On this day in aviation history, 90 years ago (June 11, 1936), the Bloch MB.220 took flight for the first time. This French passenger transport was designed in the 1930s by Société des Avions Marcel Bloch. The first variant to fly carried the registration F-AOHA and was flown at Villacoublay by pilot André Curvale. A production order for 16 MB.220s soon followed the initial test flight. The MB.220 was of all-metal construction, and featured retractable landing gear. Two 915-hp Gnome-Rhône 14N-16 14-cylinder radial engines powered the ship. A crew of four served aboard the aircraft, which had a capacity for 16 passengers in the cabin. The first deliveries of Bloch’s airliner occurred in 1937, when Air France received five MB.220s. Air France operated the MB.220 on their Paris/Marseilles route, and then shortly after on the route between Le Bourget and Croydon. The MB.220, with a cruise speed of 190 mph and a max speed of 220 mph, proved to be far more efficient than Air France’s Wibault 280s.
At the onset of WWII, five MB.220s were pressed into military service with the French Air Force as transports. After Germany took full occupation of Vichy France, eleven MB.220s were sent to fly for German airline Deutsche Lufthansa in February of 1943. As the Germans began to fly the MB.220 more, engine issues were realized, especially in cold-weather operations. Nevertheless, the Free French found use for three MB.220s as transports in North Africa during 1944. Upon the conclusion of WWII, five MB.220s managed to survive. These aircraft were returned to service with Air France, only after they received new 1,200-hp Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engines. The new powerplant meant that the designation of the aircraft would change from MB.220 to MB.221. A significant increase in performance was noted after the swap. Air France continued to operate the MB.221 until 1949, at which point the fleet was sold to Societé Auxiliaire de Navigation Aérienne, where the MB.221s continued to fly until 1952.
