Discover

(Redirected from Bloch MB.151)

The 'Bloch MB-150' was a French low-wing, all-metal monoplane fighter aircraft with retractable landing gear and closed cockpit developed by ''Société des Avions Marcel Bloch'' as a contender in the 1934 French air ministry competition for a new fighter design.

Contents

Development

Operational history

Variants

Operators

Specifications (MB.152C.1)

Related content

Development

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.151.01' and 'MB.152.01' 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 from the MB.152 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 the powerplant was removed for testing within a wind tunnel. The excellence in the design was confirmed. It was later destroyed in an allied 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, which flew them against the Russians.
Nine MB.151s were exported to Greece. They flew against the Italian and Germans scoring several air-to-air victories.During WW2 the Bloch MB.152 had destroyed at least 188 enemy planes,and lost about 86 of there own.

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.

Operators

★

★ Greece

★ : Polish Air Forces on exile in France

★ Romania

★ Germany: Luftwaffe

Specifications (MB.152C.1)

{{aircraft specifications
|plane or copter?= plane
|jet or prop?= prop
|ref={name of first source}
|crew= one, pilot
|capacity=
|length main= 9.10 m
|length alt= 29 ft 10 in
|span main= 10.54 m
|span alt= 34 ft 7 in
|height main= 3.20 m
|height alt= 9 ft 11 in
|area main= 17.32 m²
|area alt= 186 ft²
|airfoil=
|empty weight main=2,158 kg
|empty weight alt= 4,758 lb
|loaded weight main=
|loaded weight alt=
|useful load main=
|useful load alt=
|max takeoff weight main= 2,800 kg
|max takeoff weight alt= 6,173 lb
|more general=
|engine (prop)=Gnome-Rhône 14N-25
|type of prop= radial engine
|number of props=1
|power main= 757 kW
|power alt= 1030 hp
|power original=
|max speed main= 509 km/h
|max speed alt= 274 knots, 315 mph
|cruise speed main=
|cruise speed alt=
|never exceed speed main=
|never exceed speed alt=
|stall speed main=
|stall speed alt=
|range main= 600 km
|range alt= 324 nm, 373 miles
|ceiling main= 10,000 m
|ceiling alt= 32,810 ft
|climb rate main= 590 m/min
|climb rate alt= 1,935 ft/min
|loading main=
|loading alt=
|thrust/weight=
|power/mass main=
|power/mass alt=
|more performance=
|armament=

★ 2 × 20 mm Hispano 404 cannon (60-round drum) and 2 × 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns (500 rounds each) 'or'

★ 4 × MAC 1934s
|avionics=
}}

Related content