Letters From Readers - March 2009 Aviation History

Remembering the Remarkable Mars
As a former aircraft engine mechanic and member of Naval Air Transport Squadron 2 (VR-2) at Alameda, Calif., in 1954-55, I read with great interest and pleasure "The Mighty Mars" by E.R. Johnson in the January issue.

Being young and dumb at the time, I didn't realize the significance of this aircraft in aviation history when I was in the Navy. If I had, I would have taken many more pictures and written down more information. As it is, all I have is a suspect memory and a few black and white photos that I took of a Mars. Fortu­nately, many other photos were taken by other people, and I have collected as many as I could, including some after the Mars' conversion to water bombers.

One small thing that seems a little murky is the final engine configuration when they were retired in 1956. Here is what I remember: In early 1954, when I arrived in VR-2, all of the Mars were equipped with the Wright R-3350 except Caroline Mars, which had the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 "corncob" engine. As I recall, the R-4360 had a poor maintenance record—so much so that a spare was carried at all times in the cargo hold. Several months after I arrived in VR-2, Caroline went into overhaul and emerged with Wright R-3350 engines in place of the R-4360s. When I left VR-2 in May 1955, all four Mars had Wright R-3350 engines. I don't believe they would have ever been retrofitted with P&W R-4360s before being retired in 1956. Your article seemed to imply that Forest Industries Flying Tankers retrofitted back to Wright R-3350 engines as part of the conversion to water bombers.

A visual method of determining which power plant was installed is the size of the engine cowling. With a P&W R-4360 in­stalled, the cowling is noticeably longer.

Love your magazine. Keep it flying.

Marvin Stott
Lake Saint Louis, Mo.

I was pleased to see E.R. Johnson's article on the Martin Mars water bombers in the January issue. As someone who spent time around Sproat Lake, in British Columbia, during the early 1990s, I can tell you that witnessing a water drop in person was a phenomenal experience.

There are lots more Mars stories to tell, however. For example, how about the seaplane record for single distance that was set by a JRM in August 1948, when Caroline Mars flew 4,728 statute miles from Honolulu to Chicago?

For readers who are interested in learning more about the Mars flying boats, I recommend Steve Ginter's 1995 book Martin Mars XPB2M-1R & JRM Flying Boats, Naval Fighters Number Twenty-Nine.

Hans Brouwer
Seattle, Wash.

Another Wet Jet
In reference to "Convair's Incredible Wet Jet," by Robert Guttman, in the January issue, please note that there are four Sea Darts still in existence, not three. XF2Y-1 No. 137634 is currently housed at the Smithsonian's Paul E. Garber facility in Suitland, Md.

Brian Johnson
Centennial, Colo.

Bed-Check Charlies Strike Suwon
Truman Temple's article "Red Mule," in the November issue, was very informative and great reading—all the more so because I personally experienced one of the incidents mentioned in the piece, and I had always wondered exactly what type of aircraft was involved in the attack.

I was a staff sergeant in 6401st Field Main­tenance, stationed at Suwon airfield, South Korea, in the summer of 1951, when two Bed-Check Charlies attacked. We had just hit the sack when there were several loud explosions nearby. Everyone in my tent immediately went out and jumped into nearby slit trenches just in time to hear directly overhead one of the intruders open his throttle and start climbing. We could see the glow of the engine's exhaust and also tracers coming from the rear cockpit, spraying the field. Seconds later air raid sirens sounded—much too late to be of any value, of course. The enclosed photo (below left), which was taken the following morning, is of the F-86 Sabre they destroyed on the ground.

Ernest Beecham
La Verne, Calif.

Stratoliner Prototype Crash
C.V. Glines' story on the Boeing Stratoliner in the January issue brought back vivid memories of my youth. I was 13 and a freshman in high school when the prototype 307 crashed near Alder, Wash., on March 18, 1939. The disaster attracted a lot of onlookers.

My father and uncle took me up to see the wreckage, and I took the enclosed photo (above) that day. I remember noticing that the wings were a considerable distance from the broken fuselage, giving the impression that the plane had broken up in the air but had landed in a flat position.

When the restored 307—which is now in the Smithsonian—ditched in Seattle's Elliott Bay, the entire event was captured on footage later shown on local TV news programs. It happened nearly 63 years to the day after the crash at Alder.
Major Robert W. Meyer

U.S. Air Force (ret.)
Belfair, Wash.

Send letters to Aviation History Editor, Weider History Group, 19300 Promenade Drive, Leesburg, VA 20176-6500, or e-mail to aviationhistory@weiderhistorygroup.com.

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