A-22 Maryland

The Martin A-22 was a US-designed light bomber, first flying in 1939, that saw action in World War II in France and the United Kingdom.

Development

The XA-22 was Martin's response to a US Army Air Corps light bomber requirement issued in 1938. Internally designated as model 167, Martin's project was a twin-engine fully-metallic monoplane, capable of around 310 mph (447 km/h) and carrying a crew of three. The bombardier sat in the nose below the cockpit, and self-defense was provided by a mid-upper twin-machine gun turret, as well as four forward firing light machine guns in the wings.

Eventually, the A-22 never entered operational service in the US as the contract was won by Douglas with its A-20. But Martin received foreign orders, and eventually about 450 of these relatively fast, twin engined planes were built.

Operational history

In French service

Facing German arms buildup and desperate for modern aircraft, the French Air Force purchased US aircraft of numerous types in the late 1930s. Martin received an order for more than two hundred 167 Fs which incorporated French-specific equipment such as metric instruments. French officials expected the deliveries to begin in January 1939 but the type - locally designated Glenn Martin 167 A-3 - only entered service in early 1940. Notably, because of the US embargo on arms exports after the beginning of World War II, many planes were impounded for two months before being shipped to Europe. When the Germans eventually invaded France there were only four Groupes de bombardement (bomber squadrons) equipped. The Glenns were quickly sent to the frontlines where they performed honourably - with their sufficient speed and excellent manoeuvrability for an airplane in this class, they sometimes had a chance to avoid enemy fighters. In more about 350 sorties versus the Germans they suffered a loss rate of only 4%, much better than the 16% endured by LeO 451s and their crews above the same targets.

Immediately before the June 1940 Armistice, units flying the Glenn were evacuated to French North Africa to avoid capture by the Germans. Some examples were transferred to the Aéronautique Navale. During the Vichy rule on the French empire, French Martins occasionally clashed with British forces, notably during the Syria-Lebanon campaign in 1941. As French North Africa got back in the Allied camp in 1943, M.167s were phased out of service and replaced with more modern Allied types, including the Martin B-26 Marauder.

Approximately 215 Martin 167s were delivered to France.

In British service

After the Franco-German Armstice, all remaining planes on the French order were shipped to the United Kingdom where they were re-designated as Maryland Mk.I. Many of the planes were eventually shipped to Egypt and Malta in time for the 1941 fighting there. In the British Fleet Air Arm, at any rate, they seem to have seen little combat, being used for spotting and drone-towing duties. The RAF used the aircraft to some effect for photo-reconaissance operations in North Africa.

Specifications (Maryland MkII)

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