Blohm und Voss was a shipbuilding concern, based on the Elbe at Hamburg. Its aircraft division, Hamburger Flugzeugbau GmbH, turned to construction of maritime aircraft in the early 1930s. In 1937 Hamburger Flugzeugbau adopted the title of the parent company. Successful designs of Dr Ing Richard Vogt initiated under the Ha designation continued in production becoming designated, for example, Bv 138 instead of Ha 138. True Blohm und Voss developments included the Bv 222 Viking, the largest flying boat to attain operational status in the Second World War, and the even larger Bv 238, evolved too late to enter production before the war’s end. The only prototype Bv 238 was destroyed by air attack four days before VE-day.
Aircraft
Bloch M.B.700
Bloch MB.220 / MB.221
An all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane, powered by two Gnome-Rhone radial engines and fitted with retractable landing gear, the Bloch M.B.220 was produced in only limited quantities. The prototype flew in December 1935, followed by 16 production aircraft. Normal crew comprised four, and there was comfortable accommodation for 16 passengers, with eight seats on each side of a central cabin aisle.
By mid-1938 10 M.B.220s had been delivered, and the type was utilised fully on Air France’s European routes. The first service by the type on the Paris-London route was flown by the fifth aircraft (Aunis, F-AOHE) on 27 March 1938, with the scheduled time for the flight cut to 1 hour 15 minutes.
During World War II most M.B.220s were mobilised initially for service with Armee de I’Air military transport units. Later, examples of the M.B.220 operated under German, Free French and Vichy French colours in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. At least five examples survived the war, being modified as M.B.221s with Wright Cyclone R-1820-97 engines. They flew short-range Air France European routes, but by 1949 four had been sold off to SANA (Societe Auxiliaire de Navigation Aerienne), and within about a year all had been withdrawn from service.
MB.220
Engines: 2 x Gnome-Rhone 14NO, 655kW
Take-off weight: 9160 kg / 20194 lb
Empty weight: 6410 kg / 14132 lb
Wingspan: 22.2 m / 72 ft 10 in
Length: 19.3 m / 63 ft 4 in
Wing area: 72.0 sq.m / 775.00 sq ft
Max. speed: 343 km/h / 213 mph
Cruise speed: 295 km/h / 183 mph
Ceiling: 7000 m / 22950 ft
Range: 1400 km / 870 miles
Crew: 3
Passengers: 16
MB.221
Engines: 2 x Wright Cyclone R-1820-97
Bloch MB.210
The Bloch MB.210.01 prototype flew for the first time in November 1934as a bomber developed from the MB.200 with cleaner lines, a new tail, smooth metal fuselage skinning, the wing dropped from the shoulder to the low-set position, and retractable landing gear in place of the original strut-braced and spatted fixed gear
A second prototype was designated Bloch 211 N°1 Verdun. Following tests, the production version was ordered as the Bloch 210. A cantilever low-wing monoplane which retained the angular lines of the high-wing Bloch 200, the Bloch 210 was powered by two 678kW Gnome-Rhone 14N engines and had a retractable landing gear, the main units of which retracted into the engine nacelles. Armament comprised single 7.5mm MAC machine-guns in a nose turret and semi-retractable dorsal and ventral positions. Maximum bomb load was 1,730kg.
The first production machine flew on 10 December 1935.
As part of its opposition to the Nationalist cause in the Spanish Civil War, France supplied 35 MB.210s to the Republicans. In March 1937 the arrival of these aircraft allowed many of the obsolescent Breguet Bre.19s to be phased out of service with Grupo num 22, which received a mixed complement of Potez Po.540s and MB.210s. Though useful by the standards of the civil war, there was little that these bombers could achieve against the Nationalists’ steadily growing air superiority, and none survived to fall into Nationalist hands at the end of the war.
A total of 283 were eventually built for the Armee de l’Air, with which they served in the BN5 (five-crew night bomber) category. Final deliveries to the air force were made in February 1939, by which time the aircraft was obsolete.
By September 1939 238 Bloch 210s served with French bomber Groupes, employed on limited night operations including leaflet raids. However all were withdrawn from first-line service by June 1940. Twenty-four Bloch 210s had also been exported to Romania in 1938. Ex-Vichy aircraft were supplied by the Germans to Bulgaria in 1942.
MB.210Bn.5
five-seat night heavy bomber.
