It was its availability in numbers that led the MB.210 to still be in use by the time of the German invasion of France in June of 1940. The aircraft were pressed into combat service with both the French air force and navy and the MB.210 stocked some twelve French bomber groups during the fighting. By this time, the bomber was a wholly obsolete design caught up in a major modern war and losses were appropriately expected. When daylight bombing endeavors spelled disaster for French air crews at the hands of well-trained and experienced German fighters, the bomber was switched over to night offensives which proved little more successful. Regardless, due to the desperate French state, it was used in action up until the formal French surrender. Some elements were shifted to North Africa to continue their service careers.
In the aftermath of the French surrender and subsequent German occupation, the MB.210 was used in small numbers and for a short time by the Luftwaffe into 1942. Six captured examples were shipped to German-ally Bulgaria and operated by the Bulgarian Air Force for a time. Romania proved another Axis-aligned operator, receiving some 10 examples out of an initial order for 24 aircraft. By the end of the war, MB.210s were largely a forgotten breed of bomber design and gave way to the glut of American and British offerings that had proven so successful in World War 2.
The MB.210 was granted several designations and variants throughout its service life. MB.201.01 was used to signify the first prototype form. MB.210Bn.4 designated the initial production models using the upgraded Gnome-Rhone 14N series radials. MB.210Bn.5 was a variant produced specifically by the Hanriot concern and featured an additional position for extra crew. MB.210H signified a floatplane variant fitted with pontoons and 2 x Gnome-Rhone 14Kirs series radials. MB.211.01 was a prototype model equipped with 2 x Hispano-Suiza 12Y series inline piston engines of 860 horsepower. MB.212 and MB.218 were known projects that came to naught.
In its base form, the MB.210 was crewed by four personnel and powered by two radial engines. Externally, the airframe was primitive even by 1930s standards and consisted of a long, windowed nose section, stepped cockpit flight deck and long-running slab-sided fuselage. The empennage was of a traditional design incorporating only a single vertical tail fin and low-set tailplanes. The main wing appendages were low-mounted with each managing an engine nacelle and sporting slight dihedral. While the undercarriage was technically retractable, the tail wheel was not and the main leg wheels were exposed under the engine nacelles. There were three machine gun turret emplacements used for defense - on dorsal, one ventral and one at the nose. The aircraft mounted 3 x 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns. Using an internal bomb bay, the bomber could field up to 3,500lbs of stores.
General performance specifications included a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour (150mph cruise speed), operational range of 1,050 miles and a service ceiling of 32,500 feet.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.