The Bloch MB.170 and its derivatives were

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s designed and built shortly before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They were the best aircraft of this type available to the at the outbreak of the war, with speed, altitude and manoeuvrability that allowed them to evade interception by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

fighters. Although the aircraft could have been in service by

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

, debate over what role to give the aircraft delayed deliveries until

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

. Too few in number to affect the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

, they continued in service with the

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

forces after the

Armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...

. The MB.174 is notable as the aircraft flown by

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

, author of ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'' during the campaign. His work (''

Flight to Arras ''Flight to Arras'' () is a memoir by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Written in 1942, it recounts his role in the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) as pilot of a reconnaissance plane during the Battle of France in 1940. The book conde ...

''), published in 1942, is based on a 1940 reconnaissance mission in this type of aircraft. Production of the type recommenced after the war as the SNCASO SO.175,Taylor 1989, p. 845. with the final examples remaining in French service until 1960.

Design and development

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, the Ministry for the Air initiated a programme of modernisation of French aviation which included a request concerning a two- or three-seat multi-role aircraft that could be used as a light-bomber or attack aircraft or for reconnaissance. A design team at the former

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

factory at

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is a suburb of Paris, from the Kilometre zero, center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the ci ...

(which had recently become part of the nationalised

SNCASO SNCASO (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest'' ), or commonly ''Sud-Ouest'', was a French aircraft manufacturer. Created during 1936 as one of seven nationalised aeronautical manufacturing companie ...

), led by Henri Deplante, proposed the MB.170, a twin-engined, low-winged

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

.Green 1967, p. 107.Breffort and Jouineau 2004, p. 46. The first prototype, the MB 170 AB2-A3 No.01, equipped as a two-seat attack bomber or a three-seat reconnaissance aircraft, made its maiden flight on 15 February 1938. It was powered by two

Gnome-Rhône 14N The Gnome-Rhône 14N was a 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine designed and manufactured by Gnome-Rhône just before the start of World War II. A development of the Gnome-Rhône 14K, the 14N was used on several French and even one Germa ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s and was armed with a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon in the nose, two 7.5 mm

MAC 1934 The MAC 1934 is a machine gun of French origin. It is effectively the aircraft variant of the Reibel machine gun. History In 1934, the ''Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault'' ( Châtellerault weapons manufacturing company, often shortened to ...

machine guns in the wing, with another machine gun flexibly mounted in the rear cockpit, with a ventral cupola housing either a rearward firing machine gun or a camera.Green 1967, pp. 107–108. The second prototype, the MB 170 B3 No.2 was a three seat bomber, with the ventral cupola removed, a revised canopy and larger tail fins.Green 1967, pp. 108–109. After many modifications it became the definitive MB.174. After the 50th example was delivered in May 1940, the MB.175 succeeded the MB.174 on the assembly lines in full flow. This bomber version, had a redesigned

bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the ...

capable of carrying bombs of 100–200 kg (220-440 lb), where the MB.174 was limited to 50 kg (110 lb) bombs. The MB.175's

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

was lengthened and widened to accommodate this greater capacity but only 25 were delivered before the armistice. They were eventually used in the same reconnaissance units as the MB.174s. The MB.176 was a version with

Pratt & Whitney R-1830 The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It has 14 cylinders, arranged in two rings of seven. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments a ...

radials which proved to have poorer performance than the MB.175. It was ordered into production to ease demand on the French engine manufacturers. However, the availability of the American engines proved to be difficult, and only five aircraft were completed before the armistice.Breffort and Jouineau 2004, p. 47. Around another 200 airframes were at various stages of construction. The MB.177 version was powered by Hispano-Suiza 12Y31 engines, which required extensive redesign of the engine frames. Unfortunately, the engines proved to be underpowered and unsuitable. A final MB.178 variant was under construction at the time of the Armistice. The captured airframe was taken away to

Rechlin Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, around 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Berlin. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs in Nazi Germany. ...