Engines: 2 x Gnome-Rhone 14N-10/11, 679kW (910 hp).
Span: 22.80m (74ft 9.75 in).
Length: 18.8m (6l ft 8.25in).
Max T/O weight: 10200 kg (22,487 lb).
Max speed: 200 mph at 11,480 ft.
Operational range: 1,056 miles.
Armament: 3 x 7.7-mm (0.303-in) mg plus provision for up to 1975 kg (4,354 lb) of bombs carried internal
Bloch MB.200 / Aero MB.200 / Avia MB.200
When, in 1932, the French air ministry circulated its specification for a five-seat night bomber, there were eight proposals from five companies. Both Bloch and Farman were successful on this occasion, although the resulting production aircraft were completed in differing bomber categories.
The MB.200 was finalised as a four-seat bomber, with a cantilever high-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, and non-retractable tail-wheel type landing gear. The prototype Bloch M.B.200.01 had two 567kW Gnome-Rhone 14Krsd radial engines, and was first flown in July 1933. Subsequent flight testing resulted in an initial order for 25 aircraft, placed on 1 January 1934, despite the maximum speed of the prototype 18 per cent below estimate.
When the production M.B.200 began to enter service towards the end of the year, it was found to be both reliable and viceless, and though production aircraft had more powerful Gnome-Rhone engines, still slow. 208 were eventually supplied to the Armee de I’Air, built by Bloch (4), Breguet (19), Hanriot (45), Loire (19), Potez (111) and SNCASO(10).
At the beginning of World War II seven front-line bomber groupes were still equipped with these obsolete aircraft, but at the time of the German offensive all had been relegated to a training role. The type had also been built under licence in Czechoslovakia by Aero and Avia, and these were seized by the Germans, serving as crew trainers and for general duties, as were those which had been captured in France. Many were passed on to German satellites.
Aero built 44 Bloch 200 heavy bombers as the MB.200, and Avia licence built 70 machines powered by two 700 Walter K-14 engines.
Engine: 2 x Gnome-Rhone 14Kirs/Kjrs radial piston engines, 649kW
Take-off weight: 7280 kg / 16050 lb
Loaded weight: 4463 kg / 9839 lb
Wingspan: 22.45 m / 73 ft 8 in
Length: 16 m / 52 ft 6 in
Height: 3.9 m / 12 ft 10 in
Wing area: 67 sq.m / 721.18 sq ft
Max. speed: 285 km/h / 177 mph
Ceiling: 8000 m / 26250 ft
Range: 1000 km / 621 miles
Aero MB-200
Engines: two 800 Walter K-14
Propellers: three-blade metal
Wingspan: 22.45 m
Length: 16 m
Empty weight: 4474 kg
Maximum speed: 205 km.p.h
Climb to 4000 m: 15 min
Service ceiling: 6000 m
Armament: five machine guns in three turrets
Bombload : 1500 kg
Undercarriage: fixed
Crew: 4 -5
Bloch MB.170 / MB.174 / MB.175
The design originated in 1936 with the MB-170.01 two-seat fighter, which flew for the first time on 15 February 1938 with two 708-kW (950-hp) Gnome-Rhone 14N-6/7 radials and an underfuselage cupola intended for defensive armament or reconnaissance equipment, but the undercarriage collapsed on landing a month later. On 30 July the three-seat MB-170-02 was air-tested. The M.B.170.02 second prototype was configured as a pure bomber without the cupola but with an extensively glazed nose and larger vertical surfaces for improved directional stability.
Several operational variants were proposed, but the only types to enter service in World War II were the M.B.174 reconnaissance and attack bomber, and the M.B.175 light bomber.
Further development led to the Bloch 174.01, which flew on 5 January 1939 and series production at three SNCASO factories was ordered the following month. The M.B.174 prototype had 768-kW (1,030-hp) 14N-20/21 engines and revised accommodation, leading to the definitive model with more power and a number of refinements.
The MB-174 was a low-wing monoplane with two 850kW Gnome-Rhone 14N-48/49 radial engines in close-fitting cowlings. It had twin fins and rudders of oval form. The nose was extensively glazed, and pilot and dorsal gunner were accommodated under a raised glazed canopy. Defensive armament comprised two fixed forward-firing wing machine-guns, twin guns on a flexible mounting at the rear of the crew canopy and three further guns ventrally mounted to fire to the rear. All machine-guns were of the 7.5mm MAC 1934 type.
