Martin Mariner & Martin SP-5B Marlin

Warpaint - Martin Mariner & Martin SP-5B Marlin. The Glenn L Martin company would produce the most successful range of seaplanes to enter US service. The first off the blocks was the PBM Mariner that would see extensive service with the US Navy in various roles including general patrol duties, anti-submarine work, rescue duties and strangely enough for a purported patrol aircraft, as a bomber. So impressed was the USN with the Mariner that they pressed Martin to develop an improved version. The result was the Marlin that entered service in the post-war period and supplemented its older sibling during the Korean War. The P5M Marlin's last active service was during the Vietnam War although it was soon replaced by land based patrol aircraft. Both types were used by non-American operators both in Latin America and Europe. Even the Royal Air Force operated the Mariner although its sojurn in RAF colours was brief, to say the least! This book is written by Kev Darling and is superbly illustrated by Richard J.Caruana.