Bloch MB.150
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The Bloch MB-150 was a French low-wing, all metal monoplane fighter aircraft with retractable landing gear and closed cockpit developed by Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch as a contendor in the 1934 French air ministry competition for a new fighter design.
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Development
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Although the competition was won by the prototype Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, development proceeded culminating in the first attempted flight of the MB.150.01 prototype in 1936. Unfortunately, the plane proved unable to leave the ground! With modifications consisting of a strengthened wing of greater area, revised landing gear, and installation of a 940 hp (701 kW) Gnome-Rhone 14N-0 radial engine with a three-blade constant speed propeller, the MB.150 finally flew in October of 1937.
Handed over to the Centre d'Essais du Materiel Aerien (CEMA) for service trials, its performance proved sufficiently interesting to warrant further development. This brought, at the very beginning of 1938, a small increase in wing span and installation of a 14N-7 engine. When trials were completed in the late spring of 1938, SNCASO was awarded an order for a pre-production batch of 25 of these aircraft.
No such production of the MB-150.01 ever occurred, the plane being totally unsuitable to mass production. Redesign would lead to the MB.151 and MB.152 prototypes, developed and produced in parallel. By the outbreak of World War II, some 120 had reached the Armée de l'Air, but few of them were flyable, most missing their gunsights and propellers.
The MB.153 and MB.154 were intended as testbeds for American engines, but only the former flew, and when it crashed a few days later, damaged beyond repair, pursuit of these alternatives also ceased. Instead, attention shifted to extending the range of the MB.152. This was achieved by moving the cockpit aft in order to make room for a new fuel tank. Other modifications included a slightly broader wing and revised aerodynamics around the cowling. The result, designated MB.155 performed favourably in flight tests and was ordered into production in 1940, however only 10 aircraft had been completed by the fall of France. Under the terms of the armistice, the remaining 19 on the production line were completed and delivered into Vichy service. From there, some eventually made their way into the Luftwaffe after 1942.
The final member of the family, the MB.157 utilised a far more powerful engine and eventually became a very different aircraft as the design evolved to accommodate the larger and heavier powerplant. Unfinished at the time of the armistice, it was ordered to be completed and flown under German supervision. Demonstrating superb performance, it was taken to Orly where it was dismantled for testing. The engine was shipped to Germany, and the airframe evaluated in a wind tunnel, confirming the excellence of the design. It was later destroyed in an air raid.
Operational history
MB.151s and MB.152s equipped six fighter Groupes during the Battle of France, but proved completely outclassed by the Messerschmitt Bf 109E. They continued to fly in the Vichy air force until this was disbanded. Some of these aircraft were then supplied to Romania.
Nine MB.151s were exported to Greece.
Variants
MB.150
Single MB.150.01 prototype
MB.151
- MB.151.01 - single prototype
- MB.151C1 - initial production version (144 built)
MB.152
- MB.152.01 - single prototype
- MB.152.C1 - uprated version produced in parallel with 151.C1 (482 built)
MB.153
Single MB.153.01 prototype with Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine
MB.154
Proposed version with Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine. Not built.
MB.155
- MB.155.01 - single prototype converted from a MB.152
- MB.155C1 - production version (29 built)
MB.157
Single prototype of advanced version, converted from MB.152 and equipped with Gnome-Rhône 14R engine.
Specifications (MB.152C.1)
General Characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 9.10 m (29 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 10.54 m (34 ft 7 in)
- Height: 3.20 m (9 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 17.32 m² (186 ft²)
- Empty: 2,158 kg (4,758 lb)
- Loaded: kg ( lb)
- Maximum takeoff: 2,800 kg (6,173 lb)
- Powerplant: 1x Gnome-Rhône 14N-25 radial, 757 kW (1030 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 509 km/h (315 mph)
- Range: 600 km (373 miles)
- Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,810 ft)
- Rate of climb: 590 m/min (1,935 ft/min)
- Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
- Power/Mass: kW/kg ( hp/lb)
Armament
- 2x 20 mm Hispano 404 cannon (60-round drum) and 2x 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns (500 rounds each) or
- 4x MAC 1934s
Related content
Related development:
Comparable aircraft:
Designation sequence: MB.80 - MB.90 - MB.130 - MB.150 - MB.160 - MB.170 - MB.200
See also:
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