As built, the MB.174 could reach speeds of 330 miles-per-hour and cruise near 290mph. Range was out to 1,030 miles with a service ceiling of up to 36,000 feet. Dimensions included an overall length of 40 feet with a span of 58.9 feet, and a height of 11.7 feet. Empty weight was 12,375lb against an MTOW of 15,820lb.
Armament of this mark comprised 2 x 7.5mm MAC M1934 machine guns in the wings (one per wing member), 2 x 7.5mm MAC M1934 machine guns at a dorsal emplacement and 3 x 7.5mm MAC M1934 machine guns seated at aft-firing mounts. Beyond this, the hold could house up to 880lb of conventional drop bombs and a further six bombs could be carried externally under the wings - giving the Bloch aircraft considerable punch in any attack sortie.
Fifty of the reconnaissance standard were delivered before May of 1940 and this mark was then overtaken on the lines by the bomber-minded "MB.175". The MB.175 was led by the MB.175.01 prototype and its Gnome-Rhone 14N-48 radials before switching to the production-quality MB.175B.3 mark. Twenty-three of these were built with a further 56 added to the Luftwaffe stable as unarmed airframes.
With its reworked internals (including a widening of the fuselage to accept the needed bombload), the variant was capable of carrying a more impressive war load than its reconnaissance counterpart. Production and deliveries began as soon as possible under the stress of invasion and a version with the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 air-cooled radial was quickly penciled out to help expedite the production effort - though this did little to stop the German advance as no more than twenty-five examples were on hand before the French surrender.
As a testament to its sound design, just three MB.170 aircraft were lost in the fighting. Some examples flown by French pilots to North Africa for safe keeping and the last Allied-centered actions involving the series took place during the Battle of Tunisia in May 1943. Some captured specimens were utilized by the conquering Germans as training aircraft and general reconnaissance. The more advanced MB.178 was in-the-works at the time of the German takeover and its development subsequently ended by the conquerors.
In the post-war period, the MB.170 continued to live on through the "MB.175T" - a torpedo-bomber variant developed in 1947 and operated by the French Navy into 1950.
For its time in the air, the Bloch MB.170 served with French Air Force reconnaissance groups 1/33, 2/33, 1/52, and 2/36.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.