N927NA - a Martin WB-57 Canberra was circling over Tucson for a bit today - awesome binocular views of a great old airplane - you could see the two contrails merging into one and the planform was very distinctive.

In service worldwide for 70 years. The B52 isn't the only bomber to have a long and productive life.

I bet that would have been interesting to see
I have never seen one out in the wild just at a museum.

quote:

Originally posted by mrapteam666:

...I have never seen one out in the wild just at a museum.

I grew up in upstate NY near Griffiss AFB and often went to open houses in the 60s and 70s. I remember seeing EB-57s from the VT Air Guard, I now know they were in the 158th Defense Systems Evaluation Group.

Here's some info on N927NA, which may have served in Afghanistan:

https://theaviationist.com/2013/09/19/nasa-927/

If you can see them - they can see you!

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
If you can see them - they can kill you!

FIFY

I had never heard of Martin WB-57 Canberra, but the name "Martin" rang an old bell.

When I was very young our family frequently drove by the Glenn L Martin plant in Baltimore County, MD. My uncle was a foreman at the plant.

My uncle was a soft ball player and he played on the Glenn L Martin softball team. He told us that if Mr Martin heard you were a good softball player and working for him, it was made known you better be on his team.

Glenn L Martin died in 1955 in Baltimore. The plant moved from Baltimore (I think to Denver but not sure). My uncle lost his good job and that was a rough time.

Until I just looked up this connection, I never knew that:

Glenn L Martin Company merged w American-Marietta to become Martin Marietta Corp. This company later merged again to become Lockheed Martin.

I interacted with Lockheed Martin for a number of years and never knew the "Martin" was from the old plant I drove by so many times as a child.



It changed a lot over time, but this is the former Martin plant that I knew way back when.

Ha funny story well not really. But I logged an emergency landing at Martin State airport. Fun times.

That's cool! A week ago a Ford tri-motor was flying around here. The wife and I flew on it last year when it was here.

Funny story... There was a guy sitting behind us and that was the first time he'd ever flown. He was three shades of green by the time we got back on the ground. Those planes are loud, bumpy, and not refined at all. We loved the hell out of it.

We sat in the first row behind the pilots. They told us before the flight that if we had any questions during the flight to speak up. That was cool!

Cool pix and story Sdy. What happened to the plant. What is it today?

quote:

What is it today?

video at

https://martinstateairport.com/


Martin State Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located nine nautical miles east of the central business district of Baltimore, in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States.

The Maryland Air National Guard's 175th Wing is a tenant activity at MTN with locally based A-10C aircraft. The Air National Guard facility is located on the northeast side of the field and is officially named Warfield Air National Guard Base.

Martin State Airport covers an area of 747 acres (302 ha) at an elevation of 21 feet (6 m) above mean sea level. It has one asphalt paved runway designated 15/33 which is 6,997 by 180 feet (2,132 x 55 m). It also had one helipad with a 65 by 65 ft (20 x 20 m) concrete surface.[1]

For the 12-month period ending October 6, 2010, the airport had 69,193 aircraft operations, an average of 189 per day: 91% general aviation, 6% military, and 3% air taxi. At that time there were 218 aircraft based at this airport: 64% single-engine, 14% multi-engine, 6% jet, 5% helicopter and 11% military.[1]

Description of the 1941 plant:

https://tile.loc.gov/storage-s.../data/md1678data.pdf

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Cool pix and story Sdy. What happened to the plant. What is it today?

In the SE corner of the airport is Hqs of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command:

https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Orga...AviationCommand.aspx

I think their large ramp extends to the old Martin seaplane ramp.

Close by is a nice museum:

https://www.mdairmuseum.org/

Off that link is a short history of the Glenn Martin Company:

https://www.mdairmuseum.org/martin-and-community

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:


Here's some info on N927NA, which may have served in Afghanistan:

https://theaviationist.com/2013/09/19/nasa-927/

I saw it in Kandahar, often.

The 57 had several different configurations, including canopy configurations; in most, the crew exited through the canopy in an ejection, but certain models didn't have a canopy for some of the crew, who ejected through the metal structure.

I was in one thirty plus years ago, in Australia, in which that was the case. The aircraft was used fro the development of a type of over the horizon radar.