The Mitsubishi 2MB1 (service designation 八七式軽爆撃機, Army Type 87 Light Bomber) was a light bomber produced in Japan in the mid-1920s to equip the Imperial Japanese Army.[1][2]

2MB1
Role Bomber
National origin Japan
Manufacturer Mitsubishi
First flight ca 1926
Primary user Imperial Japanese Army
Number built 48
Developed from Mitsubishi B1M

Development

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It was developed in parallel to the 2MB2, but while that aircraft featured an innovative and unorthodox design, the 2MB1 was a more conservative approach based closely on the 2MT carrier-based torpedo bomber that was already in production for the Imperial Japanese Navy.[2] Like the 2MT, the 2MB1 was a conventional two-bay biplane with open cockpits in tandem and fixed tailskid undercarriage. The 2MT's Napier engine and side-mounted radiators were exchanged for a Hispano-Suiza engine and frontal radiator, and specific naval features such as folding wings were deleted.

Operational history

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The type saw action in the early stages of Japan's Invasion of Manchuria in 1931, but it was found to be obsolete and was soon relegated to training duties.


Specifications

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Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft

General characteristics

  • Crew: Two, pilot and gunner
  • Length: 10.00 m (32 ft 10 in)
  • Wingspan: 14.80 m (48 ft 7 in)
  • Height: 3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
  • Wing area: 60.0 m2 (646 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,800 kg (3,970 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,300 kg (7,280 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza , 336 kW (450 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 185 km/h (115 mph, 100 kn)

Armament

  • 1 × fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine gun
  • 2 × flexible 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns on ring mount in rear cockpit
  • 1 × flexible 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine gun firing through ventral hatch
  • 500 kg (1,102 lb) of bombs

Notes

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  1. ^ Taylor 1989, 676
  2. ^ a b The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 2514

References

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  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.