Martin T
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{{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Model T, Model TT | image=A Girl of Yesterday 1915.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Military trainer aircraft | national origin=United States | manufacturer=Martin | designer=Charles F. Willard | first flight=1913 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user=United States Army | number built=17 | developed from= | variants with their own articles=Martin S }} |
The Martin T or TT was a training biplane produced in the United States in 1913 for military use.{{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |isbn= 978-1851703241 }} It was a conventional, three-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of equal span. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem, open cockpits with dual controls. Fixed, taildragger undercarriage was fitted, which could be exchanged for a single pontoon under the fuselage and wingtip floats.The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, 2432
Early examples were delivered to the Army without engines, so the Army could power them with engines salvaged from other aircraft, but later TTs came equipped with Curtiss, Hall-Scott, or Sturtevant engines.{{cite web |last=Holcomb |first=Kevin |title=Martin T.T. |work=Holcomb's Aerodrome |url=http://www.airminded.net/MartinTT/MartinTT.html |access-date=2008-10-20}}
In 1915, a Model TT was piloted by Oscar Brindley to win the Curtiss Marine Trophy for the longest flight within 10 consecutive hours in one day, covering 444 mi (710 km).
The Model T was the basis for the Martin S Hydro seaplane, with a lengthened fuselage, a greater span, and upper wing ailerons.
The first Martin T acquired, Signal Corps Number 31, was deployed to Texas in April 1915 as the Army massed around Brownsville in response to civil war in Mexico involving forces under Pancho Villa. On April 20, S.C. 31 became the first American military aircraft to be fired on by a hostile force. Although not hit by a machine gun firing at it from the Mexican side of the border, the returning pilot taxied it into a ditch and damaged it beyond repair.{{cite web |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPersonalities/Combat-Over-Texas.htm |title=Combat Over Texas: America's First Combat Sortie Took Place April 20, 1915, in Brownsville, Texas |author=Dan Heaton |publisher=Texas Escapes online magazine |date=June 6, 2012 |access-date=August 25, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.stxmaps.com/go/texas-historical-marker-launching-site-of-first-us-army-warplane.html |title=Launching Site of First U.S. Army Warplane: Texas Historical Marker |access-date=August 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513115818/http://www.stxmaps.com/go/texas-historical-marker-launching-site-of-first-us-army-warplane.html |archive-date=May 13, 2014 }}
Variants
;Martin T
:Two-seat training biplane for the US Army, three built (S.C. 31-33)
;Martin TT
:Variant with Curtiss, Hall-Scott, or Sturtevant piston engines, 14 built (S.C. 37-38, 50-51, 54-55, 96-101, 330-331)
Operators
Specifications (TT)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = imp
|crew=two - pilot and instructor
|length m=8.01
|length ft=26
|length in=4
|span m=11.79
|span ft=38
|span in=8
|height m=2.85
|height ft=9
|height in=4
|wing area sqm=35.2
|wing area sqft=379
|empty weight kg=600
|empty weight lb=1,320
|gross weight kg=780
|gross weight lb=1,720
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Curtiss OX-2
|eng1 kw=67
|eng1 hp=90
|max speed kmh=152
|max speed mph=96
|ceiling m=2,900
|ceiling ft=9,500
}}
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References
{{commons category|Martin T}}
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite magazine |last=Elliot|first=Bryn |title=Bears in the Air: The US Air Police Perspective |magazine=Air Enthusiast |date=March–April 1997 |issue=68 |pages=46–51 |issn=0143-5450}}
- {{cite book |title=World Aircraft Information Files |publisher=Bright Star Publishing |location=London }}
{{Martin aircraft}}
Category:1910s United States military trainer aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1913
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft