View source for Bloch MB.200

{{Short description|French bomber aircraft}}
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{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = MB.200
 |image = Bloch MB-200.gif
 |caption = 
 |type = [[Bomber]]
 |manufacturer = [[Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch]]
 |designer = 
 |first_flight = 26 June 1933
 |introduction =[[1935 in aviation|1935]]
 |retired =
 |status = 
 |primary_user = [[French Air Force]]
 |more_users = [[Czechoslovak Air Force]]<br />[[Bulgarian Air Force]]<br />''[[Luftwaffe]]''
 |produced = 1933–1939
 |number_built = 332
 |unit cost = 
 |developed_from = 
 |variants = 
 |developed_into = [[MB.210]]
}}
[[File:Bloch MB.200.png|thumb|Aero MB 200]]
The '''MB.200''' was a French [[bomber]] aircraft of the 1930s designed and built by [[Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch]].  A twin-engined high-winged [[monoplane]] with a fixed undercarriage, over 200 MB.200s were built for the [[French Air Force]], and the type was also licence built by [[Czechoslovakia]], but it soon became obsolete, and was largely phased out by the start of the [[World War II|Second World War]].

==Development and design==
The Bloch MB.200 was designed in response to a [[1932 in aviation|1932]] requirement for a new day/night bomber to equip the French Air Force. It was a high-winged all-metal [[Cantilever#Aircraft|cantilever]] [[monoplane]], with a slab-sided fuselage, powered by two [[Gnome & Rhône 14Kirs]] [[radial engine]]s. It had a fixed [[Conventional landing gear|tailwheel undercarriage]] and featured an enclosed cockpit for the pilots. Defensive [[machine gun]]s were in nose and dorsal gun turrets and an under fuselage gondola.<ref name="Taylor p23">Taylor 1981, p.23.</ref>

The first of three [[prototype]]s flew on 26 June 1933.<ref name="Taylor p23"/><ref name="Dassault">[http://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/aircraft/military-bloch-aircraft/mb-200.html?L=1 "Military Bloch aircraft : MB 200"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119213727/http://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/aircraft/military-bloch-aircraft/mb-200.html?L=1 |date=2008-11-19 }}. ''Dassault Aviation''. Retrieved 23 August 2008.</ref> As one of the winning designs for the competition, (the other was the larger [[Farman F.220|Farman F.221]]),<ref name="Taylor p23"/> an initial order for 30 MB.200s was placed on 1 January 1934,<ref name="Dassault"/> entering service late in that year. Further orders followed, and the MB.200 equipped 12 French squadrons by the end of 1935.<ref name="Taylor p23"/> Production in France totalled over 208 aircraft (4 by Bloch, 19 by [[Breguet Aviation|Breguet]], 19 by [[Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire|Loire]], 45 by [[Hanriot]], 10 by [[SNCASO]] and 111 by [[Potez]]).<ref name="Angel p155">Angelucci 1981, p.155.</ref>

==Operational history==

[[File:Z Brna operovaly těžké bombardéry Licenční MB 200.gif|thumb]]
[[Czechoslovakia]] chose the MB.200 as part of a modernisation program for its air force of the  mid-1930s.  Although at the rate of aircraft development at that time, the MB.200 would quickly become obsolete, the Czechoslovakians needed a quick solution involving the license production of a proven design, as their own aircraft industry did not have sufficient development experience with such a large aircraft, or with [[Aluminium|all-metal]] [[airframe]]s and [[Stressed skin|stressed-skin]] construction, placing an initial order for 74 aircraft. After some delays, both [[Aero Vodochody|Aero]] and [[Avia Motors|Avia]] began license-production in [[1937 in aviation|1937]], with  a total of about 124 built.<ref name="Taylor p23"/> Czechoslovakian MB.200s were basically similar to their French counterparts, with differences in defensive armament and other equipment.

The [[Second Spanish Republic|Spanish Republic]] acquired 2 units thirty days after the beginning of the [[Spanish Civil War]]. These units were sent to [[Barcelona]]. Later, 30 units more were sent by ship and assembled in [[Air France]]'s workshop at [[El Prat de Llobregat|Prat de Llobregat]]. A third of the whole airfleet were shot down during the first months of the conflict and the rest were limited to the defense of the republican east coast during the rest of the war serving under the ''Escuadra 7'' and the ''Grupo 72'' combined with other French bombers. None of the 32 planes survived the conflict.

The gradual [[Nazi Germany|German]] conquest of Czechoslovakia meant that MB.200s eventually passed under their control, including aircraft that were still coming off the production line. As well as serving in the German ''[[Luftwaffe]]'', some bombers were distributed to [[Bulgaria]].

