Although the construction of over-sized planes has been a defining element of Russian aviation culture from the dawn of the air age (Il’ya Muromets) to the present day (Antonov An-225), Russia, of course, is hardly the only nation to have designed and built really big aircraft. The U.S. has had its fair share, too. (The Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” and one-of-a-kind Spruce Goose immediately spring to mind.)

Now, according to a report in this morning’s New York Times, two really big pieces of American aviation history are up for sale.

Possessing a wingspan of 200 ft and a lift capacity of 32,000 lbs, the 117-ft. long Model 170 “Mars” built by the Glen L. Martin Company was the largest flying boat ever to enter production. From the time of its debut in 1938 until the 1947 appearance of the B-36, it was the largest plane in America’s military arsenal. Originally dubbed an “experimental patrol bomber,” the prototype Model 170 was intended to serve as the first of what would ultimately become a fleet of “flying battleships” set to patrol the skies over the Pacific armed with huge bomb loads as well as Marine paratroopers.

Although the Model 170 never saw duty as a combat aircraft, six more Model 170s built between 1943 and 1948 did enter service. They functioned as transport planes during the Second World War and Korean War.

By 1959 only four of the “Mars” aircraft remained. These were sold to Flying Tankers, Inc. a Canadian firm formed to battle fires by a consortium of forest companies. Flying Tankers fitted 7,200 gallon tanks onto three of the aircraft, transforming them into “water bombers.” Two of the four planes were subsequently lost in service. But the remaining two have been in operation for the last four decades. Now, it seems, the cost of maintaining and servicing the behemoths has grown so expensive that Flying Tankers’ parent company has decided to put the aircraft up for sale.

Interested buyers can contact the sellers here.

The Glen L. Martin Aviation Museum (which is, incidentally, trying to raise enough money through donations to purchase one of the planes) has a very good article on the history of the Mars planes.

ScP