Do you have $5 million and a burning desire to own the world’s largest flying water bomber?
The iconic Hawaii Mars, known for its years fighting the British Columbia wildfires, is on the market with a seven-figure price tag, according to aviation broker Platinum Fighter Sales.
The 1945 Martin JRM-3 Mars checklist lists its interior and exterior in 9 out of 10 conditions, and says it last underwent annual flight inspections in 2016.
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Why isn’t BC using the Martin Mars water bomber to fight wildfires?
“Will be sold with the current annual at asking price, ‘as is where is,’” the listing says.
The massive plane, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, was conceived as a patrol bomber during World War II, where it became the largest seaplane to enter Allied service, and was soon repurposed as a transport aircraft.
A Martin Mars water bomber.
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Only five of the planes were built by manufacturer Martin, only two of which remain today, the Hawaii Mars and the Philippine Mars, both owned by Coulson Aviation and stored at Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island.
After the war, they were converted again in the 1950s to become firefighting aircraft with an impressive payload: the ability to carry up to 27,000 liters of water.
While there are calls from some members of the BC public for the plane to be returned to service each wildfire season, they have fallen out of favor with the province.
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Martin Mars water bomber for sale
The massive plane fought its last BC wildfire in 2016, when it fulfilled a 30-day contract with the provincial government.
The BC Forest Fire Service has shifted its focus to smaller, more agile aircraft capable of landing in up to 1,700 bodies of water around BC
The Hawaii Mars, due to its enormous size, is only capable of landing on 113.
Officials have cited other operational reasons, such as the need to clear ground personnel in launch zones, along with the cost, to get away from Mars.
One of two remaining Martin Mars water bombers in British Columbia sits idle in Port Alberni as a fire burns nearby on July 5, 2015.
@benjwest/Twitter
Owner Wayne Coulson has questioned the province’s statistics on where the Mars could take water from before it was dumped on the fire.
Of the two remaining Martin Mars bombers, only Hawaii Mars remains airworthy, according to Platinum Fighter Sales.
Coulson Aviation put the Hawaii Mars up for sale for $3 million in 2016.
“The British Columbia fire agency doesn’t see, you know, continued use of the aircraft. So we have to reinvent them into something other than what they are,” Coulson said at the time.
Coulson Aviation had previously intended to place its sister plane, the Philippine Mars, in a US aviation museum, a plan that saw the plane repainted in US Air Force colors before it the agreement failed in 2016 and was suspended.
Global News has reached out to Coulson Aviation for an interview about the sale.
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Reference-globalnews.ca