MY DREAM MACHINE MB 5.

And the Battle is going on right here,
right now, Knackered,
TurboNZ(chris),
Build me one of these please old CHUM will ya, just nip it across the strait, when ya finished, thank’s mate., leave the key’s on the fridge!!!.

Yes, Every thing I have read about the MB 5 it flew very well 🙂 , Pitty it was destroyed on a English Gunnery range 🙁 , As I understood it there was already to much put in to the Spit and other aircraft at the time, And the war budget simply could not afford it, And yes the new built MB 5 is not a replica as it must have at least 3% of the original, And as it stands there seems to be nothing left of the original 😡 , But it does look nice 😉 , Cheers for now, Phil. (P.S I am having my own battles with M.S. at the moment and did a 50min walk today (just made it), Must try to keep the fight going been 12 years now but I must say I am nackered, I will try and stay on this forum for as long as I can Thank you all) Tally Ho! Phil. 😎

Keep fighting the fight Phil 😉

How does it fly with out a propeller ?

To every one, Cool pics and comments 😎 , Yes the jet age finished off quiet a lot of high class piston engine designs 🙁 , With a few exceptions such as the F-82 and later the A-1 Skyraider the time was up for the piston prop age, But for me the sound of a jet never sounded as good as 12 thumping pistons or the sound of the DC-3s that take off and land over my flat almost every day 🙂 , Those droneing Pratt radials and prop reverberation come right though the roof and I love it :p , Makes me think of what D-day was like with so many of them all taking off and heading across the channel, The Sound of it would have been enormous 😮 , And to Matt yes sounds great, I have good days and bad, more good if I can help it, I spent all day at Point Cook on the 17 Dec 03, And again on the 28/29 Feb 04, But I missed the great stang round up at Tyabb, Hopefully next time in 06 I can make it, Cheers for now, Tally Ho! Phil. 😉

What are all those innards behind the pilot’s seat? The workings for the radiator?

Both designed and built by expat “to and froms” actually……

Just remember where Heath Robinson came from..not OZ. I think he designed a number of Brit machines…

Compare to specs of the MB5
Armament – 4 x 20mm cannon (never fitted)
Weight – empty 9,345 lbs
Weight- loaded 11,500 lbs
Dimensions (feet) Wingspan 35, length 37.3/4 height 15
Power – one Rolls-Royce Griffon 83 engine 2,340 hp
Speed – 460 mph
Range – 1,240 miles

Details from the Boscombe Down “sales brochure”

Just remember where Heath Robinson came from..not OZ. I think he designed a number of Brit machines…

From ‘Australia’s Military Aircraft’ by Ross Gilbert:

“The requirement for a long-range, medium altitude , high performance fighter for the RAAF was raised with the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation during 1943/44. The resultant CA-15, as it became known, was completed in February, 1946, and flown on its maiden flight on 4th March. After 23 flights the aircraft was transferred to Laverton for trials with No 1 APU on 27th June.

Later on 10th December the CA-15 was damaged during a crash landing and subsequently repaired by CAC during 1947/48.

While development of the aircraft continued, decisions were made to acquire jet fighters as replacements for the Mustangs. On 19th May. 1948, the lone CA-15 was returned after repairs, but on 1st May 1950, all development work was cancelled and A62-1001 was approved for conversion to components.

During its short development career, the CA-15 was reported to have attained 502.2 mph during a shallow dive on 25th May 1948.”

Also in the caption to the photo accompanying it states:
“During its brief career the aircraft established itself as one of the fastest piston engined aircraft ever built. Combined with its 450 mph maximum speed and its range of 2,500 miles, the CA-15 would have provided a qualitative improvement for the RAAF but was defeated by the jet age.”

