MARTIN-BAKER MB-2 BRITISH FIGHTER PROTOTYPE

The Martin-Baker MB-2 was a British prototype fighter aircraft from the interwar period and World War II. The plane had a metal structure and a fixed landing gear in the classic configuration. The machine was first flew in 1938, but never entered mass production. Only a single copy of it was made. The drive was provided by an in-line engine Napier Dagger IIIM with 780 HP . The on-board armament of the aircraft consisted of four 7.7 mm machine guns. The MB-2 was developed by the Martin-Baker aviation company in response to the British Aviation Ministry's specification for a new fighter aircraft from 1934. The specification assumed that the new aircraft would be a single-engine, single-seater, with a maximum speed of around 450 km / h, and a retractable landing gear. Officially, such labels as Supermarine or Hawker, which finally created the legendary Spitfire and Hurricane planes, joined the competition. On the other hand, Martin-Baker, working on his own account and not officially competing, due to the much lower production potential, developed the MB-2 model much later than possible rivals. Moreover, the first flights of the MB-2 aircraft showed good machine performance, but also showed its considerable instability in flight. Certain - possible to be removed - shortcomings of the machine, as well as its late flight, led to the failure to implement the MB-2 into mass production. The only surviving plane was probably scrapped in 1944.