Martin A-22 Maryland
| Model 167 Maryland | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| RAF Marylands c. 1941 | |
| Role | Medium bomber |
| Manufacturer | Martin |
| First flight | 14 March 1939 |
| Introduction | 1940 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Status | Out of service |
| Primary users |
Royal Air Force South African Air Force French Air Force French Navy |
| Number built | 450 |
| Variants | Martin Baltimore |
The Martin Model 167 was an American-designed medium bomber that first flew in 1939. It saw action in World War II with France and the United Kingdom, where it was named the Maryland.
In response to a United States Army Air Corps light bomber requirement issued in 1938, the Glenn L. Martin Company produced their Model 167, which was given the official designation XA-22. Martin's design was a twin-engine all-metal monoplane, capable of around 310 mph (500 km/h) with a crew of three.
The XA-22 was not adopted for operational service in the U.S., as the contract was won by the Douglas DB-7, which became the A-20 Havoc, but Martin received foreign orders, and about 450 of these fast, twin-engined bombers were built.
The prototype Model 167W was powered by twin-row Pratt & Whitney R-1830-37 Twin Wasp engines, which were replaced in French production aircraft by single-row nine-cylinder Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines (the Twin Wasps were then restored for the British Maryland). All versions of the Model 167 were armed with six machine guns, four fixed guns in the wings (mainly for ground-attack), one dorsal gun and one ventral gun. In the prototype, these guns were all 0.30 in Browning machine guns. The dorsal gun was mounted in a fully retractable turret. The French aircraft used license-built Belgian Fabrique Nationale FN-Brownings, and used a lighter semi-retractable dorsal turret. The weight saved helped to increase the top speed to 288 mph (463 km/h).
The Model 167 was a fairly typical twin-engined bomber of the period. The most unusual feature of the Model 167 was the very narrow fuselage, although it was shared with a number of late prewar contemporaries. The crew of three were carried in two isolated compartments – the bombardier sat in the nose below the pilot and the gunner was in the mid-upper twin-machine gun turret in a separate rear compartment, isolated by a bulkhead.
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