Martin-Baker MB 5

Martin-Baker Aircraft began the MB 5 as the second Martin-Baker MB 3 prototype, designed to Air Ministry Specification F.18/39 for an agile, sturdy Royal Air Force fighter, able to fly faster than 400 mph. After the first MB 3 crashed in 1942, killing Val Baker, the second prototype was delayed. A modified MB 3 with a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, rather than the Napier Sabre of the MB 3, was planned as the MB 4, but a full redesign was chosen instead.Baugher, Joe. [http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/baugher_other/mb5-01.html "Martin-Baker MB 5."] Aircraft of the World, 19 November 1995. Retrieved 9 April 2006.

The redesigned aircraft, designated MB 5, used wings similar to the MB 3, but had an entirely new steel-tube fuselage. Power came from a Rolls-Royce Griffon 83 liquid-cooled V-12 engine, producing 2,340 hp (1,745 kW) and driving two three-bladed contra-rotating propellers.[http://www.martin-baker.com/history_mb5.html MB 5] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060430033852/http://www.martin-baker.com/history_mb5.html |date=30 April 2006 }} Martin-Baker History. Retrieved 9 April 2006. Armament was four 20 mm Hispano cannon, mounted in the wings outboard of the widely spaced retractable undercarriage. A key feature of the design was ease of manufacture and maintenance: much of the structure was box-like, favouring straight lines and simple conformation.'Sir James Martin' Sarah Sharman {{ISBN|978-1-85260-551-3}} It was built under the same contract that covered the building of the MB 3.Buttler 2004, p. 31.

The first flight of the MB 5 prototype, serial R2496, took place on 23 May 1944.Jane 1946, pp. 129–130. Performance was considered outstanding by test pilots, and the cockpit layout was praised by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE). The accessibility of the fuselage for maintenance was excellent, thanks to a system of detachable panels. According to test pilot Capt. Eric Brown (1948):

{{bquote|"In my opinion this is an outstanding aircraft, particularly when regarded in the light of the fact that it made its maiden flight as early as 23rd May 1944"Brown 1983, pp. 150–153.}}

Acknowledged as one of the best aerobatic pilots in the UK, S/L Janusz Żurakowski from the A&AEE at RAF Boscombe Down gave a spectacular display at the Farnborough Air Show in June 1946, with the Martin-Baker MB 5, an aircraft he considered superlative and better in many ways than the Spitfire.

File:Martin-Baker M.B.5 replica.jpg

If serial production had been authorised, the aircraft would have served over Germany during the Second World War. Instead, the RAF directed its attention towards jet-powered fighters. The Rolls-Royce Griffon engine failed when the MB 5 was being demonstrated to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Chief of the Air Staff and a host of other VIPs at an important display of British and captured German aircraft at Farnborough.Donald 1997, pp. 150–157. Michael Bowyer states that Martin-Baker may have lacked both facilities and sufficient government support to engage in large-scale production.Bowyer 1984, pp. 124–125. The company's slow progress with the machine could have been due to a lack of facilities.

The original MB 5 was reputedly destroyed on a gunnery range.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} Martin-Baker went on to become one of the world's leading builders of ejection seats.

A partial replica was built in Reno, Nevada, USA by John Marlin using wings from a P-51 Mustang.Marlin, Paul D. [http://johnmarlinsmb5replica.mysite.com/index.html "John's First Flying Adventures."] John Marlin's MB5 replica website (johnmarlinsmb5replica.mysite.com). Retrieved 5 May 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/141/Saving-the-Wild-Mustangs--the-Story-Behind-the-Vintage-Wings-Mustang.aspx |title=Saving the Wild Mustangs – the Story Behind the Vintage Wings Mustang |website=www.vintagewings.ca |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510073903/http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/141/Saving-the-Wild-Mustangs--the-Story-Behind-the-Vintage-Wings-Mustang.aspx |archivedate=10 May 2015}} By April 2017 the replica had been completed and was for sale. It was built 6 ft shorter than the original, and may not be in flyable condition.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

