The Disassembly of The Philippine Mars at Lake Pleasant

At Vintage Aviation News, we have been covering the Martin JRM Mars “Philippine Mars” in its final journey from Sproat Lake, British Columbia, to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona (you can read our archives on Philippine Mars HERE). Since its final flight from San Francisco to Lake Pleasant, just northwest of Phoenix, on February 10, the aircraft has been undergoing a careful disassembly at the boat ramp on the south shore of Lake Pleasant.

As of writing, portions of the Philippine Mars, such as the engines and propellers, have already arrived at the Pima Air and Space Museum, while the tail assembly and wingtip pontoons have been carefully removed from the aircraft and are being transported by truck to Tucson. Eventually, the wings will be disassembled and shipped down from Lake Pleasant, and it is most likely that the final portion of the large flying boat transported from the lake to the museum in Tucson will be the former Navy transport/fire tanker’s hull. The job of disassembling and transporting the Mars has come into the hands of Phoenix-based company Southwest Industrial Rigging, whose cranes have been used to lower portions of the Mars on the trailers intended to carry these parts to Tucson.

Once the aircraft’s transport to Tucson is complete, it will become another one of the over 400 aircraft already on display at one of the world’s largest air and space museums. Though it may seem unusual for a flying boat to spend its retirement in the Arizona desert, the Martin Mars will be far from the only flying boat at the museum, which is already home to the last surviving example of a Martin PBM Mariner, as well as a PBY-5A Catalina, Sikorsky S-43, two Grumman HU-16 Albatrosses, and a modified Grumman J4F Widgeon. We will be providing more updates on the Philippine Mars as they appear. For more information on the Martin Mars from the Pima Air and Space Museum, visit the museum’s website HERE