Nanaimo Historical Society Public Presentation

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Thursday, April 13th, 2017
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM

A (Wildfire) Fight Well Fought: An Island logger discusses the Martin Mars.

The Martin Mars water bombers have been on firecall at their Sproat Lake base since 1960. Originally designed in 1938 as a long-range patrol bomber for the US Navy, five production seaplanes were finally delivered to the Naval Air Station Almeda, on San Francisco Bay, in 1945. To this day they hold the record as the world’s largest operational seaplane, also known as flying boats. The aircraft served as South Pacific post-war and Korean War transport until they were declared surplus in 1956. After several years of devastating fires a consortium of forestry companies, led by MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., formed the Forest Industries Flying Tankers (FIFT) and bought the four remaining Martin Mars for conversion to aerial firefighters in 1959.

The first flying tanker, Marianas Mars, went into service in 1960. Tragically, the next year the aircraft was destroyed and all four crew members killed in a crash while fighting a forest fire on Mount Moriarty near Northwest Bay. Subsequently, the consortium ordered the conversion of the Phillipine and Hawaii Mars for the 1962 fire season. That same year Hurricane Frieda, hit the south coast of Vancouver Island, breaking up the Caroline’s airframe beyond repair while she sat atop beaching gear at the Patricia Bay Airport. For decades after, the Phillipine and Hawaii flew on to wage epic battles in the woods and even urban skirmishes to protect lives and property.

At this time both are still at their base beside Sproat Lake. For historic purposes the Phillipine has been restored back to her original equipment , colour, and markings for the US Naval Air Transport Service. The Hawaii Mars is still maintained as an operational firefighter.  The presentation concludes with Q&A time as well as tea and refreshments.

About our speaker: Doug Harrison, a Former MacMillan Bloedel logging manager has a long history with the Martin Mars. He was at Northwest Bay Division fire when the Marianas crashed. In 1967 he was involved with the Mars fighting the Taylor Flats fire that burned through more than 5,000 acres, and might have spread towards Port Alberni without the constant bombardment of the Hawaii and Phillipine Mars. Now retired on Gabriola, Harrison is also a painter of West Coast industrial heritage, notably locomotives and old wooden work boats of the coast. And more recently, the Martin Mars. ###

The Nanaimo Historical Society is a non-profit organization. Founded in 1953, the Society's mission is to preserve, promote, and celebrate the history of Nanaimo and central Vancouver Island. Annual membership is $24 for an individual, $30 for a family, and $34 for an organization. Membership includes a subscription to British Columbia History, the quarterly journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation. ###

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