Martin Model 179

Twin-Engine Medium Bomber Proposal

United States | 1939

"No prototypes of the Martin Model 179 were ordered for the project that led to the classic Martin B-26 Marauder medium-class, twin-engined bomber aircraft for the USAAC."

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Martin Model 179 Twin-Engine Medium Bomber Proposal.

2 x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-5 air-cooled radial piston engines developing 1,850 horsepower OR 2 x Wright R-2600 air-cooled radial piston engines developing 1,700 horsepower each driving four-bladed propeller units.
Propulsion

323 mph
520 kph | 281 kts
Max Speed

26,411 ft
8,050 m | 5 miles
Service Ceiling

3,001 miles
4,830 km | 2,608 nm
Operational Range

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Martin Model 179 Twin-Engine Medium Bomber Proposal.

5
(MANNED)
Crew

57.3 ft
17.45 m
O/A Length

65.0 ft
(19.80 m)
O/A Width

14.9 ft
(4.54 m)
O/A Height

29,123 lb
(13,210 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Martin Model 179 Twin-Engine Medium Bomber Proposal .

PROPOSED:
Various defensive positions armed with machine guns including a dorsal, nose, and tail mounting.

Up to 3,000lb of internally-held drop-ordnance to include conventional drop bombs of various sizes (1 x 2,000lb; 2 x 1,000lb; 8 x 600lb; 8 x 300lb).

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Martin Model 179 family line.

Model 179 - Base Project Designation; no prototypes ordered/constructed; to become the in-service B-26 "Marauder" following evaluation and revisions.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/13/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

In the early part of 1939, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) drew up plans for a new generation of medium bomber types that were rather recently embodied by the Douglas B-18 "Bolo" and B-23 "Dragon" forms (the Dragon essentially becoming an evolution of the Bolo). The Specification of March 1939 called for a twin-engined form flying at speeds of 300 miles-per-hour out to a range of 2,000 miles all the while carrying a bomb load of up to 3,000lb.

The requirement was eventually fulfilled by two of the more classic design forms of World War 2 - the North American B-25 "Mitchell" (the NA-62) and the Martin B-26 "Marauder" (the Model 179). Both excelled in their given roles and the designs were considerably evolved from their original offerings to help fulfill wartime requirements.

However, before the Model 179 would become the excellent B-26, it underwent a period of constant change. As early as July 1939, the aircraft was a twin-engined design of portly appearance with a deep, rounded fuselage. The fuselage's nosecap was completely glazed over and the cockpit (also heavily framed) was stepped (consistent with the final-form, in-service B-26 still to come). The aircraft was given a twin-rudder fin tail unit set slightly ahead of the tapered, terminating end of the fuselage. The wing mainplanes sat shoulder-mounted atop the fuselage and each carried an underslung engine nacelle, the engines used to drive four-bladed propeller units with oversized spinners. The undercarriage was a rather modern tricycle formation in which the main legs retracted into the engine nacelles and the nose leg into the underside of the forward fuselage. A crew of five would make up the operators required for the various onboard systems including pilots, flight engineer, bombardier, and gunners.

As proposed, the Model 179 had an overall length of 57.4 feet with a wingspan of 65 feet and a height of 14.8 feet. MTOW was rated at just over 29,000lb.

Power would come from 2 x Pratt & Whitney (PW) R-2800-5 air-cooled radial piston engines of 1,850 horsepower output or 2 x Wright R-2600 radials of 1,700 horsepower. This arrangement was to supply the medium bomber with a maximum speed of up to 325 miles-per-hour out to a range of 3,000 miles and operating at altitudes up to 26,500 feet - all exceeding the USAAC original requirements. The warload reached 2,000lb and this could be pushed as high as 2,400lb.

The Martin design was submitted for consideration on July 5th, 1939 and accepted against other supplied competitors. This resulted in a production order for 201 aircraft under the "B-26" in-service designation and, even before the actual aircraft had flown, the USAAC pushed through another production order for 930 additional bombers. By this time, the twin-tail configuration was dropped in favor of a single vertical tail fin with a pair of horizontal planes and the overall design of the aircraft was considerably streamlined for the better. In about twenty-four months, this "paper airplane" was finalized and flew into war time service - and American military aviation history - as the "Marauder" (detailed elsewhere on this site).

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Martin Model 179. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 0 Units
Contractor(s): Glen L. Martin Company (Martin) - USA

[ United States ]

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Going Further...
The Martin Model 179 Twin-Engine Medium Bomber Proposal appears in the following collections:

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