Roaring into combat from seas, lakes or fjords, wartime seaplane operations were spectacular.
Seaplanes, in both flying boat and floatplane form, were instrumental in the second world war. As well as spotting and destroying ships, submarines, aircraft and even ground targets, seaplanes saved many lives of friends and foes alike. Here are 10 excellent examples:
10: Beriev MBR-2
The rugged MBR-2 was by far the most numerous flying boat to serve the Soviet Union, operating from the Arctic to the Pacific. It was designed by 27-year-old Georgy Beriev on his own initiative in 1930, and the all-wood prototype flew for the first time from the Black Sea on 30 April 1932.
By 1937 the MBR-2 was the most numerous maritime aircraft in the USSR and in 1939 the MBR-2 saw its first combat use during the Winter War with Finland. The aircraft acquitted itself well in harsh conditions, flying reconnaissance missions as far north as the Barents Sea and attacking shore installations and shipping in Finland.
10: Beriev MBR-2
During the war the aircraft’s vulnerability to fighters became apparent and it was used more often at night and the aircraft was increasingly used as an air-sea rescue aircraft and occasionally as a transport. The last wartime combat missions by MBR-2s were flown in the Pacific against Japanese shipping.
After the war, it flew night raids during the Korean War and continued to serve on ice and fisheries patrol.
9: Martin Mariner
Despite being the second most numerous flying boat ever built, with 1366 produced, just one more example was constructed than the next most numerous, the Beriev MBR-2, the Mariner is nonetheless fairly obscure today - but the PBM was an excellent aircraft that continued to serve well into the Cold War.
The design was tested by a manned quarter-scale model powered by two Chevrolet car engines, christened the ‘Tadpole Clipper’ before the first full size PBM flew in 1939. Aerodynamic issues saw the initially flat tailplane being given the same dihedral as the inner wing resulting in the aircraft’s distinctive inward canted tailfins.
9: Martin Mariner
PBMs sank at least ten U-boats and were widely used in the Pacific, including in the nocturnal interdiction role. For operations at night, the Mariners were painted black and known as ‘Nightmares’. Later Mariners featured provision for Jet Assisted Takeoff (JATO) bottles (pictured). These aided short takeoffs in heavy sea conditions.
The Mariner remained in frontline service during the Korean War, flying patrols and air sea rescue missions. One PBM was attacked by Chinese MiG-15s while on a radar monitoring sortie during July 1952 but managed to escape. The last PBMs served with the US Coast Guard until 1958.
8: Short Sunderland
The definitive British flying boat of the Second World War, the Sunderland was a military development of the Short Empire, the prewar flying boat airliner produced for Imperial Airways. Its airliner origins resulted in an unusually comfortable military aircraft: the Sunderland’s roomy two deck fuselage possessed a kitchen, wardroom, and bunks.
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