Martin P4M Mercator
1946
Back to the Virtual Aircraft Museum
  PATROL BOMBERVirtual Aircraft Museum / USA / Martin  

Martin P4M Mercator

The US Navy made several attempts to gain the benefit of high over-target performance combined with long range by introducing mixed powerplant. The Martin Model 219 patrol bomber represented one of the results of such a specification, two XP4M-1 prototypes being ordered on 6 July 1944. The first was flown on 20 September 1946 as a cantilever shoulder-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear. Its powerplant comprised two 2218kW Pratt & Whitney R-4360-4 Wasp Major radial engines, but each nacelle also incorporated a 17,350kg thrust Allison J33-A-17 turbojet. After a protracted development programme 19 P4M-1 production aircraft were built, the first being delivered to US Navy Squadron VP-21 on 28 June 1950, and all served with this unit. Most of them were converted into P4M-1Q Elint aircraft, one being shot down.


Specification 
 MODELP4M-1
 ENGINE2 x Pratt Whitney R-4360-20A piston engines, 2424kW + 2 x Allison J33-A-10A, 2087kg
 WEIGHTS
    Take-off weight40000 kg88185 lb
 DIMENSIONS
    Wingspan34.75 m114 ft 0 in
    Length25.50 m83 ft 8 in
    Height7.95 m26 ft 1 in
    Wing area121.79 m21310.94 sq ft
 PERFORMANCE
    Max. speed660 km/h410 mph
    Ceiling10545 m34600 ft
    Range4570 km2840 miles
 ARMAMENT2 x 20mm cannons, 4 x 12.7mm machine-guns, 2700kg of bombs


Tom Glass, tofr5gl(@)yahoo.com, 26.07.2008
Unique, rare aircraft. "Corncob" recips, hidden jets. Most appreciative of crews who flew out of NAS Iwakuni. VP-9 P2V vet.
H W Thornhill, Harlen(@)consolidated.net, 17.05.2008
I served with VP-21 from 1952-1955. Worked on P4M-1s in 1952 before the squadron transitioned to P2Vs. Removed many a stress plates from the upper wing surface of the P4M during a check. I still have pictures of the aircraft and a large one presented to all personnel by the Martin company just before the aircraft left to be converted to P4M-1Q and sent to Port Lyauty.
Len Nielsen, lima294(@)cox.net, 02.05.2008
saw one on the ramp at NAS, Moffett Field, in 1959?? very noisy on take-off
Gerald L. Tripp, trippg748(@)roadrunner, 19.04.2008
Yes I spent many hours flying in the P4M-1Q with VQ-2 out of Port Lyaute, Morroco. '55to '57. No ejection seats.Come to think of it we never had a bailout drill. The plane did have a small hydro plane that could be manually lowered in place. It was just aft of the forward turret.
Bob Brewer, rgb927(@)bellsouth.net, 29.06.2007
Did the Martin P4M have any ejection seats? How were emergency bailouts performed?

Do you have any comments concerning this aircraft ?

Name    E-mail


COMPANY
PROFILE



All the World's Rotorcraft


Virtual Aircraft Museum


All rhe World's Rotorcraft AVIATION TOP 100 - www.avitop.com Avitop.com