Martin 156
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Martin 156 was a very large (for its time) flying boat aircraft intended for transoceanic 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 Martin's earlier M-130, the three examples of which were flown by Pan Am as the "China Clipper", "Philippine Clipper" and "Hawaii Clipper". The award for the larger plane eventually went to Boeing's Model 314.
Pan Am intended to use the 156 to establish trans-Pacific air service between San Francisco and Hong Kong in 1937. Flying the San Francisco / Hawaii routes, the passenger capacity would have varied between 33 and 53 people, and the passenger configuration could have been converted into a 26-berth sleeper for the longer trans-Pacific routes. Before it had a chance to be put into regular service, the M-156 was sold to Aeroflot and operated on Soviet Union far-east routes under the designation PS-30.
Like the M-130, the M-156 was a 4-engined, high-wing design with the wing mounted atop a pylon extension of the fuselage (hull). The M-156 wingspan was over 27 feet greater than that of the M-130 and featured flaps. The M-156 differed from the M-130 in 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 increased from the M-130's 3,165 gallons to a total of 4,260 gallons in the M-156. Power for each of the four engines increased from 850 HP to 1,000 HP.
[edit] Specifications (Martin 156C)
[edit] General characteristics
- Crew:
- 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)
- Wing area: ft² ( m²)
- Empty: 31,292 lb (14,194 kg)
- Loaded: 60,708 lb (27,561 kg)
- Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Wright Cyclone G2 radial, 1,000 hp (745 kW) each
[edit] Performance
- Maximum speed: 182 mph (293 km/h)
- Range: 3,000 miles (4,830 km)
- Service ceiling: ft ( m)
- Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
- Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
- Power/mass: hp/lb ( kW/kg)
[edit] Related content
Related development:
Comparable aircraft:
Designation sequence:
|
||||||||||||||
 |
This article on an aircraft of the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
