Martin-Baker MB.5

History

Martin-Baker, who later became a well-known manufacturer of aircraft ejection seats, initially engaged in aircraft construction, began operations in 1929, and became the "Martin-Baker" brand in 1934. The first foray into aircraft design became the civil market MB.

1, which includes a reduced weight design and low maintenance/operational requirements to produce a lighter, more cost-effective airframe for mass production. The only prototype was lost in a fire, but it paved the way for a series of military combat machines.

MB. 2 Continues the construction technique used in MB. 1 and modeled on a fighter jet that may have served in the Royal Air Force (RAF). The design was not adopted after little improvement over the competing types that were already in use, resulting in MB. 3, Martin Baker's most advanced product to date, and again an ongoing requirement for the Air Department's fighter jets.

However, there is only one of the three ordered MBs. The Series 3 plane was flying, and this one crashed during a test flight - taking the life of company co-founder Valentine Baker. MB from there.

The 4 was briefly held on paper as a Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered fighter, retaining many of the physical characteristics of the earlier MB. 3. However, this fighter only appeared on the drawings and was never seriously promoted.

The evaluation of this aircraft lasted several months, and it has earned a solid reputation as a responsive and capable aircraft. The pilots who are lucky enough to fly them speak highly of them - their perfect stability and unmatched agility. Some observers have criticized the diving speed and the climb speed of others compared to contemporaries, but few can find any major flaws in the overall product. Even in the second half of the 1940s, MB.

The 5 was still flying at a time when many of the war projects in development were scrapped.

The official reviews listed some of the plane's shortcomings, but the test pilots didn't share them because some thought it was the best piston engine plane ever made. It is worth noting that this airframe has never been fitted and flown with the expected cockpit armor or the 4 x 20mm Hispano Mk II battery on the wings, and thus never (and could not) achieve its true performance figures (its performance The below combat loads a very different animal to judge the plane).

Its flight days ended sometime in the late 1940s (its last flight was probably in 1947), for which the airframe is still owned by the RAF and may (rather unfortunately) be wasted as Goals or other thankless training exercises. That's the end of the impressive MB. 5.

Nonetheless, the design work for the MB series has been quite a journey for Martin-Baker. It ended its era of aircraft manufacturing, shifted priorities to pilot safety, and became an industry staple providing ejection seats for many Cold War (1947-1991) jets. The company continues on this front.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes