Designed by James Martin with the collaboration of Capt Valentine H Baker, the M.B.2 was built to conform to the requirements of Specification F.5/34, but funded as a private venture. Conceived for manufacture in large numbers by semi-skilled workers at low cost, the M.B.2 employed a steel-tube structure with fabric skinning, was powered by a Napier Dagger III 24-cylinder H-type engine with a rated output of 798hp at 1675m, and carried an armament of eight 7.7mm Browning guns in the wings. The depth of the fuselage was virtually constant from nose to tail and vertical tail surfaces were eliminated, the rudder being hinged to the sternpost behind the elevators. First flown on 3 August 1938, the M.B.2 demonstrated serious directional instability and a rudimentary fixed tailfin was immediately introduced. A level speed of 515km/h was recorded with full armament, but official reports of trials at Martlesham Heath, while enthusiastic concerning its engineering design, pronounced the M.B.2 unstable about all axes and generally unpleasant to fly. More orthodox vertical tail surfaces were fitted early in 1939, these markedly improving handling, but the RAF evinced no interest in the fighter, development being discontinued.

3-View

A three-view drawing (1280 x 784)