HURL Artifact No. |
AIR-10a |
*Denotes approximations and speculations |
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Name: |
JRM-1 Marshall Mars Seaplane |
Lost: |
5-May-50 |
Artifact Type: |
Seaplane (nose, keel & fuselage) |
Found: |
23-Aug-04 |
Nationality: |
USA |
Dive No: |
PV-557 |
Class or Make: |
Martin |
Location: |
Kewalo |
Model: |
JRM-1 |
Depth (m): |
338m |
Purpose: |
Utility Transport |
HURL crew: |
Kerby, Cremer, Van Tilburg |
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Serial Number: |
76822 |
Additional Dives: |
PIV-124, PIV-128/PV-603 |
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Built/Launched: |
February 1946 (5) |
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Length: |
120' 3" |
Width: |
200' |
Height: |
44' 7" |
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Circumstance of Loss: |
Plane caught fire, landed on water, exploded, and sunk. |
Crew Personnel/Position: |
Simmons (Pilot), Jennings (Co-Pilot), Rolando, Hughes, Tingler, Taylor, & Upton |
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Reason of Loss: |
Fire in #3 Engine. (engine had just been replaced and was on a test flight) |
Crew Survivals/Fatalities: |
All 7 crewmen escaped to crash boat. |
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Artifact History: |
On it's second flight set a cargo record of 27,427lbs. Followed in 1949 with a passenger load-carrying record of 301 passengers plus it's 7 crewmen from Alameda to San Diego. Served in "Operation Hayride" delivering hay and worms to the SS Warthmore Victory for food to 6 elephants and a variety of tropical birds which had eaten all the ships stores. |
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Artifact Condition: |
Plane nose section is in one piece, but inverted. It has heavy damage from fire. "MARSHAL" can be clearly seen on the side. A loading winch is on the seabed on one side. The nose section is 16m long & has a NW-SE orientation. 20m to the SE lies the plane's keel. It is severely burned and is a mesh of metal framing. Keel lies at 340m and is 4.5m in width. Nearby the wreckage are a number of debris items from the plane including a corner mounted urinal. |
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Additional Information: |
The first Mars aircraft was an experimental called the "Old Lady". 20 Mars planes were planned, but the war ended and so only 6 were completed. 4 perished in accidents, but 2 remained in service fighting forest fires as water tankers in British Columbia and were fighting fires in California in 2009. The JRM's were the largest "truly operational" aircraft ever built. |