History

The Martin Baker MB. 3 was developed in Britain in the early days of World War 2. A company partner, Captain Baker, was killed during a test flight, leading Martin Baker to begin developing new aircrew safety equipment.

The Martin Baker MB.5 began as a development of the earlier MB.3, fitted with a Rolls Royce Griffon engine and designed for easy of construction and maintenance.

It was designed to meet a RAF specification for an agile and sturdy fighter that could exceed 400 miles an hour.

The prototype first flew on 23 May 1944 and demonstrated outstanding performance.

It could have been in service before the defeat of Germany but the RAF was then giving gave priority to the development of jet powered fighters and also the Martin Baker company lacked the necessary production experience and facilities.

It was reportedly destroyed as a gunnery target after 1946.

This model represents the sole MB.5 in 1944.

AZmodel 1/72 kit.  Completed in April 2017.

Data

MODEL: Martin Baker MB.5

ROLE: Experimental fighter

TIME PERIOD: 1944-1946

ENGINES: Rolls Royce Griffon 83 liquid-cooled piston engine of 1,517kW

WING SPAN: 11m

LENGTH: 11.51m

MAXIMUM TAKE OFF WEIGHT: 5,484kg

MAXIMUM SPEED: 740km/h

CREW: 1

ARMAMENT: four Hispano Mk II 20mm cannon

SCALE: 1/72

KIT:

GALLERIES: , , ,

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