The Bloch MB.162 was a

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), ...

four-engine, long-range

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 ...

developed by

Société des Avions Marcel Bloch The Société des Avions Marcel Bloch was a French aircraft manufacturer of military and civilian aircraft. It was founded by the aeronautical designer Marcel Bloch (hence "MB" in the aircraft designations), who had previously played a major ro ...

in the late 1930s. Only one

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 ...

was built; after capture by

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 ...

forces, it was pressed into service with 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 a transport.

Development

The designation MB.162 was originally applied to a long-range derivative of the MB.160 four-engined colonial airliner, to be powered by four Gnome-Rhône 14P engines. While intended for use as a

mail plane The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

and long-range communication aircraft, the "MB.162 Raid" was planned to take part in the 1937 Istres–Damascus–Paris Air Race, and when slow development meant that it could not be completed in time to compete in the race, development was abandoned, with the first prototype MB.160 being entered in its place. The MB.162 01 bomber prototype first flew in June 1940 and was captured subsequent to 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 ...

. Had the MB.162 entered production in 1941 as planned, it would have been a notable and fast heavy bomber for the French, somewhat analogous to the

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

but much faster and less well-armed.

Operational history

The MB.162 did not fly a single combat mission, nor did the MB.162 B.5 production model ever enter production. The prototype was used by the ''Luftwaffe'' in '' I/KG 200'' for clandestine affairs during 1943–1944.

Variants

MB.160: :civil transport prototype with smaller span, longer, single central fin. Three built. ; MB.161: produced postwar as airliner SE.161 Languedoc. 100 built ; MB.162 Raid :Long-range mailplane version ; MB.162.01 :prototype, one built ; MB.162 Bn.5 :Production model - never produced

Military operators

; * ''

Armee de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the 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 French Air Fo ...

'' (postwar) ; * ''

Specifications (MB.162 B5)

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

Aviafrance

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch Mb.162 MB.162 Four-engined tractor aircraft 1930s French airliners 1940s French bomber aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1940 Four-engined piston aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear