The Philippine Mars, a historic flying boat, made an unexpected stop in Arizona today due to forecasted weather. Instead of heading to San Diego as planned, the aircraft landed on Lake Pleasant near Phoenix, after leaving Vancouver Island for San Francisco. The plane will be partially disassembled and transported to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson. This aircraft and its sister ship, Hawaii Mars, have spent the last 65 years in British Columbia, with Hawaii Mars being donated to a museum in BC. Built in the late 1940s by Martin for the Navy, these planes were used for cargo and personnel transport from San Francisco to Hawaii before being converted for firefighting in 1960. The aircraft could carry 7,200 gallons of water from lakes or the ocean to combat fires. The timeline for moving the Philippine Mars to the museum has not yet been determined.
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