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{{Infobox aircraft
  |name = MB-3
  |image = MB-3 Pursuit at Selfridge Field.jpg
  |caption = MB-3 of [[94th Fighter Squadron|94th Pursuit Squadron]], [[1st Operations Group|1st Pursuit Group]], Selfridge Field, Michigan
  |type = Fighter
  |manufacturer = [[Thomas-Morse Aircraft]] & [[Boeing]]
  |designer = B. Douglas Thomas<ref name="fight">Green and Swanborough 1994, pp. 568–569.</ref>
  |first_flight = 21 February 1919<ref name="fight"/>
  |introduction = March 1919
  |retired = 1925
  |status =
  |primary_user = [[United States Army Air Service]]
  |more_users = [[United States Marine Corps]]
  |produced = 
  |number_built = 265
  |unit cost = $7,240 USD
  |variants = [[Thomas-Morse MB-6]] <br>[[Thomas-Morse MB-7]]
}}

The '''Thomas-Morse MB-3''' was an open-cockpit [[biplane]] fighter primarily manufactured by the [[Boeing]] Company for the [[United States Army Air Service|U.S. Army Air Service]] in 1922. The MB-3A was the mainstay fighter for the Air Service between 1922 and 1925.

==Development==
In March 1918, the [[United States Army Air Service]] requested several American aircraft manufacturers to design a new fighter, to be powered by a [[Internal combustion engine cooling|water-cooled]] {{convert|300|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Wright-Hispano H, a license-built [[Hispano-Suiza 8]], to replace the French-built [[SPAD XIII]].<ref name="pell p46">Pelletier ''Air Enthusiast'' September–October 2007, p. 46.</ref><ref name="Angel p420-1">Angelucci and Bowers 1987, pp. 420–421.</ref><ref name="dorr p20">Dorr and Donald, 1990, p. 20.</ref> The [[Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation]] of [[Ithaca, New York]] proposed the MB-3, designed by its British-born chief designer [[B. Douglas Thomas]], to meet this requirement, with an order for four prototypes being placed in September 1918.<ref name="Wegg p24">Wegg 1990, p. 24.</ref>

The MB-3 was a single seat two-[[interplane strut|bay]] [[biplane]] of similar layout to the SPAD XIII that it was intended to replace. It was of wood and fabric construction with a fixed [[conventional landing gear]]. Powerplant was the expected Wright-Hispano water-cooled V-8 engine driving a two-bladed propeller and cooled by a radiator mounted on the center-section of the upper wing. The pilot sat in an open cockpit under a cut-out in the upper wing, with two 0.30 in Marlin machine-guns mounted ahead of the pilot.<ref name="Wegg p24"/><ref name="pell p47-8">Pelletier ''Air Enthusiast'' September–October 2007, pp. 47–48.</ref>

The first MB-3 made its maiden flight on 21 February 1919.<ref name="fight"/> Testing showed that the fighter had good performance and handled well, but the cockpit was cramped and gave a poor view for the pilot. The prototypes were plagued with fuel leaks and suffered serious engine vibration, while maintenance was difficult, often requiring holes to be cut in the fuselage structure to allow access. Despite these problems, the Air Service was sufficiently impressed with the MB-3 to place an order for 50 aircraft with Thomas-Morse in June 1920.<ref name="pell p48">Pelletier ''Air Enthusiast'' September–October 2007, p. 48.</ref><ref name="Wegg p24-5">Wegg 1990, pp. 24–25.</ref>

