THOMAS-MORSE MB-3

The 'Thomas-Morse MB-3' was an open-cockpit bi-plane fighter primarily manufactured by the Boeing Company for the U.S. Army Air Service in 1922.

Contents

Development

Variants

Specifications (MB-3A)

References

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)^[5], 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^[6].
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^[7].
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^[3].

★ 'MB-7' - 1 built by Thomas-Morse, to the Marine Corps, 24 inch wing-span^[3]

★ '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^[7].

★ 'MB-9' - pursuit version with a wrap-around corrugated metal fuselage and a Curtiss D-12 engine, one built^[7]

★ '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^[7]

Specifications (MB-3A)

References

1. "The Complete Book of Fighters" cover Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0760709041), 608 pp.
2. "The Complete Book of Fighters" cover Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0760709041), 608 pp.
3. "U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.
4. "The Complete Book of Fighters" cover Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0760709041), 608 pp.
5. Boeing Company Logbook accessed June 20, 2007
6. US Centenniel of Flight Commission accessed June 20, 2007
7. "United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.
8. "U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.
9. "U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.
10. "United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.
11. "United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.
12. "United States Military Aircraft Since 1909" by F. G. Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Putnam New York, ISBN 085177816X) 1964, 596 pp.