Bloch MB.60/61

Société des Avions Marcel Bloch · France · first flew 1930 · transport aircraft

The Bloch MB.60 was a tri-motor mailplane designed and built in France in 1930 and 1931. It was ordered as an aircraft suitable for postal, commercial or medical transport.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	3 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Square-section fuselage with a constant-section cabin and tall, strut-braced main undercarriage legs
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

High-wing cantilever monoplane with wings in three sections, the outer sections having moderate dihedral
Three radial engines, one in the nose and one in each wing nacelle
Square-section fuselage with a constant-section cabin and tall, strut-braced main undercarriage legs

The MB.60 had three engines, in the nose and in wing-mounted nacelles, on a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a metal tail unit. The main undercarriage legs were attached at the outer engine nacelles, with a steerable tailwheel.

Specifications

The Bloch MB.60/61 has a length of 8.5 m (28 ft).
It has a wingspan of 18.5 m (61 ft).
Its maximum speed is 200 km/h (124 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The MB.60 was the first project of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch, formed in 1929. It was built entirely of light alloys with riveted external stringers and longerons, and was first flown on 12 September 1930 by René Delmotte.

Variants

The MB.60 had three 120 hp Salmson 9AC engines. The second aircraft, the MB.61, had three 120 hp Lorraine 5Pc engines and first flew in February 1931.

Where you'll see it

Testing at Buc and Villacoublay showed satisfactory flight characteristics and performance, but neither aircraft received a production order. The MB.61 crashed in April 1931 after the controls were inverted during re-assembly, and flew again after repair.

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