The Air Service had a requirement for more fighters, and issued a request for tenders for a further 200 of a modified version of the MB-3,{{#tag:ref|Under the military procurement system of the time, the Army purchased the production rights to an aircraft when it purchased a prototype, with no guarantee that orders would go to the designers of the aircraft. When Thomas-Morse was awarded the order for the first 50 MB-3s, a contract for 50 of the competing design, the [[Orenco D]] was awarded to [[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company|Curtiss]] rather than its creator, [[Orenco (aircraft manufacturer)|Orenco]]. The loss of the production order for  the Orenco D soon caused the failure of Orenco.<ref name="Bowers p55-6">Bowers 1989, pp. 55–56.</ref><ref name="Angel p378-0">Angelucci and Bowers 1987, pp. 378–380.</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} the MB-3A, which incorporated a number of changes developed by the Air Service as a result of testing at [[McCook Field]], including a stronger structure and replacing the wing-mounted radiator with ones on each side of the fuselage in-line with the cockpit.<ref name="pell p49">Pelletier ''Air Enthusiast'' September–October 2007, p. 49.</ref><ref name="Wegg p25">Wegg 1990, p. 25.</ref> Thomas-Morse was confident in winning orders for the MB-3A, investing in the necessary jigs for such a large production order,<ref name="Wegg p13">Wegg 1990, p. 13.</ref> but was heavily underbid by [[Boeing]], whose mass production methods allowed it to profit while still charging a lower price (in the case of the MB-3A, $7,240 per copy),<ref>[http://www.boeing.com/history/chronology/chron02.html "The Boeing Logbook: 1920–1926"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104151846/http://www.boeing.com/history/chronology/chron02.html |date=2013-01-04 }}.  ''Boeing''. Retrieved June 20, 2007.</ref> saving almost half a million dollars over the 200 aircraft contract, awarded on 21 April 1921.<ref name="pell p49"/><ref name="Angel p66">Angelucci and Bowers 1987, p. 66.</ref>  Boeing credits this contract with rescuing the company from financial difficulties following the cancellation of orders after [[World War I]], and with being the impetus for its rise as a premier manufacturer of military aircraft.<ref>Judy Rumerman [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/boeing-early/Aero17.htm "The Early Years of Boeing, 1916-1930"], archived at [https://web.archive.org/web/20121008222530/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/boeing-early/Aero17.htm] Essays, US Centennial of Flight Commission. Accessed June 20, 2007.</ref>

Thomas-Morse did manage to win a contract for 12 MB-3s for the [[US Marine Corps]] in May 1921, with the order later being changed to substitute two [[Thomas-Morse MB-7|MB-7]] racing aircraft, a MB-3 with the biplane wings replaced by [[parasol wing]]s, for two MB-3s, with a further MB-3 purchased when one of the MB-7s crashed. Additionally, the Army ordered three [[Thomas-Morse MB-6|MB-6]], another racing version of the MB-3 with shorter span wings and a more powerful engine in May 1921.<ref name="Wegg p25-6">Wegg 1990, pp. 25–26.</ref>

==Operational history==
Two of the prototypes were entered in the 1920 [[National Air Races|Pulitzer Trophy race]], with one finishing in second place behind the [[Verville VCP|Verville VCP-R]], completing the {{convert|116|mi|km}} course in an average speed of {{convert|148|mph|km/h}}.<ref name="pell p49"/> Completed MB-3s started to roll out of Thomas-Morse's factory in April 1921, but deliveries were delayed by an accident during testing when an MB-3 lost a section of the upper wing during diving tests, this causing the type to be grounded while the accident was investigated.<ref name="pell p49-0">Pelletier ''Air Enthusiast'' September–October 2007, pp. 49–50.</ref>

[[File:Thomas-Morse MB-3 USMC 1921.jpg|left|thumb|US Marine Corps MB-3]]
The [[1st Pursuit Group]] began to receive MB-3s in January 1922, supplementing its elderly SPADs and [[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5|S.E.5a]]s.{{#tag:ref|The Orenco D had entered service with the 1st Pursuit in March 1921, but had been withdrawn from service following an accident in September, which had revealed poor build quality throughout the fleet|<ref name="pell p49-0"/>|group=lower-alpha}} In service, the new type was troublesome, being unreliable (over a ten-day test period in May 1922, the number of serviceable MB-3s dropped from 20 out of 36 to just 3) and continuing to suffer the vibration problems encountered by the prototypes, eventually traced to the rigid engine mount.<ref name="pell p50">Pelletier ''Air Enthusiast'' September–October 2007, p. 50.</ref>

The first delivery of the improved MB-3As took place on 29 July 1922, with the last aircraft delivered on 27 December that year.<ref name="pell p51">Pelletier ''Air Enthusiast'' September–October 2007, p. 51.</ref> The last 50 MB-3As were fitted with larger tail surfaces.<ref name="swan mil p452">Swanborough and Bowers 1963, p. 452.</ref> As well as allowing re-equipment of the four squadrons of the 1st Pursuit Group, the MB-3As were issued to a number of overseas squadrons, equipping two squadrons on Hawaii, one in the [[Philippines]] and one in the [[Panama Canal Zone]].<ref name="pell p51"/>

