J.Wegg General Dynamics Aircraft and Their Predecessors Since 1912 (Putnam)

MB-2

   The second attempt at a pursuit fighter, the MB-2 was a two-seat, two-bay equal-span biplane with a 400hp Liberty 12-C with spur-gear reduction mechanism and a two-bladed propeller. The top wing had conventional front and rear spars but the lower wing had an additional centre spar and radiators each side of the fuselage. The single prototype (25806) was later fitted with a 450hp Liberty, a four-bladed airscrew, and a new radiator system, but performance was still poor and it was scrapped in 1918 along with the half-completed fuselage of a second aircraft.

Span 32ft; length 24ft.

W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

THOMAS-MORSE MB-2 USA

   Designed after the crash of the MB-1, the MB-2 was a two-seat fighter of unstaggered, equi-span biplane configuration intended to use a geared Liberty 12 engine. Of fabric-covered wooden construction, the upper wing was a two-spar structure and the lower wing a three-spar structure. Intended armament comprised two synchronised machine guns (one 0.3- in/7,62-mm and the other 0.5-in/12,7-mm) in the forward fuselage and one 0.3-in weapon on a ring mount in the rear cockpit. The flight test MB-2 was delivered in November 1918, two prototypes having been ordered by the Signal Corps, and the first of these being completed in single-bay configuration. Structural testing indicated that the wing cellule possessed insufficient strength and the aircraft was modified as a conventional-structure two-bay biplane. The US Army did not consider the potential performance of the MB-2 to warrant series production and development was discontinued. No performance details of the MB-2 are recorded.

Empty weight, 2,047 lb (929 kg).
Loaded weight, 2,773 lb (1258 kg).
Span, 31 ft 0 in (9,45 m).
Length, 24 ft 0 in (7,31 m).
Height, 8 ft 0 in (2,43m).
Wing area, 323 sq ft (30,00 m2).