Plane buffs advised to book summer Martin Mars Bomber tours now

by Rob Howatson

The award for most creative contribution to VANOC’s Paint the Town Red campaign goes to the marketing wizards for the City of Richmond. For two days in the midst of this Frebruary’s Winter Olympics, Richmond’s Lulu Islanders invited one of the world’s largest flying boats to moor its red-and-white hulk off the shore of Steveston’s Garry Point Park. The media was then invited to tour the Martin Mars bomber, while the public got to see this behemoth demonstrate its awesome wildfire fighting abilities as it dropped 27,000 litres of Fraser River froth into the delta – just a scant 50 metres away from the cheering crowds jostling for camera angles on the rocky beach.

Thirty years from now, I may not be able to tell you who won the Norway-Slovakia game at the 2010 Games, or what colour Jill Barber’s furry winter hat was when she sang at the Richmond O-Zone, but I will never forget the throaty growl of the Mars bomber’s four 2500-horsepower, Wright Cyclone engines as the plane drew a curtain of water that momentarily blotted out the sky.

Built for the U.S. Navy in 1945, the Martin Mars was originally conceived as long-range bomber bit was quickly reassigned for general transport when the prototype wowed Navy brass with its incredible heavy-lift capabilities.

Five Martin Mars aircraft were built for the U.S. Navy in 1945. The planes were originally conceived as long-range bombers, but were quickly reassigned for general transport when the prototype wowed Navy brass with its incredible heavy-lift capabilities. In 1959, Richmond volunteer firefighter, senior pilot and Burkeville resident Dan McIvor then envisioned converting these cargo cruisers to water tankers to fight wildfires. A consortium of B.C. forest companies subsequently purchased four of the Mars planes and the fleet went on to battle some 4,000 B.C. forest blazes.

Today, only two Mars bombers remain operational: both are stationed at Coulson Aircrane’s base on Sproat Lake, near Port Alberni. The Coulson Flying Tankers visitors centre is open to the public in the summer and plane tours are available for $10, assuming that the birds aren’t away on assignment. (Though with the word out thanks to this year’s Winter Games, early reservations may well be the way to go.) Check for  hours of operation.

>>Share your favourite sighting of these B.C. aviation icons

Lead photo courtesy City of Richmond