File:Martin-Baker-M.B.5 3-view.png

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1947,{{cite book |title=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1947 |editor1-last=Bridgman |editor1-first=Leonard |year=1947 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co |location=London |pages=60c–61c}} Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II and British Aircraft of World War II{{cite web|title=MARTIN-BAKER MB.5|url=http://jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/martin-baker%20mb5.htm|access-date=26 November 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613154227/http://jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/martin-baker%20mb5.htm|archive-date=13 June 2008|df=dmy-all}}

|prime units?=imp

|crew=1

|length ft=37

|length in=9

|span ft=35

|height ft=12

|height in=6

|height note=including propeller

|wing area sqft=263

|aspect ratio=4.66

|airfoil=RAF 34

|empty weight lb=9233

|gross weight lb=11500

|max takeoff weight lb=12090

|fuel capacity={{convert|200|impgal|USgal l|abbr=on}} fuel; {{convert|14|impgal|USgal l|abbr=on}} oil

|more general=

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Rolls-Royce Griffon 83

|eng1 type=V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine

|eng1 hp=2035

|eng1 note=for 5 minutes at {{convert|550|ft|abbr=on}} in M gear, at 2750 rpm with {{convert|25|psi|abbr=on}} boost

|prop blade number=6

|prop name=De Havilland constant-speed contra-rotating propellerHydromatic {{convert|3.58|m|ftin|abbr=on|disp=flip}} SKP 74489/15A front with {{convert|3.54|m|abbr=on|disp=flip}} 3-bladed SKP 74490/18A rear

|max speed mph=460

|max speed note=at {{convert|20000|ft|abbr=on}}

|cruise speed kmh=

|cruise speed mph=

|cruise speed kts=

|cruise speed note=

|stall speed kmh=

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|never exceed speed kmh=

|never exceed speed mph=

|never exceed speed kts=

|never exceed speed note=

|range miles=1100

|combat range km=

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|combat range nmi=

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|endurance=

|ceiling ft=40000

|g limits=

|roll rate=

|climb rate ms=19.3

|time to altitude=

|wing loading lb/sqft=45.9

|fuel consumption kg/km=

|fuel consumption lb/mi=

|power/mass=6.3 lb/hp (3.82 kg/kW)

|more performance=

|guns=4 × 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon

|bombs=

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{{aircontent|

|related=

• Martin-Baker MB 3

|similar aircraft=

• CAC CA-15
• Fisher P-75
• Hawker Sea Fury
• Messerschmitt Me 309
• North American P-51 Mustang
• Supermarine Spiteful

|lists=

• List of aircraft of World War II

}}

;Notes

{{reflist}}

;Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

• Bowyer, Michael J.F. Interceptor Fighters for the Royal Air Force 1935–45. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1984. {{ISBN|978-0-85059-726-4}}.
• Buttler, Tony. Secret Projects: British Fighters and Bombers 1935–1950 (British Secret Projects 3). Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-85780-179-8}}.
• Brown, Captain Eric. Wings of the Weird & Wonderful, Volume 1. London: Airlife, 1983. {{ISBN|978-0-906393-30-7}}.
• Donald, David. "Martin-Baker Fighters." Wings of Fame, Vol. 9, 1997, Aerospace Publishing Ltd., ISSN 1361-2034.
• Green, William, ed. "Mr. Martin's Memorable M.B.5." Air International Vol. 16, no. 2, February 1979.
• Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Fighters, Volume Two. London, Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961.
• Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. WW2 Fact Files: RAF Fighters, Part 2. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1979. {{ISBN|978-0-354-01234-8}}.
• Jane, Fred T. "The Martin-Baker F.18/39." Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. {{ISBN|978-1-85170-493-4}}.
• Zuk, Bill. Janusz Zurakowski: Legends in the Sky. St. Catharine's, Ontario: Vanwell, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-55125-083-0}}.

{{refend}}

{{commons category|Martin-Baker M.B.5}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170131211359/http://www.martin-baker.com/about/mb1-mb5 MB 5 at martin-baker.com]
• [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%202359.html "The Martin-Baker M-B V" a 1945 Flight article on the MB 5]

{{Martin-Baker aircraft}}

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Category:1940s British fighter aircraft

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