. Production of the MB.175 version recommenced under the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

, with the aircraft exported to Germany for use by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

as trainers. After the war,

resumed production of the MB.175 for the as a

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

designated MB.175T (later SO.175T)

Operational history

The Bloch MB.174 flew for the first time in July

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

and entered service in March

with strategic reconnaissance units where it replaced the

Potez 637 The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined, multirole aircraft developed for the French Air Force in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim (which was larger and designed purely as a b ...

that had proved too vulnerable during the

Phoney war The Phoney War (; ; ) was an eight-month period at the outset of World War II during which there were virtually no Allied military land operations on the Western Front from roughly September 1939 to May 1940. World War II began on 3 Septembe ...

. Its first operational mission was flown by the famed pilot and writer,

, of II/33, on 29 March 1940. The Bloch 174 appeared extremely effective in these missions as its speed and manoeuvrability at altitude allowed it to escape from most modern fighters. Only three examples were lost to enemy fire during the Battle of France. Like the majority of the modern equipment of the during the campaign, they were too little and too late. At the time of the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

, most surviving MB.174s and 175s had been evacuated to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. A few were recovered by the Germans and then used for pilot training. During the Vichy period, MB.174s frequently flew over

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

to monitor the British fleet. In March

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

, German engineers used engines taken from MB.175s (as well as other captured aircraft) to propel the

Messerschmitt Me 323 The Messerschmitt Me 323 ''Gigant'' ("Giant") was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Messerschmitt Me 321, Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during ...

cargo aircraft, some of which flew with parts taken from completed MB.175s. After

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

, French forces defected again from Vichy back to the Allies and surviving examples of the MB.170 flew their final combat missions during the Battle of Tunisia. They were replaced by reconnaissance variants of the

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

and used as transports and

target tug A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent c ...

s. The post-war MB.175T/SO.175T was built in a small series commencing in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and served until

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

. The final examples were used as trainers.

Variants

Bloch MB175 27 January 1943 342-FH 000696

;MB.170 :MB.170.01 - The first

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

, equipped as reconnaissance aircraft, powered by Gnome-Rhône 14N-06 engines. :MB.170.02 - The second prototype, equipped as

light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to dr ...

, powered by Gnome-Rhône 14N-06 engines. ;MB.171: ;MB.172: ;MB.173: ;MB.174 :MB.174.01 - The original MB.174 prototype, powered by Gnome-Rhône 14N-49 engines. :MB.174A.3 - Original production version, powered by Gnome-Rhône 14N-49 engines.. 56 built ;MB.175 :MB.175.01 - The original MB.175 prototype, powered by Gnome-Rhône 14N-48 engines. :MB.175B.3 - Second production version. 23 built, plus 56 unarmed aircraft for the ''Luftwaffe'', powered by Gnome-Rhône 14N-48 engines. ;MB.175T :also known as SO.175T; post-war torpedo bomber version for the ''Aéronavale''. 80 built. ;MB.176 :MB.176.01 - The original MB.176 prototype, powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SC 3-G Twin Wasp engines. :MB.176B.3 - Production version. 5 built ;MB.177 :Single prototype, powered by two Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 inline engines. ;MB.178 :Further development, construction halted by arrival of German forces.

Operators

; *

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

( Groupes de Reconnaissance 1/33, 2/33, 1/52 and 2/36) *

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

(6 F squadron, 10 S squadron, Rochefort training school) ; *

Vichy French Air Force The Air Force (), usually referred to as the Air Force of Vichy (''Armée de l'air de Vichy'') or Armistice Air Force (''Armée de l'Air de l'armistice'') for clarity, was the aerial branch of the Armistice Army of Vichy France established in th ...

; *

(captured)

Specifications (MB.174A.3)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Dassault official home page
{{RLM aircraft designations MB.170 1930s French bomber aircraft 1930s French military reconnaissance aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1938 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear