Thomas-Morse MB-3

Infobox Aircraft
name = MB-3
type = Fighter
manufacturer = Thomas-Morse Aircraft & Boeing



caption = MB-3 of 94th Pursuit Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group, Selfridge Field, Michigan
designer = B. Douglas Thomas"The Complete Book of Fighters" [http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/21RSY79BDHL.jpgcover] Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0760709041), 608 pp.]
first flight = 21 February avyear|1919"The Complete Book of Fighters" [http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/21RSY79BDHL.jpgcover] Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0760709041), 608 pp.]
introduced = March 1919
retired = 1925
status =
primary user = United States Army Air Service
more users = United States Marine Corps
produced =
number built = 260"U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.]
unit cost = $7,240 USD
variants with their own articles = Thomas-Morse MB-6
Thomas-Morse MB-7

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"The Complete Book of Fighters" [http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/21RSY79BDHL.jpgcover] Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0760709041), 608 pp.] .

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) [ [http://www.boeing.com/history/chronology/chron02.html Boeing Company Logbook] accessed June 20, 2007] , 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 [ [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/boeing-early/Aero17.htm US Centenniel of Flight Commission] accessed June 20, 2007] .

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"United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.] .

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"U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.] .
*MB-7 - 1 built by Thomas-Morse, to the Marine Corps, 24 inch wing-span"U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.]
*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"United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.] .
*MB-9 - pursuit version with a wrap-around corrugated metal fuselage and a Curtiss D-12 engine, one built"United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.]
*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"United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.]

pecifications (MB-3A)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref="United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.
crew= One
length main= 20 ft 0 in
length alt= 6.10 m
span main= 26 ft 0 in
span alt= 7.92 m
height main= 8 ft 7 in
height alt= 2.59 m
area main= 229 ft²
area alt= 21.28 m²
empty weight main= 1,716 lb
empty weight alt= 778 kg
loaded weight main= 2,539 lb
loaded weight alt= 1,151 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
engine (prop)= Wright H
type of prop= Vee
number of props= 1
power main= 300 hp
power alt= 217 kW
max speed main= 141 mph
max speed alt= 228 km/h
cruise speed main= 125 mph
cruise speed alt= 201 km/h
range main= 280 mi
range alt= 455 km
ceiling main= 19,500 ft
ceiling alt= 5,943.6 m
climb rate main= 1,235 ft/mn
climb rate alt= 374 m/mn
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
armament=
*2 × fixed forward firing 0.30 inch (7.62 mm) machine guns or
*1 × 0.30 inch (7.62 mm) and 1 × 0.50 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns or
*2 × fixed forward firing 0.50 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns

References