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Thomas-Morse MB-3
| MB-3 | |
|---|---|
| MB-3 | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Thomas-Morse & Boeing |
| Designed by | B. Douglas Thomas[1] |
| Maiden flight | 21 February 1919[1] |
| Introduced | March 1919 |
| Retired | 1925 |
| Primary users | United States Army Air Service United States Marine Corps |
| Number built | 260[2] |
| Unit cost | $7,240 USD |
The Thomas-Morse MB-3 was an open-cockpit biplane fighter primarily manufactured by the Boeing Company for the U.S. Army Air Service in 1922.
Development
Ordered by the U.S. Army on the basis of a promised 150 mph (241 km/h) top speed and a 1,500 ft.min (7.62 m/s) initial climb, the MB-3 designed by B. Douglas Thomas was a single-seat unstaggered single-bay biplane of wooden construction and fabric covering[1].
Developed in 1919 by the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation of Ithaca, New York, the MB-3 fighter was based on the French Spad-7, with rights on the design held by the Air Service. Thomas-Morse produced fifty MB-3's for the Air Service and ten for the U.S. Marine Corps but were underbid by Boeing for contracts to deliver 200 additional planes, which Boeing designated the MB-3A. Boeing's mass production methods allowed it to profit while still charging a lower price (in the case of the MB-3A, $7,240 per copy)[3], but was the beginning of the decline of Thomas-Morse. Boeing credits this contract with rescuing the company from financial difficulties following the cancellation of orders after World War I, and with being the impetus for its rise as a premier manufacturer of military aircraft[4].
Army pilot Frank B. Tyndall pulled the wings off an MB-3A flown from a short runway near the Boeing factory and parachuted to safety after a spectacular low-level bail-out. Boeing made minor structural refinements and created completely new tail surfaces for the last 50 aircraft delivered[5].
The MB-3A was delivered to the Air Service beginning in 1922 and was its primary pursuit aircraft. By 1925 the MB-3A was considered obsolete, and with the re-organization of the Air Service into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1926, it was replaced by the Curtiss PW-8 and Boeing PW-9 fighters.
Variants
- MB-3 - 54 built by Thomas-Morse
- MB-3A - 200 built by Boeing with a revised cooling system
- MB-3M - MB-3As religated to advanced training duties
- MB-6 - 3 built by Thomas-Morse, one became the R-2 racer, 19 inch wing-span, 400 hp (300 kW)Wright H3 engine[2].
- MB-7 - 1 built by Thomas-Morse, to the Marine Corps, 24 inch wing-span[2]
- R-5 - two racers ordered for the 1922 Pulitzer race, all-metal TM-22 parasol monoplanes developed from a combined primary trainer and pursuit model that B. Douglas Thomas was trying to sell to the Army[5].
- MB-9 - pursuit version with a wrap-around corrugated metal fuselage and a Curtiss D-12 engine, one built[5]
- MB-10 - two-seat trainer modification of the MB-9, the same airframe with a new section spliced into the fuselage and a Le Rhône rotary engine fitted further forward to correct for balance[5]
Specifications (MB-3A)
Data from "United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Length: 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
- Wingspan: 26 ft 0 in (7.92 m)
- Height: 8 ft 7 in (2.59 m)
- Wing area: 229 ft² (21.28 m²)
- Empty weight: 1,716 lb (778 kg)
- Loaded weight: 2,539 lb (1,151 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Wright H Vee, 300 hp (217 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 141 mph (228 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 125 mph (201 km/h)
- Range: 280 mi (455 km)
- Service ceiling: 19,500 ft (5,943.6 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,235 ft/mn (374 m/mn)
Armament
- 2 × fixed forward firing .30 (7.62 mm) machineguns or
- 1 × .30 (7.62 mm) and 1 × .50 (12.7 mm) machineguns or
- 2 × fixed forward firing .50 (12.7 mm) machineguns
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Complete Book of Fighters" cover Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0760709041), 608 pp.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.
- ↑ Boeing Company Logbook accessed June 20, 2007
- ↑ US Centenniel of Flight Commission accessed June 20, 2007
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.
| This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Thomas-Morse MB-3". |
