The Martin JRM Mars is a cargo transport flying boat built by the Martin Company for the United States Navy (USN) during World War II. It was the largest Allied flying boat manufactured, with only seven completed. The initial USN contract in 1938 called for the XPB2M-1 Mars to be built as a long-range ocean patrol flying boat. To meet the demand, the Martin Company redesigned the Martin PBM Mariner patrol bomber and, by late 1941, had produced the prototype XPB2M-1.
The prototype first flew on June 23, 1942. After nearly 18 months of testing, it was introduced to the USN on November 30, 1943. By this time, the initial patrol-bomber strategy had been deemed obsolete. The Mars was converted into a transport aircraft and designated the XPB2M-1R. The first Mars was delivered to the USN in June 1945. As the war ended, the USN reduced the initial order of 20 aircraft to five: the Marianas Mars, Philippine Mars, Marshall Mars, Caroline Mars, and a second Hawaii Mars. The first Hawaii Mars and the Marshall Mars were lost in separate accidents.
After the war, the Philippine Mars and three remaining Mars aircraft ferried cargo to U.S. bases in the Pacific. During the Korean War, each served as a medical transport, moving patients between Hawaii and California. The Mars aircraft were decommissioned in 1956 and sold two years later to a consortium of Canadian timber companies in British Columbia. In 1963, the aircraft were converted into firebombers capable of dumping 7,200 gallons of water and fire retardant over four acres in a single pass. Coulson Forest Products purchased the aircraft in 2007 and continued to operate both in the firefighting role. In early 2024, the Philippine Mars was acquired by the Pima Air & Space Museum.
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