A photograph of the Martin Mars water bomber, Hawaii Mars II, from its sale listing.
The province says the beloved Martin Mars water bomber will become the centrepiece of a new wildfire exhibit at the British Columbia Aviation Museum in Saanich, B.C.When wildfires burn in B.C., there's always the question: where is the Martin Mars water bomber?It was last used in 2015 to help fight fires in B.C., California, Mexico and Alberta.
Now, the province says it will soon become the centrepiece of a new wildfire exhibit at the British Columbia Aviation Museum in North Saanich, B.C. The Martin Mars will be flown from the Coulson Aviation Tanker Base in Port Alberni to Victoria International Airport by the end of the year. Because it can only land and take off in water, it will leave from"The Hawaii Martin Mars water bomber is a proud symbol of B.C.͛s ingenuity and innovation, representing cutting-edge technology in aviation firefighting of its time," Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Lana Popham said in a news release.
Historians say the U.S. Navy produced six of the planes as prototypes for large-scale transport between the West Coast and Hawaii. But when aviation technology progressed, the planes were retired and put up for auction. The province says the Hawaii Martin Mars water bomber served as the largest air ambulance during the Korean War, and the plane's current owner, Coulson Avaiation, said it had the capacity to carry more than 120 soldiers plus medical crews.B.C.'s forestry industry came together to purchase four planes in 1958, and converted them into firefighting machines. But when firefighting tactics changed from dousing fires to containing them, the water bombers were used less frequently.
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