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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art Inter War Period Aircraft  Curtiss MB-2 |
[UP] - Airspeed Courier - Ant-20 - Avro 504N - B-10 - Boeing 314 - Bulldog - Condor - Coronado - Curtiss CR-3 - Curtiss MB-2 - Curtiss NC - Curtiss R3C-2 - DC3 - Dragon Rapide - DT-2 - Electra - F3F - Fairey IIID - Fairey IIIF - FB5 - Fury - Gipsy Moth - Hart - Hind - Horsley - HP42 - Iris - Jenny - M-130 - Mailwing - Mew Gull - Norseman - Peashooter - Ryan M-1 - S-42 - S6B - SM55X - SNJ - Sparrowhawk - Tigermoth - Trimotor - Vega - Wallace - Walrus |
Curtiss MB-2 The Curtiss-Martin NBS-1 was a twin engined biplane bomber of the early 1920s that was designed by Glenn Martin but produced by Curtiss, Aeromarine and L.W.F. Martin designed the MB-2 in response to a US Army request for a bomber aircraft to replace the wartime de Havilland designs then in use. The MB-2 design was tested against a number of rivals, and was found to have the best performance. The MB-2 was designed as a night bomber and except for a greater load capacity, had reduced performance characteristics compared to its MB-1 predecessor. The first 20 (five MB-2s and 15 NBS-1s) were ordered from the Martin Company, which recommended a further 50 be produced to help its struggling financial condition. However the design was owned by the U.S. Army and subsequent contracts for 110 bombers were awarded by low bid to three other companies: Lowe Willard and Fowler Engineering Company of College Point, New York (35 ordered), Curtiss Aircraft (50), and Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company of Keyport, New Jersey |
| Curtiss MB-2 Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Billy Shows Them by Stan Stokes. In the period following WW I, Americas military spending was severely curtailed. The Air Service of the United States Army, which had performed admirably in the latter stages of the War, was treated like an unwanted child. The Air Service had detractors within the regular Army, the Navy, and the Naval Air Service. Rivalry between the Navy and Army was fierce during these times, and competition for the limited amount of funds available for defense spending further intensified matters. Brigadier General Billy Mitchell was one of the senior officers in the US Army Air Service. A veteran of WW I, Billy was an outspoken advocate of the Air Service. Mitchell requested permission to attempt to sink the German dreadnought Ostfriesland in a demonstration off the Virginia coast. The Navy was anxious to discredit the Air Service, and even within the Army itself there were many rooting against Mitchell. Mitchells commanding officer ordered him to attack the Ostfriesland from a minimum altitude of 5000 feet, and to utilize nothing greater than 1000 lb bombs. Mitchells first attempt was not successful, but on his second attempt on June 21, 1921 he disobeyed his direct orders and used 2,000 pounders dropped from low altitude. These bigger bombs shattered the hull plates of the German ship and she sank in about twenty minutes. This infuriated the Navy, which did not anticipate this result, and also resulted in Mitchell being demoted to Colonel. For the attack Mitchell utilized six Curtis MB-2 twin-engine bombers. The MB-2 was developed by Curtis in response to the Armys request in 1917 for a medium-range bomber superior to anything available at that time. The MB-1 first flew in 1918, and in 1919 an improved variant, the MB-2, took to the air. Following the crash of the USN airship Shenandoah, Mitchell publicly criticized Admiral Moffett, head of the Navys Air Service. He also strongly criticized senior Army officers due to the terrible safety record for the Air Service. These remarks lead to the much publicized court marshall of Billy Mitchell. Mitchell was found guilty and stripped of his rank, and suspended from duty for a period of five years. Despite this set back, Mitchell continued to lobby for both a safe and strong independent Air Force. He was convinced that the outcome of the next major world conflict would be determined by air power. Many of Mitchells ideas would ultimately be implemented, and he is generally acknowledged to be the Father of the modern American Air Force. |
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