Martin AM Mauler

The aircraft proved troublesome and remained in frontline service only until 1950, when the Navy switched to the smaller and simpler Douglas AD Skyraider.Wartime experience showed that pilots could aim bombs and torpedoes without assistance from other crewmembers as well as navigate with the aid of radio beacons, and the development of more powerful engines meant that faster aircraft no longer needed a rear gunner for self-defense.[1] In 1943, the US Navy invited proposals for a new multi-purpose bomber and selected four designs in September: the Curtiss XBTC, Douglas XBT2D Skyraider, Kaiser-Fleetwings BTK and the Martin XBTM.[3] The XBTM-1 was a low-wing, all-metal monoplane with folding wings to allow more compact storage in carrier hangar decks, and conventional landing gear.A dozen hardpoints could be installed on the outer wing panels to carry 250-pound (113 kg) bombs or 5-inch (127 mm) High Velocity Aircraft Rockets.In service, the Mauler earned the nickname "Able Mable" because its AM designation and the fact that in the phonetic alphabet of the era the letter A was pronounced as "Able", the name Mabel being a rhyme and representing the M, and perhaps of its remarkable load-carrying ability, once lifting 10,648 pounds (4,830 kg) of ordnance (three 2,200-pound (998 kg) torpedoes, a dozen 250-pound bombs plus its 20 mm guns and their ammunition) on 30 March 1949, perhaps the heaviest load ever carried by a single-engine, piston-powered aircraft.Initial flight tests conducted with the first two prototypes revealed significant problems with the engine, its cowling, the vertical stabilizer and rudder.During this latter deployment, the squadron participated in the unsuccessful search for a British South American Airways Avro Tudor airliner missing in the Caribbean.[14] Carrier Air Group 8 (CVG-8) was established on 15 September 1948 in response to the Berlin Blockade with newly qualified pilots and reservists who volunteered for active duty.CVG-8 made a two-week cruise aboard Midway beginning on 27 June along the East Coast of the United States, before it was disbanded in November after the peaceful resolution of the Berlin Blockade.
Two AM-1s during armament tests 30 March 1949; the aircraft closest to the camera is the one that set the unofficial payload record and is today preserved in the National Naval Aviation Museum
A Naval Air Reserve AM-1Q
A VA-174 AM-1 taking off from USS Kearsarge on 27 December 1948
An AM-1Q of VC-4 prepares to take off from Kearsarge in 1949. The spirals are formed by wingtip vortices from the propeller blades.
AM-1 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation .
3-view line drawing of the Martin AM-1 Mauler
3-view line drawing of the Martin AM-1 Mauler
ManufacturerGlenn L. Martin CompanyUnited States Navycarrier-basedattack aircraftWorld War IIDouglasAD Skyraiderelectronic-warfare aircraftcarriertorpedo bomberdive bomberradio beaconsCurtiss XBTCDouglas XBT2D SkyraiderKaiser-Fleetwings BTKCurtiss SB2C HelldiverPratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Majorradial enginemonoplanehangarconventional landing gearsemi-monocoquecockpitcanopyUS-gallondive brakeaileronsself sealingoil coolerNational Naval Aviation MuseumT-31 autocannonroundshardpointsearch radarHigh Velocity Aircraft Rocketsmaiden flightNaval Air Test Centersurrender of Japancowlingvertical stabilizerruddertorquecarburetorspinnerarresting wireroller bearingtailhookspoilerelevatorsquadronelectronic countermeasuresreceiverssignal analyzerAtlantic FleetAttack Squadron 17A (VA-17A)carrier qualificationUSS KearsargeUSS LeyteBritish South American Airways Avro TudorUSS MidwayMidway-classCarrier Air Group 8Berlin BlockadereservistsflyoverHarry TrumanInauguration ceremonyEast Coast of the United Stateswingtip vorticesNAS Atlantic Citycarrier onboard deliveryUnited StatesNAS Grosse IleNAS St. LouisNAS GlenviewNAS DallasNAS ColumbusNAS AtlantaNational Museum of Naval AviationErickson Aircraft CollectionMadras, OregonPensacola, FloridaGlenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation MuseumMiddle River, MarylandPlanes of FameChino, CaliforniaPratt & Whitney R-4360-4 Wasp MajorT-31 cannonMark 13 torpedoesBlackburn FirebrandBlackburn FirecrestCurtiss XBT2CDouglas A-1 SkyraiderDouglas XTB2D SkypirateKaiser-Fleetwings XBTKWestland WyvernList of attack aircraftList of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)Wayback MachineMartinMartin MariettaM-130 ClipperM-156 Russian ClipperRB-57DRB-57FX-24A/BGrummanMcDonnell DouglasNorth AmericanVoughtGreat LakesKaiser-FleetwingsNaval Aircraft FactoryNorthropConsolidatedInterstateBoeingCurtissFokkerNoorduynBeechcraftCurtiss-WrightBellancaFairchildColumbiaLockheedCessnaNash-KelvinatorSikorskyde Havilland Canada