Martin S
title: "Martin S" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1910s-united-states-military-reconnaissance-aircraft", "floatplanes", "martin-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "biplanes", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1915", "single-engined-piston-aircraft"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_S" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Model S |
| image | Martin Model S (Cropped) from National Archive image 165-WW-21B-15.jpg |
| aircraft_type | Observation seaplane |
| national_origin | United States |
| manufacturer | Martin |
| designer | Donald Douglas |
| primary_user | Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps |
| number_built | 6 or 16 |
| first_flight | 1915 |
| developed_from | Martin T |
| :: |
NOTOC | name = Model S | logo = | logo_size = | image = Martin Model S (Cropped) from National Archive image 165-WW-21B-15.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Observation seaplane | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United States | manufacturer = Martin | design_group = | designer = Donald Douglas | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 6 or 16 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 1915 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = Martin T | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded =
The Martin S was a two-seat observation seaplane produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company in the United States in 1915. Designed along the same general lines as the preceding Model T, it was a largely conventional two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of equal span. The fuselage was not directly attached to the lower wings, but was carried on struts in the interplane gap. The undercarriage consisted of a single large pontoon below the fuselage and outrigger floats near the wingtips. The Model S was 23-year-old Donald Douglas' first and only design for the Martin company, and it set three world altitude records and a flight duration record that stood for three years.
Six, possibly fourteen, of these aircraft were operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, and another two by the United States Navy. All of the Army aircraft, S.C. 56-59 and 94-95, were assigned to the first U.S. aviation unit based overseas, the 1st Company, 2d Aero Squadron at Fort Mills, Corregidor, in March and April 1916, where they used a radio transmitter with a range of 29 miles to adjust battery fire for the Coast Artillery.
Operators
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Specifications
|ref=aerofiles.com |prime units? = imp |crew=two, pilot and observer |length m=9.02 |length ft=29 |length in=7 |span m=14.15 |span ft=46 |span in=5 |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Hall-Scott A-5 |eng1 kw=93 |eng1 hp=125 |max speed kmh=136 |max speed mph=85 |see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists=
References
;Notes ;Bibliography
References
- Taylor 1989, 635
- ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'', 2432
- "The Early Years of Douglas Aircraft, the 1920s"
- Aero Files states six, and Baugher corroborates their serial numbers (S.C. 56-59, 94-95), while Taylor states fourteen. No additional serials for Martin S are given in Baugher. Aero Files does not list any aircraft for the Navy.
- Hennessey, Juliette. (1958). "The United States Army Air Arm, April 1861 to April 1917". AFHRA (USAF).
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