56 Bloch 174 A3 reconnaissance aircraft had been completed by the time of the June 1940 capitulation.
The MB-174 was developed into the MB-175 B3 bomber, with an enlarged bomb bay capable of carrying a maximum of 600kg of bombs, requiring a new centre section.
Only 20 had been accepted when the Germans took over deliveries, using 56 MB-175s as trainers. The French Navy took delivery of a post-war MB-175T torpedo-bomber version, 79 being built.
M.B.174.01
Prototype.
Engines: 2 x Gnome-Rhone 14N-6/7 radial, 708-kW (950-hp).
M.B.174
Reconnaissance and attack bomber.
Seats: 3.
Span: 17.9m (58ft 8.75 in)
Length: 12.25m (40ft 2.25in).
Engines: 2xGnome-Rhone 14N-48/49, 820kW (1,100 hp).
Armament: 7×7.5-mm (0.295-in) MAC machine-guns plus provision for up to 400kg (8812 lb) bombs internal
MTOW: 7160 kg (15,784 lb).
Max speed: 329 mph at 17,060 ft.
Operational range: 802 miles with max bombload.
MB.175
Engines: 2 x 2 x 1000 hp Gnome-Rhone 14N-48/49
Wingspan: 58 ft 11 in
Wing area: 456.6 sq.ft
Length: 40 ft 9.25 in
Height: 10 ft
Empty weight: 19,361 lb
Loaded weight: 18,959 lb
Max speed: 335 mph
Cruise: 317 mph
Range: 2050 mi
Armament: 3 x 20mm cannon
Bombload: 8 x rocket and 1 x torpedo
M.B.175.A3
Light bomber.
Take-off weight: 7160 kg / 15785 lb
Wingspan: 17.92 m / 58 ft 10 in
Length: 12.23 m / 40 ft 1 in
Max. speed: 530 km/h / 329 mph
Range: 2000 km / 1243 miles
Bloch MB.162
Another derivative of the Bloch 160 was identified initially as the Bloch M.B.162.
Preliminary design was initiated, and a mock-up to full-scale was built and exhibited at the Salon de I’Aeronautique held in Paris during November 1938. Considerable interest was created by this ‘large’ bomber, only slightly smaller than the B-17, and it was decided to build a prototype. Because production priority had been given to the commercial MB.161, the construction of the bomber was held up until the spring of 1940, flying for the first time on 1 June 1940.
Of cantilever low-wing monoplane configuration, the MB.162 B.5 was of all-metal construction, had a tailplane with marked dihedral and twin endplate fins and rudders, retractable tailwheel type landing gear, and two engines mounted in nacelles at the leading-edge of each wing.
Flown from Villacoublay to Bordeaux-Merignac, the MB.162 was captured by the Germans. Its test programme was completed during 1942 under the supervision of the German Focke-Wulf company, subsequently entering service with the Luftwaffe for long-range clandestine operations.
Engine: 4 x Gnome-Rhone 14N-48/49 radial piston engines, 820kW
Take-off weight: 19000 kg / 41888 lb
Empty weight: 11865 kg / 26158 lb
Wingspan: 28.1 m / 92 ft 2 in
Length: 21.9 m / 71 ft 10 in
Height: 3.75 m / 12 ft 4 in
Wing area: 109 sq.m / 1173.27 sq ft
Max. speed: 550 km/h / 342 mph
Range: 2400 km / 1491 miles
Armament: 2 x 20mm cannon, 2 x 7.5mm machine-guns, 3600kg of bombs
Bloch MB.161 / Sud-Est SE.161 Languedoc
Following absorption of Bloch into the nationalised aviation industry as a component of SNCASO in 1936, the design team which had been brought together by Avions Marcel Bloch was involved with a derivative of the earlier but unused 12-passenger Bloch M.B.160. The resulting Bloch M.B.161.01 prototype (F-ARTV) was flown for the first time during September 1939, and a satisfactory result of early tests brought an order from Air France. It was to be almost seven years before the first was delivered. This was due primarily to delaying tactics of the French industry, anxious to ensure that none of the 20 ordered by Germany in 1942 should be delivered. Consequently, it was not until 17 September 1945 that the redesignated SE.161.1 was flown for the first time. Its configuration was that of a cantilever mid-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, having a high-mounted tail-plane with endplate fins and rudders, retractable tailwheel landing gear, and power provided by four 858kW Gnome-Rhone 14N-44/45 radial engines in wing leading-edge nacelles. Standard accommodation was provided for a crew of four and 33 passengers, but in 1951 Air France converted some of its SE.161s to a high-density seating arrangement for a maximum of 44 passengers.
