MARTIN-BAKER MB 5

The 'Martin-Baker MB 5' was the ultimate development of a series of prototype fighter aircraft built during the Second World War by Martin-Baker Aircraft. Neither the MB 5 nor its predecessors ever entered production despite what test pilots described as excellent performance.

Contents

Design and development

Flight testing

Replica construction

Specifications (MB 5, as designed)

References

External links

Related content

Design and development

The MB 5 was actually begun as the second Martin-Baker MB 3 prototype, designed to Air Ministry Specification F.18/39 for an agile, sturdy Royal Air Force fighter, able to fly faster than 400 mph. After the first MB 3 crashed in 1942, killing Val Baker, the second prototype was delayed. A modified MB 3 with a Rolls-Royce Griffon was planned as the MB 4, but a full redesign was chosen instead.Baugher, Joe. "Martin-Baker MB 5." ''Aircraft of the World''. 19 November 1995. [1] Access date: 9 April 2006.
The re-designed aircraft, designated MB 5, used wings similar to the MB 3, but had an entirely new steel-tube fuselage. Power came from a Rolls-Royce Griffon 83 liquid-cooled V-12 engine, producing 2,340 hp (1,745 kW) and driving two three-bladed contra-rotating propellers. ''MB 5''. Martin-Baker History. [2] Access date: 9 April 2006. Armament was four 20 mm Hispano cannon, mounted in the wings outboard of the widely-spaced retractable undercarriage.

Flight testing

The first flight of the MB 5 prototype, serial R2496, took place on 23 May 1944.Jane, Fred T. “The Martin-Baker F.18/39.” ''Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II''. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0. p. 129-130. Performance was considered outstanding by test pilots, and the cockpit layout was praised by the Armament and Aircraft Experimental Establishment. The accessibility of the fuselage for maintenance was excellent, thanks to a system of detachable panels.
Acknowledged as one of the best aerobatic pilots in the UK, S/L Janusz Żurakowski from the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at RAF Boscombe Down gave a spectacular display at the Farnborough Air Show in June 1946, with the Martin-Baker MB 5, a design he considered as a superlative piston-engined fighter, better in many ways than the Spitfire.

Serial production, had it been authorized, would have begun in time for squadron service over Germany. Instead, the RAF directed their attention towards jet fighters, and the MB 5 remained unordered. Perhaps one of the reasons that the MB 5 did not go into production was because the Rolls Royce Griffon engine failed when the MB 5 was being demonstrated to Sir Winston Churchill. Another reason, stated by Michael Bowyer might be that Martin-Baker lacked both facilities and sufficient government support.^[1] The original MB 5 was reputedly destroyed on a gunnery range. Martin-Baker went on to become one of the world's leading builders of ejection seats.

Replica construction

A partial replica is being built in Reno, Nevada by John Marlin, and is nearing completion as of 2006 using wings from a P-51 Mustang.

Specifications (MB 5, as designed)

References

1. Bowyer 1984, p. 124-125.


★ Bowyer, Michael J.F. ''Interceptor Fighters for the Royal Air Force 1935-45''. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1984. ISBN 0-85059-726-9.

★ Green, William, ed. "Mr. Martin's Memorable M.B.5." ''Air International'' Vol. 16, no. 2, February 1979.

★ _____________. ''War Planes of the Second World War: Fighters, Volume Two''. London, Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961.

★ Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. ''WW2 Fact Files: RAF Fighters, Part 2''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-354-01234-7.

★ Zuk, Bill. ''Janusz Zurakowski: Legends in the Sky.'' St. Catharine's, Ontario: Vanwell, 2004. ISBN 1-55125-083-7.

External links

★ John Marlin's MB5 replica website

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