Corky Scott wrote:

Many of the training flights involved takeoff at max gross. At that
weight during takeoff, the loss of an engine or having the prop slip
to flat pitch was disasterous. The bomber rolled into the dead engine
virtually instantaneously and pitched into Tampa Bay, or impacted the
ground upside down. "One a day in Tampa Bay" became the bitter
refrain.

Martin provided instructions for recovery from an engine failure. The Army had
it's own standard procedure, however, and refused to make a type-specific
exception. Eventually the accident rate forced them to change to the procedure
recommended by Martin, and the accident rate went down to one typical for twins.
The Army never did like type-specific training, however, and retired all the 26s
as soon as it could.

My father worked on the Martin assembly line in Baltimore. My mother worked
there in the accounting department. She says that you wouldn't think it possible
that they could lose something the size of one of "those big flying boats" (as
she calls them), but, according to her, they did.

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.