Marcel Bloch MB.155 C1 by Dora Wings

1/48 scale
Kit No. 48021
Retail: $40.00
Decals: Four versions – three Armee de l’Air, one Vichy France
Comments: Engraved panel lines, detailed cockpit, multi-part engine, multi-part cowling, one-piece canopy

History

The Bloch MB.155.C1 was the final variant of the MB.150 series of fighters to enter production and see operational service during the brief period of hostilities in WWII before the French surrender in June 1940. Arriving in squadrons in the final weeks before the Armistice in June 1940, only nine were completed before the Armistice with Nazi Germany. The Bloch MB.155 would have replaced the MB.151 and MB.152 in French service if France had remained in the war longer.

The MB. 155 prototype was converted from an MB. 152. The MB. 152 was “the first true aircraft” of the series (MB.150-157). It was equipped with a more powerful 1,030 hp Gnome-Rhone 14N-21 engine, capable of a speed of 520 km/h (323 mph) and equipped with improved armament and increased fuel capacity. In order to make room for the new fuel tanks, the cockpit was moved back. Firepower was increased by the addition of two extra 7.5mm machine guns, while the two 20mm cannon were changed to a belt-fed model. Wings and undercarriage remained identical to those used in the MB.152, which greatly sped up the change in production. Externally the main change was in the adoption of a smooth engine cowling.

The prototype MB. 155 flew in December 1939, followed by the first production machine on April 3, 1940. Production versions of the MB. 155 were powered by Gnome-Rhone 14N-49 engines. By May 1940 the MB.155 had entered full production, but only nine had been completed by the time of the Armistice of June 25th. Nineteen more MB-155’s were completed by the Vichy French government.

Marcel Bloch’s chief designer, Lucien Servanty (who would go on to far greater fame as a driving force behind the Concorde supersonic airliner), took a gradual path to improve the performance of the Bloch MB.152 so as not to disrupt mass production, which ran in five plants of the nationalised aircraft industry. The MB.155 01 was a more aerodynamic Bloch 152 with a larger fuel tank (by 53 litres). The development also took place during trials, when the elevators were changed and these in turn received struts.

At the time of the French surrender, the aircraft were just being introduced into series production. These Blochs flew in the Vichy Air Force until 1942 with the GC I/8 unit at Montpellier. In 1942 they were stored and after the disbandment of the Vichy Air Force the aircraft were taken over by the Luftwaffe. Distinguishing features compared to the MB.152C1 were the engine cowling, which did not have the MB.155’s protrusions for the valve lifters, and the slightly rearward shifted cabin.

The MB.155 factory was initially occupied by the Germans, but once the armistice came into effect it became part of the unoccupied zone. After the German invasion of unoccupied France in November 1942 the surviving MB.155s were seized by the Luftwaffe.

The Kit

Dora Wings’ MB 155 C.1 is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 113 parts (including 5 clear parts) with 15 photo-eteched parts providing additional detail for the cockpit seat, seat straps, engine. A set of paint masks is also included. The kit features a detailed cockpit with individually mounted control yoke, rudder pedals, seat and a main instrument panel with raised details. The cockpit features separate parts for internal sidewall detail.

There is also a detailed seven-part double radial engine assembly including photo etch detail. The kit features separately mounted control surfaces (rudder and ailerons) and a six-part smooth cowling assembly which is sure to require skill at seam-hiding. The kit features detailed landing gear and a schematic providing guidance for the proper alignment of the airscrew, which features a one-piece three-blade propeller and a separately mounted spinner.

Markings

The kit decals have realistic color and are all sharply in register. Markings are provided for four versions. The first is for aircraft No. 702, White 7, assigned to Captain Coutaud, commander of the 1st Squadron of the GC I/1, based at Cazaux as of Juner 23, 1940. It is painted in a scheme of Dark Brown, Dark Grey Blue and Dark Green over Light Blue Grey. The second aircraft is aircraft No. 708, Red 14, with GC II/8 based at Marignane (Aix-en-Provence), 1942. This is a post-Armistice aircraft of Vichy France, painted in Vichy colors on its cowling, vertical tail and elevators of red and yellow stripes over the pre-Armistice scheme of the Armee de l’Air of Dark Brown, Dark Grey Blue and Dark Green over Light Blue Grey.

The third aircraft, No. 706 with the 4th Squadron, GC II/8 (SPA-38), Red 26, also features a paint scheme of
Dark Brown, Dark Grey Blue and Dark Green over Light Blue Grey. This is a machine of the Armee de l’Air circa 1940. The fourth aircraft, No. 705, also with the 4th Squadron, GC II/8 (SPA-38), unlike the other aircraft has no number on the main body of the fuselage, but bears a Red 1 on a white circle with a red border on the vertical tail. This aircraft also bears a paint scheme of Dark Brown, Dark Grey Blue and Dark Green over Light Blue Grey — a slightly different scheme in that the Dark Brown and Dark Green cover a larger portion of the airframe.

Conclusion

This is highly detailed kit of a state-of-the-art fighter (by 1940 standards) that, like the Arsenal VG33/39, entered service too late to have a significant impact on the outcome of the air war so crucial to the resolution of the Battle of France. While there is little in the way of records as to its effectiveness against the Luftwaffe fighters it opposed, the fact that all MB.155’s were seized by the Luftwaffe once the Gremans invaded unoccupied France in late 1942 provides some indication of the esteem in which the Germans held Marcel Bloch’s most modern fighter of World War II.

References

www.aviastar.org
www.corlettiscombataircraft.com
www.armedconflicts.com
www.the 48ers.com
www.destinationsjourney.com