Friday, 7 April 2017

Martin Maryland - British users

Just before the fall of France in June 1940, a pact was signed to hand over the remaining 75 planes that were intended to be delivered to France to the United Kingdom, so from those seventy-five, thirty two of them were already completed and, after being handed over, they were converted to British standards having converted their engines from Wright R-1280 Cyclone 9 to the Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp as well as the changement in defensive weaponry. The other forty three were finished in British standards and received the designation of Martin Maryland Mk.I. One hundred and fifty more of them were ordered by the British with a two-speed superchargers on their twin-wasp engines and were designated Martin Maryland Mk.II.
They were delivered mainly to the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, mostly in Egypt and Malta in 1941 just in time to take part in the fighting there. As they were faster than the Bristol Blenheim, the Royal Air Force, employed them mainly in the photo reconnaissance. In fact it was a Maryland that photographed the Italian Fleet at the port of Taranto before and after the devastating raid of 11th November 1940.
Only three of them served with the Fleet Air Arm, and were used mainly for target towing. However, on 22nd May 1941 a Maryland of 771 Naval Air Squadron based at Hatston in the Orkney islands, reported that the German battleship Bismarck had left the Norwegian port of Bergen and started what would become, her last raid into the Atlantic ocean.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Maryland
2. http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/aircraft/maryland.htm

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