Martin M-156
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The Martin 156, referred to in the press variously as the "Russian Clipper", "Moscow Clipper", or "Soviet Clipper" was a very large
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
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 Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...
delivered three Martin Ocean Transport Model-130s (M-130) to Pan Am in 1935 which were flown as the '' China Clipper'', ''
Philippine Clipper Pan Am Flight 1104, trip no. 62100, was a Martin M-130 flying boat nicknamed the ''Philippine Clipper'' that crashed on the morning of January 21, 1943, in Northern California. The aircraft was operated by Pan American Airways and was carrying t ...
'' and '' Hawaii Clipper''. 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 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
. 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 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. After Pan Am selected the Boeing 314, 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 PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
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 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. 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 to utilizing the more powerful Wright Cyclone G2 radials. 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.


Specifications (Martin 156C)


See also

*
Boeing 314 Clipper The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design fro ...
*
Dornier Do X The Dornier Do X was the largest, heaviest, and most powerful flying boat in the world when it was produced by the Dornier company of Germany in 1929. First conceived by Claude Dornier in 1924, planning started in late 1925 and after over 240 ...
*
Kawanishi H6K The Kawanishi H6K was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat produced by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company and used during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was Mavis; the Navy designation was . Design ...
*
Latécoère 521 The Latécoère 521 was a French six-engined double deck flying boat designed and manufactured by Pierre-Georges Latécoère. At the time of its completion, it held the distinction of being the largest aircraft to be built in France as well as o ...
*
Latécoère 631 The Latécoère 631 was a civil transatlantic flying boat built by Latécoère, the largest ever built up to its time. The type was not a success, being unreliable and uneconomic to operate. Five of the eleven aircraft built were written off in ...
* Short Empire *
Short S.26 The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying boat designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers. It was designed to achieve a non-stop transatlantic capability, increasing the viability of long distant service ...
*
Sikorsky S-40 The Sikorsky S-40 was an American amphibious flying boat built by Sikorsky in the early 1930s for Pan American Airways. Design and development Sikorsky designed the S-40 in response to a request from Juan Trippe, president of Pan American Airw ...
* Sikorsky S-42


References


External links

{{Soviet transport designations 1930s United States airliners Flying boats
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