88
Bloch of the MB 170 serie,
were
built after the prototype that made its first flight on
February 15, 1938 .
They are divided in :
-
2 Bloch MB 170 : prototype No01 and
02 of the serie
- 1
prototype MB 174 No01
- 6
Exemplaries of MB174 of pre-series
- 50
MB 174 of serie
- 1
prototype MB 175 No01
- 23
MB 175
of serie
- 5
Bloch MB 176
To
date, out of the
88 aircraft
manufactured
, 34 are
listed in the list below :
The Bloch MB174 was designed
to respond to a program issued at the end of 1936 for the supply
of combat multi-seater. At that time, the company BLOCH has just
been absorbed by SNCASO, a company created by the Nationalizations
of French Aeronautical Enterprises. The SNCASO design office therefore
proposes a multi-seater twin-engine: the BLOCH MB170 n � 01 which
made its first flight on 15 February 1938.
This aircraft is in the
form of a twin-engine of reconnaissance with double drift and
wide window. This one, placed very in front of the fuselage, can
acceuillir 3 people. It is motorized by 2 Gn�me-Rh�ne 14 N 6/7.
It has a small bomb bay and its armament consists of a 20mm cannon
in the nose, two 7.5mm machine guns in the wings and two others
in the back. It carries the photographic material in a ventral
gondola. The aircraft, accidented on March 17, 1938, is replaced
by the n � 02 designed like a bomber. This one loses its ventral
gondola and its nose is at half vitreous.
The official services
ultimately give priority to the model of strategic recognition
that becomes the Bloch MB174 whose prototype flew on January 5,
1939. It differs from the Bloch MB170 by a receded glass and its
nose completely glazed. It is now powered by Gnome-Rhone GR 14N-20/21.
The device proved to be very fast, flying 100km / h faster than
a Potez 63-11 for example! The first contract is signed on 1 February
1939 for 6 aircraft of pre-series and 50 aircraft of series. The
first models (No. 07), which flew on November 5, 1939, were fitted
with Gnome-Rhone 14 N-48/49, which, combined with propulsion exhaust
manifolds, further increased performance. As is often the case,
the deliveries of the aircraft in units were much delayed and
by May 10, 1940, only 52 out of the 271 finally ordered, will
be delivered. The GR II / 33 was the first unit to receive the
new aircraft and one of the first flights will be made on 29 March
1940 by Captain de Saint-Exupéry, which will be recounted in his
book "Pilote de Guerre". On mission, the speed of the aircraft
put him out of the German hunt which had great difficulty in intercepting
him. At the Armisitice, 25 copies were collected, the majority
of which were gathered in the GR II / 33 based in Tunis and some
of them will fight under the colors of the France-Libre in 1942.
The Germans also seized a few copies for their training schools.
The qualities of the device
are such that a version of Bombardment is quickly imagined: the
bloch MB175. Thus, the assembly of Bloch 174 is stopped as of
the 50th copy to leave room for MB175. The latter has an enlarged
bomber bay. To do this, it was necessary to review the design
of the wing by moving the side members. The apparatus thus modified
has lengthened by 15 cm and sees its wing surface enlarged. The
first prototype flew in December 1939. A variant is also studied
to remedy the lack of French engines reserved for hunters. US
engines Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp are used to replace the Gnome-Rhone:
the device thus equipped becomes the Bloch MB176. A first command
was passed on the delivery of 814 MB175 and 323 MB176. The first
series aircraft (No. 101) took off in April 1940. Although it
is a reconnaissance group, it is the GR II / 52 which receives
12 machines of this type, the GAO 510 receiving 2 others. Before
the Armistice, the GR II / 52 retreated to the AFN with its aircraft
and will be based in Oran until the arrival of the Allied Forces
in 1942.
As for the Bloch MB176,
the first serial aircraft (No. 201) was released from the assembly
lines in May 1940 and only 5 Bloch MB176 were delivered before
Armisitice.
Many Bloch MB175 cells
in the course of assembly will be seized by the Germans. They
will continue manufacturing to equip the German pilot schools.