Hmm, a piston fighter better than the Mustang? That’ll ruffle a few feathers on the forum 😉 🙂

Stats of the CA-15
Ebtered Service 1946
Left Service 1950
Armament – 6 x 0.5 inch MG’s (wings)
Bombload – 2000lbs
Weight – empty 7,540lbs
Weight – loaded 12,340lbs
Dimensions (feet) Wingspan 36, Length 36.2 1/2, Height 14.2
Power – one Rolls Royce Giffon Mk 61 engine, 2,035hp
Initial Climb – 4,900 feet/min
Ceiling (feet) 39,000
Speed (mph) cruising ?, Maximum 432
Endurance 2540 miles at 5,000ft

Hmm, so one book gives three maximum speeds. OK then :confused: :rolleyes:

Personally i think it’s an ugly plane compared with the Spitfire or P51D, or the MB5 for that matter, but it would be damned interesting to see it flying.

I thought it was only the Russians that built other peoples designs.

The simple reason the MB5 never went into production is it was too late. The first generation jets were already entering service. Both the Meteor and the Vampire had been tested at Boscombe Down before the MB5 even flew.
I don’t think it was used for target practice. It’s believed to have just been quietly scrapped.
Never heard of the Kangaroo, tell us more.

Message for Stormbird (Phil)

Hi Phil,
Have noticed your mention of having M.S. a couple of times now, and it’s terrible news mate. Keep fighting it and don’t let anything stop you. Are you still able to travel much? If so, then maybe we’ll have to get you up here to Ballarat sometime. Don’t have all that much up here, but I’d be delighted to go through the museum with you, and perhaps I can arrange a couple of other things too 🙂

Cheers,
Matt

P.S. In reply to a question of yours from another post, I am about 95% sure that there are some bits of the one and only CA-15 still getting around. I can’t be 100% sure until I’ve seen the bits for myself, but my reports are from very credible sources.

Yes, Every thing I have read about the MB 5 it flew very well 🙂 , Pitty it was destroyed on a English Gunnery range 🙁 , As I understood it there was already to much put in to the Spit and other aircraft at the time, And the war budget simply could not afford it, And yes the new built MB 5 is not a replica as it must have at least 3% of the original, And as it stands there seems to be nothing left of the original 😡 , But it does look nice 😉 , Cheers for now, Phil. (P.S I am having my own battles with M.S. at the moment and did a 50min walk today (just made it), Must try to keep the fight going been 12 years now but I must say I am nackered, I will try and stay on this forum for as long as I can Thank you all) Tally Ho! Phil. 😎

Or a surgically augmented one 😉

Looks like a Mustang that’s been put through the ringer and stretched on the washing line…. 😀

Funny looking beast, isn’t it?! 😮

For the Chap who asked about the Kangaroo

Looks fast too 😮 , Have to be my second dream machine after the MB 5, Does anybody Know if it survived the chop :rolleyes: , Cheers for now, Tally Ho Phil. 😎

MB 5

Yes, Every thing I have read about the MB 5 it flew very well 🙂 , Pitty it was destroyed on a English Gunnery range 🙁 , As I understood it there was already to much put in to the Spit and other aircraft at the time, And the war budget simply could not afford it, And yes the new built MB 5 is not a replica as it must have at least 3% of the original, And as it stands there seems to be nothing left of the original 😡 , But it does look nice 😉 , Cheers for now, Phil. (P.S I am having my own battles with M.S. at the moment and did a 50min walk today (just made it), Must try to keep the fight going been 12 years now but I must say I am nackered, I will try and stay on this forum for as long as I can Thank you all) Tally Ho! Phil. 😎

I reckon it looks like a cross between a late model Spit and a P-51.

(Imagine what a Griffon powered P-51 would have been like (Reno racers excluded))

That MB-5 looks fast even parked up.

I wonder, had it been successful whether it would have incorporated their ejection seats……..

TNZ

Raved about it is the right description. Even the usually coldly clinical and dispassionate Boscombe Down report reads like a sales brochure.
I hadn’t remembered that the tail surfaces were enlarged but I’m not surprised. James Martin was almost certainly a genius but he seemed to have some bee in his bonnet about aircraft not needing fins. The first MB design had no fin at all. It was modified fairly hastily.

Heres a couple of photos I took at last years Reno races. Unfortunately over the course of the two days I was there, it was very difficult to get a clear shot of the aircraft.

Septic