Abandoned, Failed or Cancelled MB.150 Developments
The MB.153 was a one-off prototype fitted with the American Pratt & Whitney R.1830 Twin Wasp radial engine. The MB.154 was a proposed variant fitting the Wright R.1820 radial piston engine which fell to naught. The MB.156 proved another abandoned model though fitted with a Gnome-Rhone 14R series radial. The MB.157 could have proven the ultimate MB.150 form had France not fallen to Germany in 1940. The MB.157 was born from the MB.152 and fitted with the Gnome-Rhone 14R-4 radial of 1,580 horsepower.
The MB.150 Series and World War 2
World War 2 could not have come at a worse time for the French military. Much of its doctrine and command was still entrenched in a World War 1 mentality while many modern systems languished in development hampered by political maneuverings and labor strife. As such, many capable weapons were still in design phases, entering trials or undergoing slow production at limited rates at the time of the German invasion. Such a fate befell the MB.150 series as only 120 examples of MB.151 and MB.152 fighters were available and a only very few were actually air worthy, lacking key components such as propellers. Nine French Air Force fighter squadrons were eventually formed from the two production marks while the Greece Air Force managed an order of 25 MB.151 aircraft though only nine systems were ever delivered, these fighting on into April 1941.
Bloch continued strengthening the MB.150 line and this produced the MB.155 with a revised engine cowling, altered wings and a relocated cockpit moved aft to create additional internal volume for fuel. The aircraft emerged as the MB.155.C1 and entered production in 1940. However, this initiative proved too little too late for the Battle of France, and the ultimate fall of the nation in June of 1940, would severely hamper MB.155 availability for the French. The battle lasted just one month and a half and only ten MB.155s were available. An armistice signed between France and Germany gave control of military production lines to the Germans to which the lines were then used to strengthen allied Vichy French inventories. An additional 25 MB.155 aircraft were added to stocks while eight Vichy French fighter groups were assigned MB.150s. At one point, the German Luftwaffe themselves managed two MB.150 fighter groups. After the Vichy air groups were disbanded in December of 1942, MB.150s were sent to Romania to fight under the Axis banner. The Polish Air Force in exile operated MB.150 series in the war as well, rounding out the list of available operators.
In practice, the MB.150 series proved only a serviceable mount in the context of World War 2 fighting. The aircraft held enough power, stability and firepower to make a case for itself though it was not an agile beast and eventually outmoded by the excellent German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. While Bloch regularly updated engine output, the design was set in a 1930s mind-set that failed to progress in time for total war. The German invasion only served to completely hamper the MB.150 series as a whole and shorten its usefulness considerably. Only the incomplete MB.157 mark was the true thoroughbred performer of the family line and this variant was taken over by the Germans (tested and completed) but never mass-produced. The prototype was eventually lost in an Allied bombing raid.
As it stood, the MB.152 marks proved the most combat-experienced of the group, accounting for nearly 190 enemy aircraft destroyed in subsequent fighting. Conversely, nearly 90 of the type were lost which showcased the series' ineffectiveness in the thick of battle. Final MB.150s were flown in anger into 1944 where liberated airframes were reconstituted for French Air Force service after Allied gains cleared regions of the Axis presence. These were poetically used against the depleted and retreating German forces for a period longer.
Fewer than 670 MB.150 series aircraft were produced in all marks and prototype/testing forms.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.