Does anyone have an accurate source for data on this plane, like weights and armament? Apparenlty a lot of sources are wrong. Thanks guys!
I cannot say which sources are reliable and which are not. Try the U.S. Navy Museum in Fla. They may have a historical or referrence section that may be able to answer your questions. Next, try the manufacturer. They usually have a public relations department that answers questions and some provide pictures, specifications, etc. Some charge a fee so be sure to ask about the cost of information you request. Lastly, be aware that there may be some information that is still classified. Remember, that aircraft was intended to carry nukes.
Also try the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum. Martin built the aircraft they should know the correct data.
Dang. The Military Channel on T.V. had a show about maritime aircraft and they had a segment featuring the Seamaster.
What info do you need ?
Thaks for the help, guys. What I’m looking for is the bombload and gross weights of the airplane loaded, unloaded, max takeoff, etc. Some sources say it weighed in at something like 140,000 lbs fully loaded, but I doubt that because of the size of the plane. I found a source that says 40,000 lbs, and that sounds more realistic. I think the bombload was around 4,000 lbs because that’s what the rotary launcher held.
I wouldn’t be too quick to discount the P-6M having a max gross weight of 140,000 lbs.
I don’t know what it’s weight was but, I DO know that the P-3B Orion has a max gross
weight of approximately 168,500 lbs and they are similar sized A/C.
Ray
…and it had unlimited runway too.
Matt90, here is some of the info I have on the Seamaster. Lenght / 136ft, Span 107 ft 6in, Height / 32ft / 5in, Empty weight / 91,285 lbs, Loaded Wt / 121,000, Max T/O Wt / 176,400, Initial Climb / 3,500 FPM, Powerplants / 4 PW J75 -P-2 Turbojets, Thrust / 17,500 lbf each, Cruise Speed / 500 mph, Max Spd / 630 mph / 550 kts, Range 2500 nm, Service Ceiling / 40,625, Armament / 2/20 mm cannons, Bomb Load 30, 000 lbs, Wing Loading 63 lb/ft, Thrust / Weight Ratio / 0.58. Dennis.
Thanks! Arg lol, those figures contradict everything I have, even in books. I wonder how widespread this problem is among aircraft literature?
Here is a recent book on the SeaMaster done by the people who were there during its development. I highly recommend it if you have more than a passing interest in the P6M:
http://www.aeroplanebooks.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=46391
As with anything the info is only as good as the source supplying it. Take all the info with a grain of salt unless your info comes from the ones who helped design the bird or the ones whom actually flew it. Dennis
jeaton-my grandfather was involved in development of the ejection seat systems on the Seamaster,and likes the book you mentioned.He remembers when both prototypes crashed,and I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to contact the pilots-don’t think they made it out.
Yeah, those were hard days for Martin people. Maury Bernhard and a Navy pilot, Victor Utgoff, were killed in No.1 along with the two engineers, Jim Hentschel and Herb Scudder. Glenn Martin died the same week in December, 1955.
Better luck with Ship No. 2, all ejected safely. Both crashes were the result of elevator actuator failures at high speed.