From 1926, the MB-3A started to be replaced by the [[Curtiss P-1 Hawk|Curtiss PW-8]] and [[Boeing Model 15|Boeing PW-9]] fighters. A number of aircraft were refurbished and used as MB-3M advanced trainers at [[Kelly Field Annex|Kelly Field]], remaining in use until 1929.<ref name="Wegg p25"/><ref name="pell p51"/>
  
The Marine Corps took delivery of its MB-3s in February–March 1922, but the type was unpopular with the Marines, being withdrawn from use in July that year and sold back to the Army for use as MB-3M trainers.<ref name="Wegg p25-6"/><ref name="pell p51"/>

==Variants==
[[File:THOMAS-MORSE MB-3 and Billy Mitchell USAF.JPG|thumb|Thomas-Morse MB-3 assigned to [[Billy Mitchell]], at Selfridge Field, Michigan]]
;MB-3: Thomas-Morse built aircraft. 65 built.<ref name="Wegg p14">Wegg 1990, p. 14.</ref> (Four prototypes, 50 production for Army Air Service and 11 for US Marine Corps.<ref name="Wegg p24-6">Wegg 1990, pp. 24–26.</ref>)
;MB-3A: 200 built by [[Boeing]] with a revised cooling system.<ref name="Wegg p25"/>
;MB-3M: MB-3As relegated to advanced training duties.

==Operators==
;{{USA}}
*[[United States Army Air Service]]
*[[United States Marine Corps]]

==Specifications (MB-3A)==
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=imp
|ref=United States Military Aircraft Since 1909 <ref name="swan mil p453">Swanborough and Bowers 1963, p. 453.</ref>
|crew= One
|length ft= 20
|length in= 0
|length m= 6.10 
|span ft= 26
|span in= 0
|span m= 7.92 
|height ft= 8
|height in= 7
|height m= 2.59 
|wing area sqft= 229 
|wing area sqm= 21.28 
|empty weight lb= 1,716 
|empty weight kg= 778 
|gross weight lb= 2,539 
|gross weight kg= 1,151 
|eng1 name= [[Hispano-Suiza 8|Wright H]]
|eng1 type= V-8 piston engine 
|eng1 number= 1
|eng1 hp= 300 
|eng1 kw= 217 
|max speed mph= 141 
|max speed kts=123
|max speed kmh=228
|max speed note=at sea level
|cruise speed mph= 125 
|cruise speed kts=109
|cruise speed kmh=201
|endurance=2.25 hr
|ceiling ft= 19,500 
|ceiling m= 5,945 
|climb rate ftmin= 1,235 
|climb rate ms= 6.3 
|guns=<ref name="swan mil p451">Swanborough and Bowers 1963, p. 451.</ref><br>
**2 × fixed forward firing 0.30 inch (7.62 mm) machine guns ''or''
**1 × 0.30 inch and 1 × 0.50 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns ''or''
**2 × fixed forward firing 0.50 inch machine guns
}}

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Angelucci, Enzo and [[Peter M. Bowers]]. ''The American Fighter''. Sparkford, UK: Haynes, 1987. {{ISBN|0-85429-635-2}}.
* Bowers, Peter M. ''Boeing Aircraft since 1916''. London: Putnam, 1989. {{ISBN|0-85177-804-6}}.
* Dorr, Robert F. and David Donald. ''Fighters of the United States Air Force''. London:Temple Press/Aerospace, 1990. {{ISBN|0-600-55094-X}}.
* Forsgren, Jan. ''The Thomas-Morse MB-3: America's First Indigenous Fighter''. Aeronaut Books, 2021. {{ISBN|978-1-953201-23-2}}
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. New York, Smithmark, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8317-3939-8}}.
* Pelletier, Alain J. "Made in America: Thomas Morse MB-3 and Boeing MB-3A". ''[[Air Enthusiast]]'', No. 131, September/October 2007. pp.&nbsp;46–51.
* Swanborough, F.G. and [[Peter M. Bowers]]. ''United States Military Aircraft since 1909''. London: Putnam, 1963.
* Wegg, John. ''General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors'', London: Putnam, 1990. {{ISBN|0-85177-833-X}}.

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Thomas-Morse MB-3}}

{{Thomas-Morse aircraft}}
{{USAAS fighters}}

[[Category:1910s United States fighter aircraft]]
[[Category:Thomas-Morse aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1919]]