didn't they just move the engines out and keep the after burner in the inboard engine

[dynmicpara]

You have got the main idea---LEARN from research and apply DEVELOPMENT.

The SeaMaster was perfected and ready-to-go but the carrier and sub mafias (Rickover) stabbed the entire patrol plane community in the back for their rackets at the expense of WE THE PEOPLE they were supposed to be serving.

[xmodfreak2011]

@kylemcevoy They needed a quick fix. They couldn't rip the whole thing apart and rebuild it. Removing afterburners is way easier, cheaper, and quicker. But for a finished product, they should have moved them out. 

[GLR26591]

they copied the Sovit Ekranoplane, which was better!!!!!!

[dynmicpara]

This is NOT a WIG Ekranoplane. It flies outside of ground effect.

[pingfaninsg]

Russian Lun and WIG design is not efficient in fuel consumption and costly in operation.

I wonder what is the efficient rate of this sea master.

[dynmicpara]

More efficient than having to artificially create a poor land base with a $5 BILLION aircraft carrier target packed with 5, 000 potential victims.

[klramon]

The lun and the caspian sea monster waren´t planes. They ware ekranoplanes. So don´t compare them.

[dynmicpara]

WIGs are a TYPE of airplane; but if you mean they are not out-of-ground effect (OGE) airplanes, yes they are not...they should be compared to surface ships--which are far slower and more vulnerable.

[klramon]

But they are so totaly different! This P-6M can fly but f.e. Sea Monster can´t. Ok 2 or 3 meter over the sea it isn´t really an attitude.

[dynmicpara]

What part of OGE airplane versus WIG airplane did you not understand?

[1d1rect]

why cant i see the video

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TALK TO ME xF

[whizbang47]

Fly truly direct to tropical resorts.

[samuraikensai]

The Seamaster was designed before the large Russian jet flyboats like the Mermaid...get it right.

[SerboRussianUnion]

cheap copy of Caspian Sea Monster

[dynmicpara]

No, P-6M is an out-of-ground effect seaplane--not a WIG.

[klramon]

Ahh... forget it. I am a computer not an aviation freak. :)

[dynmicpara]

Forget posting comments about things you know nothing about and care not to know about.

[LEBATO]

fuck that shit us copy the design from Russians once again like the space craft etc etc

[dynmicpara]

I'm not convinced that Glenn Martin didn't come up with the Seamaster without copying from the Russians. But relax, the Russian seaplanes are great and we should be using them TODAY. The U.S. and Russia should be strong allies.

[rosswnelson]

ah no sonny, its not a copy. Being 1955 it probably predates the ekranoplan by 10 odd years. This was just a jet flying boat not a GEV. Jet flying boats were a logical progression of WWII catalinas and yankee clippers.

[robert506007]

actual from what I understand the jet seaplane was originally developed by the U.S. on it's own

[motokid032]

I think that would be a great tool to fly across the Atlantic..Imagine that.

[canariojoe]

for the navy seals, man!! :P

[jimschutz]

In addition to a military role, one can only wonder what the design could do in a non-military role considering the composite building materials and higher efficiency engine technologies available today. Also, I think this plane could be made stealthy by the looks shown in the posted video. I visit the Globemaster III on static display every time I go the the EAA in Oshkosh, WI, which is designed to land and take-off on poor landing strips, but this plane screams, "All I need is open water."

[kalasnikov47]

americans copying soviet again huh :D

[dynmicpara]

I'm not convinced that Glenn Martin didn't come up with the Seamaster without copying from the Russians. But relax, the Russian seaplanes are great and we should be using them TODAY. The U.S. and Russia should be strong allies.

[thegrandemperor]

Think about what they could do with this thing if the gave this thing some of the technological TLC of today. Though the the clamps to bring plane to shore was a good idea, i'd rather see landing gear inside the hull.

[arroy624]

this one looks ok... but caspian sea monster is my personal favorite.

[Tclans]

the 'Lun' or the prototype?

[W7ENK]

Watching this, I was beginning to wonder if the damn thing even left the water! Impressive piece of video; Thanks for posting.

[acftnut]

the russians had a jet plane design also during this time, it could land on water as well as ice and was mach capable. the project was scraped when the soviets discovered that missles were cheaper and easier to build. I do agree with cajun that curtis lemay was an arogant prick.

[dynmicpara]

Can MISSILES lay seamines or hunt ships/subs or land bombard economically? Can they insert/extract commandos? Can they rescue men in peril in the sea? Can they put out forest fires?

[TripleZ89]

Only YOU can prevent forest fires! ;P

Great vid man thanks!!

[soulcalibur22]

amazing

[fairlanejay]

A travesty of military politics obviously. Impressive it could hit mach .89, Very few subsonic jets can achieve that today. Thx for the vid.

[jaybee641]

Looks like a VC 10 on water!

[cajunhornet60]

This thing could break Mach 1 with the J-75's. Curtis LeMay killed this plane; he wanted NO competetion for his SAC Bombers.

Helicopter Squadron Vet (USAF)

Vietnam 1968-69

[civicminded76]

wow, I've never knew this thing ever existed. I thought I'd seen everything.

[Blogengezer]

Read Martin's life story and companies that he spawned. A very great man and way ahead of his time a true visionary, Kelly Johnson and others just carried on where he left off. He risked his own wealth many times to prove his theory's.

[441rider]

Howard Hughes is smiling wherever he is. Bigger than the MARS even but rough sea landing very sketchy I bet if not impossible with this configuration.

[dynmicpara]

You bet wrong and lose. The whole point of the Seamaster's slim fuselage was for rough seas landings. Try reading the video description and going to the web links there before posting your prejudices.

[colpi23]

it's a bit the seame as the russian sea monster

[eastsackevster]

B52! I live right where they used to be based, Mather Airfield Sacramento CA. I rem in the 80's when they used to fly allot man they were loud! So cool, I was to young to really get how great they where but glad I had the chance to see and hear so many

[BlacktailFA]

And here we are patrolling US waters with P-3 Orions, to look for submarines --- with their YOWLING turboprop engines giving away their presence...

A P-6M with a 767's turbofans would have been a fast, quiet sub killer...

[dynmicpara]

The emasculation of America's ASW patrol capabilities into land-locked civilian airliners was deliberate racketeering by the carrier "mafia" to ruin a rival approach to naval warfare

[victor1566]

Russians copied this when it was turned down by Navy brass. Their seaborne bombers compliment their subs and other vessels. Can carry multimegaton missiles,Cruise missiles,

missiles,air launched torpedoes that move 630mph underwater.Not visible to normal radar and natural stealth because of ocean waves.

[cdowell1976]

This plane IS highly impressive however it was rejected due to military beauocracy. Nothing more. The military makes no money on anything. In fact it has an annual budget that it must expend before October 1 each year.

[dynmicpara]

Naive comment. EGO & greed are what racketeers racket.

[Crediblesport]

Hello,

Where can one purcahse this video dvd?

Thaks

Credible sport

[CONEY37]

Terrific tape. one small correction. I was experimental aerodynamicist on P6. We ran tank tests and added chevrons aft of the very shallow step (which was causing the afterbody flow reattachment (roach). It was Dick Adams idea. It worked like a charm and also cured a slight porpoising tendency in the 80 to 110 knot range, at take off.