Bloch 161.1s, by then named Languedoc, entered regular service on Air France’s Paris-Algiers route on 28 May 1946, and on the Paris-Oran-Casablanca and Paris-Marseilles routes in June and July respectively. By October most had been withdrawn because, in addition to problems with their landing gear, they were unsuitable for winter operation. When they re-entered service from March 1947, they had been re-engined with Pratt & Whitney R-1830s, de-icing equipment, cabin heating and other modifications. They had also acquired the changed designation SE.161.P7.
When production ended a total of 100 Languedocs had been built and, despite landing gear problems that persisted for almost four years, they saw extensive service, not only with Air France but also with the French air force and navy.
Five SNCASE SE 161 Languedoc Polish Airlines Polskie Linie Lotinicze (LOT) bought July 1947 to her European network. Belly landings of LOT’s Languedocs under the flights from Warsaw to Paris or Belgrade, Bucharest was the reason for the arrest of LOT managment and trial. The management was convicted and sentenced to death penalties as the general director Mr.Wojciech Zielinski, and Mr.Whitehead. Five LOT’s Languedocs grounded December 1948, were officially scrapped 1950 under Soviet supervision.
Engines: 4 x 895kW Gnome-Rhone 14N 68/69 14-cylinder radial engines
Take-off weight: 22940 kg / 50574 lb
Wingspan: 29.38 m / 96 ft 5 in
Length: 24.25 m / 79 ft 7 in
Height: 5.57 m / 18 ft 3 in
Max. speed: 405 km/h / 252 mph
Ceiling: 7200 m / 23600 ft
Range: 1000 km / 621 miles
Crew: 5
Passengers: 33
Bloch 160
In 1936 Air Afrique had requested a short-range plane for the colonial service and Bloch had designed the Model 160. This was a low-wing aircraft with four 690-hp Hispano-Suiza engines to carry 12 passengers. It did not go into production, although the prototype flew in 1937 and set two speed records.
Engines: 4 x Hispano-Suiza, 690-hp.
Pax cap: 12.
Bloch MB.157
The last of the fighter aircraft to be evolved from the M.B.150, the Bloch M.B.157 was to be the airframe of the M.B.152 with a more powerful Gnome-Rhone 14R. An air-cooled radial engine with a power output of 1186kW for take-off, and having a supercharger that could provide 1268kW at 8000m.
The increased size and weight of this engine brought realisation that it would not be practical to install it in the existing M.B.152 airframe. The conclusion that the full potential of the Gnome-Rhone 14R would be lost by attempting an adaptation of the airframe led to a decision to design a new fighter which would retain the same basic structural techniques.
It was possible to formulate the details of the M.B.157 very rapidly, for the basic design already existed and after just over six months of design initiation, the components of the prototype were ready for assembly. With German forces closing in on Paris, the M.B.157 components were loaded to be evacuated but, en route, this vehicle was intercepted by the Germans and ordered to proceed to an SNCASO establishment within the occupied zone.
Finally, in March 1942, the M.B.157 was assembled and test flown under German supervision, demonstrating superb performance achieving 710km/h before being flown to Orly where the powerplant was removed for wind-tunnel testing. This was the most interesting feature so far as the Germans were concerned, and after tests had been completed the engine was transported to Germany. SNCASO’s airframe, which had demonstrated in conjunction with Gnome-Rhone 14R a degree of performance that was not to be attained elsewhere until later in the war, was destroyed during an Allied air raid.
M.B.157
Engine: 1 x Gnome-Rhone 14R-4 radial piston, 1186kW
Take-Off Weight: 3250 kg / 7165 lb
Empty Weight: 2390 kg / 5269 lb
Wingspan: 10.70 m / 35 ft 1 in
Length: 9.7 m / 31 ft 10 in
Height: 3.2 m / 10 ft 6 in
Wing Area: 19.4 sq.m / 208.82 sq ft
Max. Speed: 710 km/h / 441 mph
Cruise Speed: 400 km/h / 249 mph
Range: 1095 km / 680 miles
Armament: 2 x 20mm cannon + 4 x 7.5mm machine-guns
