The first PBM flight occurred on
February 18, 1939. 1,235 were built with the last one being delivered
in April 1949. Mariners built prior to 1946 were flying boats, and all
that followed became amphibious with the addition of the retractable
tricycle landing gear.
Though less
numerous than the famous PBY Catalina, Mariners played important roles
both in World War II and Korea. Since they were a later design they
exhibited a marked superiority in performance and overall
battle-worthiness.
The Mariner in
the Pima Air Museum collection is the last one known to exist. It's an
example of the last series built, the A series. These served in the
anti-submarine role for the U.S. Navy and as air-sea rescue aircraft
for the U.S. Coast Guard.
There is
however another PBM-5 and it’s wresting on the bottom of Lake
Washington. The PBM-5 currently rests in approximately 80 feet of water
and 6 feet of silt near the south end of the lake. The Cedar River
enters the lake nearby bringing a large volume of silt each fall and
spring. Over the past 40 years the PBM-5 has been slowly covered. Only
the occasional Navy salvage attempts keep the plane from being
completely covered.
Forty-eight years
ago, Lt. Ralph Frame was taking the PBM from the naval station at Sand
Point to a storage hanger at the south end of the lake to be
mothballed. Frame landed safely but missed a tie-up buoy while taxiing
to shore. Unable to turn around he ran the plane over a small pier
damaging the flotation pontoon on the starboard wing. With uneven
flotation the plane turned on its side. By the time the PBM hit the
bottom it had completely flipped and came to rest in an inverted
position..
Used for
reconnaissance, rescue work and anti-sub patrols, PBMs were credited
with sinking 10 German U-boats during W.W.II. The aircraft was powered
by two 14-cylinder Wright R-2600 radial engines. Armament included bow
and tail turrets, waist guns, and a 2000-pound bomb payload. A crew of
seven to ten manned the plane.
Twice the Navy has attempted to
salvage this aircraft and both times personnel were injured in the
attempt. The first attempt in 1990 cleared much of the silt from around
the aircraft. Because it was unclear at the time weather the Navy had
the right to salvage the plane form Washington State waters the attempt
was abandoned. In this attempt a Navy diver became ill and died,
reportedly of a heart condition. The second attempt came in 1996 after
many debates over the legal right of salvage. The 1996 attempt resulted
in one diver getting a case of decompression sickness. The Navy made an
attempt to pick the plane up by its tail. The PBM was far too week to
be lifted in this manner and broke apart. The detached section was
brought to the surface and loaded on a barge. After this incident the
Navy again abandoned the project. The location or condition of the tail
section is unclear.
Martin
Mariner PBM-5 Gallery
Prior
to the 1996 salvage attempt the aircraft was still in good condition.
This image is looking from the nose of the aircraft down the length of
the hull. The plane rests inverted and partially buried in silt.
Looking
close to the bottom the silt just covers the PBM’s nose turret. The
guns are still suspected to be present.
This
is the aft section of the aircraft hull. Bellow and to the back is the
tail section.
This
wreck site is relatively shallow and well known. Divers frequent this
site and much of the plane’s components have been taken. However, since
the plane is so deeply buried, the forward gun turret is suspected to
be intact.
The
accident causing the wreck occurred while the plane was landing at the
seaplane facility at the south end of the lake. The aircraft struck an
object while taxing on the water and quickly sank. Here you can see the
damage to the pontoon.
Much
of the plane is buried in silt from the Cedar River. Only a foot or
The first PBM flight occurred on
February 18, 1939. 1,235 were built with the last one being delivered
in April 1949. Mariners built prior to 1946 were flying boats, and all
that followed became amphibious with the addition of the retractable
tricycle landing gear. 
Forty-eight years
ago, Lt. Ralph Frame was taking the PBM from the naval station at Sand
Point to a storage hanger at the south end of the lake to be
mothballed. Frame landed safely but missed a tie-up buoy while taxiing
to shore. Unable to turn around he ran the plane over a small pier
damaging the flotation pontoon on the starboard wing. With uneven
flotation the plane turned on its side. By the time the PBM hit the
bottom it had completely flipped and came to rest in an inverted
position..
Twice the Navy has attempted to
salvage this aircraft and both times personnel were injured in the
attempt. The first attempt in 1990 cleared much of the silt from around
the aircraft. Because it was unclear at the time weather the Navy had
the right to salvage the plane form Washington State waters the attempt
was abandoned. In this attempt a Navy diver became ill and died,
reportedly of a heart condition. The second attempt came in 1996 after
many debates over the legal right of salvage. The 1996 attempt resulted
in one diver getting a case of decompression sickness. The Navy made an
attempt to pick the plane up by its tail. The PBM was far too week to
be lifted in this manner and broke apart. The detached section was
brought to the surface and loaded on a barge. After this incident the
Navy again abandoned the project. The location or condition of the tail
section is unclear. 
