Bloch MB.80 & MB.81

The MB.81 was a French military aircraft built as a flying ambulance, it was designed to carry one passenger, in or out of a stretcher.

Developed in response to a government-sponsored competition in support of the new doctrine of “aerial first aid”, it was employed exclusively in the overseas colonies, specifically Morocco and Syria.

Unlike the MB.80 prototype, the MB.81 had a closed cockpit and a somewhat larger cargo space.

This was the company’s first design to reach production.

Variants

MB.80

Prototype, 1 built

MB.81

production version, 20 built

Specifications

Crew

1

Capacity

1 seated or stretchered

Length

8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)

Wingspan

12.59 m (41 ft 4 in)

Height

2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)

Empty weight

580 kg (1,279 lb)

Powerplant

1 × Salmson 9Nd 9-cyl air-cooled radial piston engine,

128.68 kW (172.56 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed

188 km/h (117 mph, 102 kn)

Range

654 km (406 mi, 353 nmi)

Service ceiling

6,400 m (21,000 ft).