[[Vichy France]] deployed a squadron of MB.200s against the Allied [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign|invasion of Lebanon and Syria]] in 1941, carrying out at least one daylight bombing mission against British shipping.<ref name="Shoresp1 p245">Shores and Ehrengardt ''Air Pictorial'' July 1970, p. 245.</ref><ref name="Shoresp2 p284">Shores and Ehrengardt ''Air Pictorial'' August 1970, p.284.</ref>

==Variants==
;MB.200.01
:single [[prototype]] –
;MB.200B.4
:main production version – 2x [[Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs]]
;MB.201
:two [[Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs]] engines<ref name="dassault-aviation.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.dassault-aviation.com/fr/passion/avions/bloch-militaires/mb-200.html |title=MB 200 |access-date=2011-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220025348/http://www.dassault-aviation.com/fr/passion/avions/bloch-militaires/mb-200.html |archive-date=2012-02-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
;MB.202
:four [[Gnome-Rhône 7Kdrs]] engines<ref name="dassault-aviation.com"/>
;MB.203
:two [[Clerget 14F]] diesel engines<ref name="dassault-aviation.com"/>

==Operators==
[[File:MB-200 Bulharsko.jpg|thumb|Aero MB.200, [[Bulgarian Air Force]], 1941]]
;{{flag|Bulgaria|1878}}: [[Bulgarian Air Force]] – Purchased 12 ex-Czech MB.200s from Germany in 1939, using them as [[Trainer (aircraft)|trainer]]s.<ref name="Balkan p65-6">Green and Swanborough 1989, pp65-66.</ref>
;{{CZS}}: [[Czechoslovak Air Force]]

;{{flag|France}}: 
''[[Armée de l'Air]]'' (from 1935)

;{{flag|Vichy France}}: 
''[[Vichy French Air Force]]''

;{{flag|Nazi Germany}}: 
''[[Luftwaffe]]'' (captured)

;{{flag|Slovak State}}: 
''[[Slovak Air Force (1939–1945)|Slovak Air Force]]'' (1 piece)

;{{flagdeco|Spanish Republic}} '''[[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republicans]]''': 
''[[Spanish Republican Air Force]]
received 30 units from France, at least one aircraft survived 1938 but none of them survived throughout the war.
<ref>[http://members.fortunecity.es/potez/bloch.htm BLOCH 200/210] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319161616/http://members.fortunecity.es/potez/bloch.htm |date=March 19, 2012 }}</ref>

==Specifications (MB.200B.4)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=
|prime units?=met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=4
|length m=16
|span m=22.45
|height m=3.9
|wing area sqm=62.5
|empty weight kg=4,300
|max takeoff weight kg=7,480
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name=[[Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs]]
|eng1 type=14-cyl. 2-row air-cooled radial piston engines
|eng1 kw=649<!-- prop engines -->
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=285
|range km=1,000
|ceiling m=8,000
|climb rate ms=4.33
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=3 × {{convert|7.5|mm|in|abbr=on|3}} [[MAC 1934]] machine guns (one for each defensive post). 
|bombs= {{convert|1,200|kg|lb|abbr=on|0}} of bombs
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation}}
{{Aircontent
|related=* [[Bloch MB.210|MB.210]]
|similar aircraft=* [[LWS-6 Żubr]]
|lists=
* [[List of interwar military aircraft]]
* [[List of aircraft of World War II]]
* [[List of aircraft of the French Air Force during World War II]]
* [[List of aircraft of the Spanish Republican Air Force]]
* [[List of bomber aircraft]]
|see also=
}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Angelucci, Enzo. ''World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft''. London, Jane's Publishing, 1981. {{ISBN|0-7106-0148-4}}.
*{{cite journal |last1=Comas|first1=Matthieu|title=Les bombardiers polonais de Lyon-Bron |journal=Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire |date=September 2000|issue=90 |pages=30–32 |trans-title=The Polish Bombers of Lyon-Bron|language=fr |issn=1243-8650}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Fernandez|first1=José|title=Le Bloch MB 200 (3ème partie) |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=October 1993 |issue=8 |pages=41–46 |trans-title=The Bloch MB 200, Part 3 |language=fr |issn=1243-8650}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Fernandez |first1=José |title=Le Bloch MB 200 (4ème partie) |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=November 1993 |issue=9 |pages=8–19 |trans-title= |language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Fernandez |first1=José |title=Le Bloch MB 200 (5ème partie) |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=December 1993 |issue=10 |pages=34–37 |trans-title= |language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Balkan Interlude - The Bulgarian Air Force in WWII". ''[[Air Enthusiast]]''. Issue 39, May–August 1989. Bromley, Kent: Tri-Service Press, pp.&nbsp;58–74. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}.
* Shores, Christopher S. and Cristian-Jacques Ehrengardt. "Syrian Campaign, 1941: Part 1; Forestalling the Germans; air battles over S. Lebanon". ''Air Pictorial'', July 1970. pp.&nbsp;242–247.
* Shores, Christopher S. and Cristian-Jacques Ehrengardt. "Syrian Campaign, 1941: Part 2; Breaking the back of Vichy air strength; conclusion". ''Air Pictorial'', August 1970. pp.&nbsp;280–284.
* Taylor, Michael J.H. ''Warplanes of the World 1918–1939''. London:Ian Allen, 1981. {{ISBN|0-7110-1078-1}}.
*Abellán García-Muñoz, Juan "Galería de aviones de la Guerra civil española (1936–1939)". Instituto de Historia y Cultura aeronáuticas, Ministerio de Defensa 1996 pp.&nbsp;80–81 {{ISBN|84-7823-485-3}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|Bloch MB.200}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081119213727/http://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/aircraft/military-bloch-aircraft/mb-200.html?L=1 "Military Bloch aircraft : MB 200"]. ''Dassault Aviation''. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120220025348/http://www.dassault-aviation.com/fr/passion/avions/bloch-militaires/mb-200.html]

{{Bloch aircraft}}
{{Aero Vodochody aircraft}}

[[Category:Bloch aircraft|MB.200]]
[[Category:1930s French bomber aircraft]]
[[Category:High-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1933]]
[[Category:Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Czechoslovakia–France relations]]
[[Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear]]