Those British mariners

Air Classics, Jul 2003 by Hoffman, Richard A

In 1943, 42 MARTIN PBM-3 MARINERS WERE ALLOCATED TO GREAT BRITAIN'S ROYAL AIR FORCE UNDER THE LEND/LEASE PROGRAM. TWENTY-SEVEN WERE DELIVERED TO THE UNITED KINGDOM BUT, AFTER A SHORT PERIOD, MOST WERE RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES TO PERFORM HEROlC RESCUE SERVICE IN THE PACIFIC

The Martin PBM Mariner patrol bomber served with the US Navy from 1939 until 1958 and was a workhorse of Naval aviation. During World War Two, Mariners shot down 16 Japanese aircraft, were credited with the sinking of German U-boats and two Japanese Y-class submarines, the destruction of thousands of tons of Japanese shipping, the rescue of hundreds of airmen and seamen while Mariners contributed to the sinking of the Japanese super-battleship Yamato. In the post-war years, the Mariner participated in Arctic and Antarctic explorations and supported the Bikini atomic bomb testing.

In the Korean War, Mariners exploded mines in North Korean harbors, patrolled the Formosa Straits and the Yellow Sea and flew shipping reconnaissance, weather and electronic intelligence gathering missions for United Nations task forces. During its long service, Mariners suffered attacks from fighters ranging from Japanese Zeros to Red Chinese MiG 15s. The Mariner also served with the US Coast Guard and the armed forces of Great Britain, Australia, Argentina, Uruguay and The Netherlands.

In 1940, the British government sought to purchase 150 PBM-3s but, because of US Navy requirements, no PBMs could be released until 1943. In that year, a group of PBM-3s were allocated to the British under the Lend/Lease Program. A 31 December 1943 document from the US Navy Department, Bureau of Aeronautics, entitled "Production Program Naval Aircraft, PBMs Delivered to the British" indicates that the total allocation was 41 aircraft and consisted of twelve PBM-3Cs, 22 PBM-3Ss and seven PBM-3Ds. However, a very precise Air-Britain Ltd. (International Association of Aviation Historians) correlation of Royal Air Force (RAF) to US Navy serial numbers indicates that the allocation was in fact 42 aircraft: Twelve PBM-3Cs, six PBM-3Ss and 24 PBM-3Ds. The British designated all of the aircraft "Mariner G.R.1" and assigned the RAF serials JX100 to JX141. This British use of a name was adopted by the US Navy and the PBM became known as the Mariner for the rest of its service.

Apparently only 34 of the 42 Mariners, RAF serials JX100 through JX133, were actually turned over to British custody.

Transfer of the RAF Mariners began in May 1943 with six PBM-3Cs being turned over to the British that month and six in June. It is believed that all were ferried through RAF Ferry Command Staging Post 82 at the US Naval Air Station, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to the RAF flying boat base at Darrell's Island, Bermuda, for mechanical inspection and crew training before crossing the Atlantic.

A British Air Ministry "Aircraft Movement Card" (Form 78) shows that one of the Mariners (RAF serial number not indicated) "crashed after export." It is certain that this was JX101. JX101 was the first Mariner to arrive in Bermuda on 9 July 1943, and it carried out a number of local flights to provide Bermuda ground crews with PBM beaching and launching practice. On 19 July, as it was preparing to depart for Boucherville, Quebec, it sank during taxi probably due to the tunnel hatch being left open. One passenger, Leading Aircraftsman (LAC) L.L. Scott, RAF, was drowned. Although the aircraft was salvaged the same day, so much damage was done during the salvage operation that the aircraft was scrapped. LAC Scott is buried in the Royal Naval Cemetery, Ireland Island, Bermuda. In an amazing coincidence, after research for this article was already well underway, another passenger on JX101, Mr. Jack Durbin, formerly of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), moved into the same apartment building in California as the US co-author of this article.

During that summer, the Mariners were flown from Bermuda to Gander Lake, Newfoundland, and then on to Largs in Scotland. The first aircraft to arrive in the United Kingdom was JX103 which arrived at Largs on 19 August 1941, piloted by S/L W.E.M. Lowry. Squadron Leader Lowry would later be posted as commanding officer of No. 524 Mariner Squadron. JX103 was processed by the Sanders-Roe facility at Beaumaris, Fyrar's Bay, Wales, and, on 6 September, it was assigned to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE), Helensburgh, Scotland. JX103 was not returned to the United States.

Acceptance processing of the RAF Mariners was performed by Scottish Aviation at Greenock, the 57 Maintenance Unit (57 MU) Wig Bay, Scotland, and by Sanders-Roe at Beaumaris. Inasmuch as Greenock was quite close to Largs, aircraft destined for Greenock were towed rather than flown.

Fifteen more Mariners arrived in the UK in late September and October 1943. Form 78s show that four of these, JX102, 104, 108 and 109, had been forced to "return to Canada" with engine problems before successfully crossing the North Atlantic. Pomeroy recounts that JX104 had returned to Bermuda after engine failure en route to Gander.