Bloch MB.210

Bloch MB.210
Type:	Bomb plane
Design country:	France
Manufacturer:	Société des Avions Marcel Bloch
First flight:	November 23, 1934
Commissioning:	1935
Number of pieces:	298

The Bloch MB.210 was a French bomber aircraft from 1935. At the beginning of the Second World War, the type equipped a large part of the bomber formations of the Armée de l'air .

Development and production

The Bloch MB.210.01 was an aircraft designed by the Société des Avions Marcel Bloch in 1933. It was created in response to a specification for a heavy torpedo bomber published by the French Navy in 1932. It was an all - metal low- wing aircraft with retractable landing gear, which had a fuselage with a square cross-section and a U-shaped rounded bow and otherwise had many of the characteristics of the Bloch MB.200 . Driving two gave each 760 hp Gnôme-Rhône 14Kdrs / grs - radial engines . The first flight of this aircraft took place on November 24, 1934 in Villacoublay . Then the prototype was presented to the Navy. However, this had no use for a bomber plane with land landing gear and required the conversion of the prototype to a float plane .

The aircraft was then transferred to Marignane for conversion. The new version, equipped with floats, flew for the first time in January 1936 and was transferred to the CEPA (Aircraft Evaluation Unit of the French Navy) a month later . The tests there showed that the performance of the type fell short of expectations, especially the range, which turned out to be too short for a torpedo bomber. The Navy bought the aircraft and kept it in service until 1940, but initially decided not to order a series. Although it did happen in 1937 in view of the impending war and the Navy ordered eight more of these float planes , which were now called MB.218 , from SNCASO , it never came to be delivered.

Curiously, during the period in which the Navy rejected the type, the Armée de l'air developed interest and, in view of the new threat posed by the German Reich , considered the bomber squadrons that had been equipped with outdated types such as Bloch MB.200 and Lioré & Olivier LeO 20 to modernize with the MB.210. An order was placed for its own prototype, which had the same designation as the Navy's machine (Bloch MB.210.01), but was already clearly different from that one. He first took to the air on December 12, 1935 and was transferred to CEMA in January 1936 . After a series of tests, the Armée de l'air decided to order a series of 270 machines, which would be delivered between 1935 and 1937 and - unlike the first prototype - were to receive Gnôme-Rhône 14Kirs / jrs engines . They were given the designation MB.210BN.4 , so they were intended for the role of night bombers (BN = "Bombardier de Nuit"). In order to speed up production, other French companies were also involved as licensees, including ANF Les Mureaux , Hanriot , Potez and Renault . The machines produced by Hanriot were designed for an additional crew member and were therefore given the designation MB.210BN.5 .

A total of 298 machines of this type were manufactured. Among them was an order for 24 pieces for the Romanian Air Force , of which only ten were safely delivered. Three machines manufactured by Hanriot and the MB.210.01 itself were delivered to the Republic of Spain .

Parallel to the development of the MB.210.01 (intended for the Armée de l'air) Bloch built a second prototype MB.211.01 , which received different engines. It was an 860 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs . The MB.211.01 was made entirely of aluminum and had Aéronautique Navale paint and markings . The machine was exhibited at the Paris Aviation Salon in November 1934 and brought to the factory in Villacoublay in December of that year , but did not fly until mid-1935. Since there were no noticeable improvements in performance despite the new engine, the version was converted again to 940 hp powerful Hispano-Suiza 14 Aa-00/01 engines and got the new designation MB.212.01 . This version also fell short of expectations, so the project was dropped.

commitment

The conversion of the French bomber formations to the Bloch MB.210 was initially associated with complications for the crews. The model was the first relatively modern type of bomber of the Armée de l'air, which brought innovations such as a retractable landing gear and adjustable propellers and also had a much higher landing speed. This presented the crews with unknown challenges. Therefore, after this type was put into service, many machines were lost to human error.

In addition, there was the enormous unreliability of the Gnôme-Rhône 14Kirs / jrs engines, which tended to overheat. In the course of time, they were therefore replaced by 910 hp Gnôme-Rhône 14N 10/11 or Gnome-Rhône 14N20 / 21 , depending on availability .

At the beginning of the Second World War, 12 of 33 Groupes de Bombardement of the Armée de l'air were equipped with the Bloch MB.210, namely:

GB I / 11 and GB II / 11
GB I / 12 and GB II / 12
GB I / 19 and GB II / 19
GB I / 23 and GB II / 23
GB I / 21 and GB II / 21
GB I / 51 and GB II / 51

They used them for night and day bombings, because the Armée de l'air did not have any type of aircraft that could take on the latter task better. It soon became apparent that the machines were neither state-of-the-art nor capable of doing their job. When the Germans attacked in May 1940, the conversion of the Groupes de Bombardement to more modern types such as the LeO 451 and Amiot 351 was only partially complete, so that the MB.210 was still used occasionally during this phase of the war. The replaced machines were gradually given to training facilities.

Even if the MB.210 was unpopular with the crews and was criticized in the French press (both often referred to it as “flying coffins” due to the series of accidents when it was introduced), the losses recorded in combat were comparatively small. Seven machines were lost in combat missions, two of them in accidents. Nine were irreparably damaged, three fell victim to German air raids.

At the time of the armistice between France and the German Reich, there were still about 120 copies of the MB.210 in the unoccupied zone of France and another 20 in North Africa. They continued their service in the air force of the Vichy government. During the occupation of their territory by German and Italian troops in 1942, the Germans captured 42 machines of the type, six of which they forwarded to Bulgaria.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
Bloch MB.210
length	18.90 m
height	6.15 m
span	k. A.
Wing area	72.0 m²
drive	two radial engines of the type Gnôme-Rhône 14Kirs / jrs with 900 HP each, later changed to Gnôme-Rhône 14N 10/11 or Gnôme-Rhône 14N 20/21 with 910 HP each
Top speed	334 km / h
Rate of climb	333 m / min or 5.5 m / s
Service ceiling	9,850 m
Range	1,000 km (with 1,000 kg payload)
Empty mass	k. A.
Takeoff mass	k. A.
crew	4 or 5 (depending on the version)
Armament	three 7.5 mm MGs of type MAC 1934 max. 1,600 kg bomb load, in detail: 2 or 3 × 200 kg and 6 × 64 kg or 10 × 50 kg or 1 × 1000 kg