Mosca-Bystritsky MBbis
Duks · Russian Empire · first flew 1916 · fighter
The Mosca-Bystritsky MBbis was a fighter aircraft developed and used by the Imperial Russian Air Service during the First World War.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Shoulder-mounted wings with gaps between the roots and the fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Shoulder-mounted wings with gaps between the roots and the fuselage
- Wings fold back along the fuselage sides
- 80 hp rotary engine in the nose
A wooden fabric-covered monoplane with shoulder-mounted wings and folding tail-planes, 6.1 m long with a 7.9 m wingspan.
Specifications
- The Mosca-Bystritsky MBbis has a length of 6.1 m (20 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 7.9 m (26 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 130 km/h (81 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Italian designer Francesco Mosca worked at the Duks factory in Russia and designed a two-seat reconnaissance monoplane that entered production as the MB. A smaller single-seat version was produced as the MBbis.
Variants
The MB was the two-seat reconnaissance version and the MBbis the single-seat version. The MBbis was powered by an 80 hp Le Rhône 9C or Clerget 7Z.
Where you'll see it
Fifty MBbis were ordered from 1916 for the Imperial Russian Air Service. It carried a single machine gun, either in a fixed forward-firing mount or in angled or elevated mounts.
Related aircraft
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