#1421
Martin P4M Mercator
🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1946· patrol bomber
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7 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. P4M-1 Mercator in flight: USN· Public domain
- 2. Martin P4M-1 Mercator of VP-21 in flight in the early 1950s (NH 101801-KN): Commander Richard Timm, U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 3. Martin P4M Mercator VQ-2 06.09.56: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
- 4. Martin P4M-1 Mercator of VP-21 in flight c1951: USN· Public domain
- 5. Martin P4M-1 Mercators of VP-21 in flight in July 1951: U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 6. Martin P4M-1Q Mercator: SDASM· CC0
- 7. Retired P4M-1Q Mercator of VQ-1 in 1960: U.S. Navy· Public domain
what is it?
The Martin P4M Mercator was a maritime reconnaissance aircraft built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. The Mercator was an unsuccessful contender for a United States Navy requirement for a long-range maritime patrol bomber, with the Lockheed P2V Neptune chosen instead. It saw a limited life as a long-range electronic reconnaissance aircraft.
How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 34.8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 80 years ago, in 1946.
- Top speed is 5.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 34.8 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 6 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1946-10-20
- introduced
- 1950
- retired
- 1960
- status
- retired
- number built
- 21
- role
- patrol bomber
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Glenn L. Martin Company
- engines
- 4× Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20A Wasp Major / Allison J33-A-10A
- crew
- 9
- length
- 26.3 m
- wingspan
- 34.8 m
- height
- 8.9 m
- max take-off weight
- 37.8 t
- top speed
- 660 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 10,546 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1811522, Wikipedia: Martin P4M Mercator (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.