BLOCH MB 152C.1 EARLY VERSION

The Bloch MB.152 was a French full-metal half-shell fighter with a low wing configuration and a classic tail. The drive was provided by a single Gnome-Rhone radial engine GR 14N25 with 1100 hp. The flight of the prototype took place in 1938, and serial production continued in 1939-1940, ending with the production of about 660 machines. The Bloch MB.152 was created as a response to the demand submitted in 1934 by the French Air Force for a completely new low-wing fighter plane. The Bloch plant originally developed the MB.150 and MB.151 models, but only the MB.152 model met with the approval of French aviation decision makers and was approved for use as a supplement to the Morane-Saulnier MS.406 aircraft. The Bloch company used many modern solutions in the MB.152, e.g. an all-metal half-shell structure or a landing gear retracted in flight. Due to the fact that the serial production of the machine started in the summer of 1939, only the basic version was created: MB.152C1. During the French campaign in 1940, pilots flying this type of aircraft shot down about 150 German machines. After the surrender of France in June 1940, the MB.152 planes were used by the Vichy air force.