Martin Mars Makes Its Last Delivery Flight
Photos by Keith Charlot, story by Ken Kula
There have been plenty of historic “final flights” of a last airworthy example of an aircraft type. A much-followed example of this was the final flights of the last airworthy Martin Mars flying boat in late 2024 to early 2025. Keith Charlot was chosen as one the very few photographers able to record the Philippine Mars in the air on its final leg of a delivery flight which began in Sproat Lake, British Columbia, via the retired Navy base at the former NAS Alameda air station in California, and ending in Lake Pleasant, Arizona.
A series of attempts for these last two legs were dashed due to engine issues, but on February 9, 2025, the last flyable Mars flying boat lifted off from Sproat Lake and alighted at San Francisco Bay’s Alameda Seaplane Base. The next day, the Mars departed from Alameda on its final flight, and splashed down on Arizona’s Lake Pleasant. The last leg took the Mars over the Golden Gate Bridge and other familiar landmarks – the Navy’s Mars transports flew many trips from Alameda to Hawaii and around the world. Near Palm Springs California, a Consolidated PB4Y (a former Navy and Coast Guard patrol and rescue aircraft) and a P-51 Mustang joined in formation for a final escort sendoff.
Here’s how this journey began and ended…
The Glen L. Martin Company designed and built the largest Allied flying boat of World War II. Work on the PB2M Mars began in 1938 as a patrol bomber, but after the war began, the design was modified into a large intercontinental transport role. The first newly-named JRM Mars was accepted by the U. S. Navy for trials in 1943, and the first production airframe was delivered in 1945.
Although seven airframes would be produced, the prototype XPB2M would be scrapped in 1945, and the first production example sank some two weeks after its first flight. The subsequent end of World War II resulted in a production of only further five aircraft, after which the Navy cancelled further construction. Each aircraft was named after Pacific regions… the Marianas Mars, Marshall Mars, Philippine Mars, Caroline Mars, and Hawaii Mars (there were a pair of aircraft named the Hawaii Mars, the first one sank in 1945). The U. S. Navy would lose one more aircraft – the Marshall Mars – due to an engine fire in 1950; the other four would operate until 1956.
A few years later, the four airframes were sold to a Canadian civilian consortium, which produced timber in British Columbia. The four Mars transports were converted into water bombers for forest fire fighting on Canada’s western coast. Each of the four airframes kept its former name; attrition would see the Marianas Mars crash while firefighting in 1961 and the Caroline Mars was damaged beyond repair by a hurricane in 1962. By 1963, only the Hawaii Mars and the Philippine Mars were in service, and they were active until 2012. After that, sporadic use of the pair of flying boats caused their then-current owners of the Coulson Group put the aircraft up for sale.
Ultimately, Hawaii Mars would end up in the British Columbia Aviation Museum in 2023.
The Philippine Mars’ retirement was a bit trickier. Shortly after retirement in 2012, it was announced that U. S.’s National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida would receive the last Mars aircraft, but four years later, the plan was dropped. During that period of time, the aircraft was painted in deep (“Navy”) blue colors, with the name Philippine Mars emblazoned under her cockpit.
Fast forward to April 2024, and Coulson Aviation announced that the aircraft was to be donated to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. Preparations to make the aircraft airworthy for the flights to the Museum began in early December 2024, and a week later, a first attempt was made to fly to a lake near the Museum, but an engine issue forced a return to Sproat Lake. Four days later, and another engine issue forced the Mars down at Patricia Bay, BC. Almost a month later, complete with a new #4 engine, the Mars returned to Sproat Lake. Four weeks later, the final trip began on February 9th, and ended a day later.
After the final ferry flight to Arizona, the aircraft (which was not a true amphibian) was taken out of the water two days after landing and partly disassembled. The engines, control surfaces and vertical stabilizer were removed first, then the wings were de-mated. On May 11, 2025, the fuselage began an over-road journey to Tucson, which ended on May 16th. Other parts followed. The Philippine Mars is being reassembled and, according to Pima Air & Space Museum’s CEO Scott Marchand, “We are pleased to have the Philippine Mars join our museum where we will preserve this World War II-era aircraft for decades to come.”
Many thanks to Keith Charlot for the stellar photos of the Philippine Mars.
