PJ Production 481203 Martin Baker Mk 3 Ejection Seat Hunter, Canberra, Vampire, Victor, Vulcan

The Martin-Baker Mk.3 was a British ejection seat which was introduced in the mid 1950s. The official website of the manufacturer states that it was used for the first time on November 1, 1955. In order for the chair to work effectively, the pilot's weight had to be between 71 and 102 kilograms. The Martin-Baker Mk.3 seat was developed as a far-reaching modernization of the Martin-Baker Mk.2 seat. The designers of the new seat focused on eliminating the main problems of the Mk.2 seat, i.e. they aimed at the possibility of ejecting the pilot at low and very low altitudes and at very high speeds. It was quickly realized that in order to achieve both goals, the pilot's seat had to be launched much higher than in the case of the previous model. After a series of tests, the assumptions were met, and the Martin-Baker Mk.3 armchair began to be installed on machines such as the Hawker Hunter, de Havilland Vampire or the V series of bombers (Valiant, Victor and Vulcan). It is estimated that the Martin-Baker Mk.3 armchair saved the lives of over 250 pilots.