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Martin A-22 Maryland

Model 167 Maryland
Martin Maryland RAF North Africa.jpg
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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