Martin 139 in Dutch hands

 

The Martin Type 139 was an all-metal bomber monoplane, whose exportations were cleared in 1936. It was exported to many countries, most of them covered in previous posts, except for one, the Dutch East Indies.

The largest customer for the Martin Type 139 was the Dutch colony. They ordered twelve Type 139WH-1 (where the letter 'H' stands for Holland - the export version destined to serve in the Dutch East Indies) powered by two Wright R-1820-F53 Cyclone engines which delivered 750 hp of power each which were delivered between September 1936 and February 1937. This order was followed by additional 26 Type 139WH-2, a refined version, this time powered by R-1820-G3 engines which delivered up to 850 hp of power. This second batch was delivered between November 1937 and March 1938. The final export version, the Type 139WH-3, AKA Type 166 was powered by the R-1820 G-102 radial engines, capable of delivering up to 900 hp of power. This version featured also a redesigned fuselage with a long unbroken canopy "greenhouse" that ran all the way from the pilot's cockpit until the rear gunner's position. A total of 78 of the Type 166 were manufactured at Martin's factory in Baltimore between August 1936 and March 1938 before the production line was shut down. All of them had been delivered in the Dutch East Indies by 5th May 1939.

When Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies in December 1941, a total of six squadrons of Type 139 were present in the Dutch East Indies. They were flown in tactical bombing missions in a futile attempt to stop the Japanese advance during early 1942. By this time, the 139 was considerably obsolete with a speed, armour and weaponry completely inadequate to defend against the superior Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, which the Type 139 couldn't stand against. Most of the Dutch 139 or 166 were either destroyed in aerial combat or on the ground. 

Sources:

1. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b10.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-10

3. https://www.valka.cz/Martin-139W-t159440

4. https://www.valka.cz/Martin-166-t159445