World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMB.200 bombers were designed in response to a 1932 requirement by the French Air Force. These high-winged all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft entered service in late 1934, and by the end of 1935, 208 aircraft were in service, equipping 12 French bomber squadrons. The design was sold to Czechoslovakia, and the firms Aero and Avia built 124 examples for the Czechoslovakian Air Force starting in 1937. When Germany dismembered and took over part of Czechoslovakia, a number of MB.200 bombers were captured; some of them were pressed into second line service by the Germans, while others were sold to Bulgaria. The Vichy-French Air Force operated them through the war despite MB.200 bombers being obsolete by the 1940s; one squadron saw action in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon.

MB.200 Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

MB.200B.4

Machinery	Two Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs 14-cyl 2-row air-cooled radial engines rated at 870hp each
Armament	3x7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns, 1,200kg of bombs
Crew	4
Span	22.45 m
Length	16.00 m
Height	3.90 m
Wing Area	62.50 m²
Weight, Empty	4,300 kg
Weight, Maximum	7,480 kg
Speed, Maximum	285 km/h
Rate of Climb	4.33 m/s
Service Ceiling	8,000 m
Range, Normal	1,000 km

Photographs